Gwen Barr at the Therapod

20/05/2025

Hi Folks,
Here's something for some of you parents out there who's children may be struggling with being burnt out by school. The webinar is also being recorded, so you can catch up when it's convenient.

Dr Naomi Fisher is a clinical psychologist, author and speaker who has also written a very helpful book for teenager's called 'The Teenagers Guide to Burnout' - Finding the Road to Recovery. I hope you find it helpful.

When your child says they don’t want to do anything, it’s frightening. When they go into their room and shut you out, it’s upsetting. When you see that they are just 'getting through' their days, it’s soul-destroying.

Many autistic young people are showing signs of burn out. They are lacking in ‘oomph’ and don’t seem to enjoy anything. They say no to anything new, and at the same time they are bored and under stimulated. They don’t seem to want to do anything. They don’t see the point.

What is going on? Why does it happen and what can parents do to help? That’s what I’m talking about in my webinar Burnt out By School TOMORROW. It’s for parents and carers of autistic young people who just seem to have lost their sparkle. It's recorded. Please share if you know parents in this difficult situation.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/burnt-out-by-school-understanding-and-helping-your-autistic-young-person-tickets-1312049117229?aff=fb5

26/02/2025

I’m loving my latest read about the science behind using music as medicine. I’ve just started it and I’m hoping to find lots of useful ideas for my therapeutic work.

31/12/2024

As we await the sun going down on 2024 ( unlikely to actually get a sunset this evening!) I reflect back with huge gratitude for all the amazing individuals who courageously stepped into the Therapod to work with me to create positive change in their lives this year. It’s been a privilege to witness their immense courage, determination and commitment throughout 2024 and I look forward to welcoming in a new year and new opportunities to work with more incredible people in 2025.

28/12/2024

Thank you to Katherine May for this wonderful exploration into the ebb and flow of life. This book feels so needed in our world of burnout, shame and glorification of busyness. Gaining the wisdom to accept and acknowledge ‘the power of rest and retreat in difficult times’ feels wonderfully liberating. I hope it begins to fuel a tide of change within our culture.

23/12/2024

13/11/2024

World Kindness Day ☺️

Happy World Kindness Day!

I hope you have many experiences of kindness today.

You don’t need to do something that’s seemingly significant for it to qualify as kindness. Most kindness is in the little seemingly ordinary things we do every day.

Those couple of reassuring or encouraging words, the gentle smiles that say, “I see you!” or “You’ve got this.” Heck, it’s even in laughing at a joke because telling it was important to a person.

It’s in holding doors with a smile, waving a driver out of a junction, saying “Thank you.” And never underestimate how important those two words are.

‘Thank you’ can make a person feel seen, heard, noticed, valued, included, respected.

Kindness can be in a simple gift, the offer to pay for that coffee, the helping hand when a person is down on their luck.

It’s these seemingly ordinary displays of kindness that actually glue our societies together. This is what World Kindness Day means for me. It’s a celebration of the FACT of kindness.

So I wish that you have many experiences of kindness today - as the giver of it, the recipient of it, and the witness to it.

Oh, and there’s still time to join “The 21-Day Kindfulness Experiment.” It starts today, and each day for 21 days I’ll send you a kindfulness meditation practice plus a short video inviting you to consider or reflect on some aspect of kindness.

The idea is to see if a daily focus on kindness for 21 days can make us feel happier, more connected, and improve overall wellbeing. Link to participate is in my Linktree or on my website (drdavidhamilton.com).

11/11/2024

Hi folks, I hope you’re all doing well.

The official ‘Menopause month’ was actually in October, but to me, menopause awareness, understanding and management are an all year round ( for many years!) issue that deserves to be highlighted more often.
Dr Lisa Misconi’s new book called ‘The Menopause Brain’ caught my attention recently as she reveals how the menopause impacts the brain as well as the ovaries. Her book is in four parts which covers: understanding ‘The Big M’( menopause), the brain-hormone connection, hormonal and nonhormonal therapies and also lifestyle and integrative health.
So far, it’s a very insightful read and both explains and offers hope to the millions of women out there who may be confused, disheartened or feeling overlooked.

Thinking of the menopause as another ‘transition’ seems to be key in understanding how the brain interprets the plummeting estrogen levels and seeing the bigger picture, in terms of what we can do now to help ourselves for the future, is very empowering. It’s very encouraging to see the graph illustrating that life satisfaction can both recover and increase in the following years.
If you’re interested in finding out more about Dr Lisa Misconi’s work you can check out her website ( link in comments below)

I hope you find it supportive.

11/11/2024

Hi folks, I hope you’re all doing well.

The official ‘Menopause month’ was actually in October, but to me, menopause awareness, understanding and management are an all year round ( for many years!) issue that deserves to be highlighted more often.
Dr Lisa Mosconi’s new book called ‘The Menopause Brain’ caught my attention recently as she reveals how the menopause impacts the brain as well as the ovaries. Her book is in four parts which covers: understanding ‘The Big M’( menopause), the brain-hormone connection, hormonal and nonhormonal therapies and also lifestyle and integrative health.
So far, it’s a very insightful read and both explains and offers hope to the millions of women out there who may be confused, disheartened or feeling overlooked.

Thinking of the menopause as another ‘transition’ seems to be key in understanding how the brain interprets the plummeting estrogen levels and seeing the bigger picture, in terms of what we can do now to help ourselves for the future, is very empowering. It’s very encouraging to see the graph illustrating that life satisfaction can both recover and increase in the following years.
If you’re interested in finding out more about Dr Lisa Mosconi’s work you can check out her website ( link in comments below)

I hope you find it supportive.

12/08/2024

Feeling a little deflated today without my fix of Olympic action to inspire me. I’ve loved watching these amazing individuals from all around the world show us what’s possible in life. Such an inspiration! Although I’ll probably pass on the break dancing lessons 😂
What was your favourite part?

11/03/2024

A snippet from Saundra Dalton Smith’s enlightening TED talk about how important all kinds of rest are for our well-being.
There are 7 types of rest for us to become aware of and bring into our daily lives.
If you want to find out more, there is a book called Sacred Rest: Recover your Life, Renew your Energy, Restore your Sanity.
There is also a quiz to take to find out what type of rest you need to live your best life. ( I’ll pop those links in the comments below)