Anna Elston Counselling & Supervision

24/02/2026

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DVJz7OUjwbW/?igsh=ODI3cmdzNXdpczls

18/02/2026

What Is Gaslighting? Actually

Gaslighting is the act of manipulating someone using psychological efforts to make them question their own sanity. It is a severe form of emotional abuse that often leads them to question their own memories, thoughts or events that have happened. If the behaviour is not stopped, it can result in a victim doubting and losing their own sense of identity and self-worth.

Gaslighting can occur in any type of relationship, whether personal or professional. It is a common technique used by abusive spouses or intimate partners, narcissists and people who try to control large groups of people such as cult leaders. The effects of gaslighting can often be devastating....
..Gaslighting may take on different forms and often happens in stages. Some of the most common signs of gaslighting include (see visual) :

Thank you to Lauracorbeth dot com for the great visual.

15/02/2026

10/02/2026

Note to self: Along with all the growth and healing, remember to give yourself time for integration, which is a fancy word for "allowing s**t to settle". It looks like doing nothing.

You've been going hard. Therapy sessions. Inner work. Processing trauma. Setting boundaries. Breaking patterns. Making changes. And somewhere along the way you convinced yourself that healing means constant movement. Constant progress. Always doing more, digging deeper, fixing another piece.

But growth doesn't work like that. You can't just keep adding new information without giving yourself time to absorb it. You can't keep breaking yourself open without letting the pieces resettle. Your nervous system needs time to catch up with all the work you've been doing.

Integration looks boring from the outside. You're not having breakthroughs. You're not making dramatic changes. You're just existing. Resting. Letting everything you've learned sink in and become part of you instead of just information you collected. And it feels like you're doing nothing, which makes you anxious because you've been conditioned to equate productivity with worth.

This stillness is necessary. It's not laziness. It's not regression. It's your system processing everything you've put it through. Like letting concrete dry before you build on it. You can't skip this part. The doing nothing is where the real transformation happens.

Where insights become instincts. Where healing becomes who you are, not just something you're working on.

30/01/2026

It’s getting late, I want ice cream. And I can’t think of a hooky-hook. But for those of you thinking about picking up a drink after Dry January, I hope this resonates (I hate that word!)

So, this year, 31st January falls on a Sunday.

21/01/2026

I know this will be familiar to some, because I hear it in therapy rooms all the time. If you’re with someone who is trying to get sober, they deserve NOTHING but encouragement from you.

15/01/2026

In Memoriam Dolores O'Riordan✨🕊️
Lead singer and guitarist for The Cranberries.
September 6, 1971 - January 15, 2018
Gone, but not forgotten.
✨💫

Dolores Mary Eileen O'Riordan (/oʊˈrɪərdən/ oh-REER-dən; 6 September 1971 – 15 January 2018) was an Irish musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead vocalist of the rock band the Cranberries.

O'Riordan was the principal songwriter of the band, and additionally performed acoustic and electric guitars.

She became one of the most recognisable voices in alternative rock, and was known for her lilting mezzo-soprano voice, signature yodel, use of keening, and strong Limerick accent.

O'Riordan was born in County Limerick, Ireland, to a Catholic working-class family. She began performing as a soloist in her church choir before leaving secondary school to join the Cranberries in 1990.

When she was seven years old, her sister accidentally burned the house down;the rural community was able to raise funds to purchase the family a new homestead.

O'Riordan's formative experiences were as a liturgical soloist in the choir in a local church and as a singer at school.

From the age of eight, she was sexually abused for four years by a person whom she trusted.At the age of ten, she would sing in local pubs where her uncles took her

Throughout her life, O'Riordan suffered from depression and the pressure of her own success; she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2015. She died from drowning due to alcohol intoxication in January 2018.

12/01/2026

08/01/2026