Bridget Freer Psychotherapy and Counselling

22/11/2019

The cutting of mental health services has had a disproportionate effect on people living in poverty, who are more likely in the first place to suffer mental ill health. A sociological study of the phenomenon concluded last year that “austerity and associated policies have combined to increase the overall burden of mental distress and marginalisation within the UK”.
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/nov/22/doctor-gp-what-i-have-learned-from-my-suicidal-patients

The long read: A GP has minutes to try to convince a person that life is worth living. No wonder they always wonder what more they could have done

13/06/2019

Wish we could make this happen retrospectively and all the prime ministerial candidates had had at least one course of therapy
https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fcommentisfree%2F2019%2Fjun%2F12%2Fprime-minister-therapy%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_fb

13/06/2019

Wish we could make this happen
12/prime-minister-therapy?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other&fbclid=IwAR0p1FsEE6MsaMQBzDY_2TrCdY983wONm-SAS5JsinQZd9HLpHt9NM6_iDs

03/02/2019

What are the benefits of stress and anxiety?

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/feb/02/truth-about-anxiety-without-it-we-would-not-have-hope

In a world so full of uncertainty it’s little wonder so many of us feel stressed. But understanding it can change how you feel

30/01/2019

Borderline: Time to rethink?

https://www.the-pool.com/health/mind/2018/18/jenny-valentish-on-bpd-and-labels-that-only-come-in-pink?fbclid=IwAR3LJtnc9T4wlfTAwmoFgF7FbvwLDxpLw64o6-wCmNFAefVns1HEecnLKvY

If you listen to the rhetoric, an 'attention-seeker' or 'drama queen', says Jenny Valentish. Is it time we ditched the labels that only come in pink?

28/01/2019

Q. Brexit -– can psychotherapy help?
A. Yes, a bit

https://www.theguardian.com/profile/susie-orbach

Susie Orbach is a psychotherapist, psychoanalyst, writer and social critic. Her latest book is Bodies (2009), which discusses the ways in which bodies today are becoming sites of display and manufacture rather than a place to live from

15/01/2019

https://bridgetfreer.wordpress.com/blog/

Psychodynamic Psychotherapist and Counsellor

06/01/2019

Really good piece on the power of exercise over anxiety: "When you run, your body takes your brain along for the ride."

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/jan/05/running-cured-anxiety-broken-heart

When my marriage ended, I realised that a lifetime of anxiety had left me unable to cope. Then I pulled on some old leggings and started jogging...

08/11/2018

An inside look at how psychotherapy works
https://digest.bps.org.uk/2018/11/06/this-is-how-psychotherapy-for-depression-changes-the-brain/

23/09/2018

Moving read on the power of "telling your story"
https://www.stylist.co.uk/long-reads/anxiety-depression-mental-health-breakdown-suicide-mother-daughter-family-therapy-writing-advice/227382

“When I turned 30, a decade of stoppering my grief caught up with me”

05/02/2018

Social media is not all narcissistic selfies, there is connection and support there too http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/social-media-twitter-mental-health-sharing-community-depression-anxiety-a8192726.html

Social media has been a major player in blasting open the conversation surrounding mental health. This week alone has seen millions of tweets of acceptance and support as those with mental health issues have shared their experiences on Twitter. Social media undoubtedly gives those who may ordinarily...

18/01/2018

I am quite attached to this theory
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/07/opinion/sunday/yes-its-your-parents-fault.html?mc=adintl&mcid=keywee&mccr=EU&ad-keywords=IntlAudDev&kwp_0=632219&kwp_4=2244833&kwp_1=940570

“Attachment theory“ finds new resonance in the age of smartphones.

14/01/2018

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/nhs-mental-health-crisis-jeremy-hunt-social-care-depression-suicide-inequality-a8157351.html

Jeremy Hunt is celebrating – he has managed to keep his appointment as Health Secretary and gain control of social care. He jubilantly retweeted a tweet from last year, when he survived another reshuffle, saying “reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated”.

05/01/2018

the perils of perfectionism...
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jan/05/perfectionism-mental-health-millennial-social-media

It all began at school, with A-star expectations and a horror of failure. Now we’re on social media platforms, locked into a losing game, says the freelance writer Daisy Buchanan

30/12/2017

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/09/has-the-smartphone-destroyed-a-generation/534198/

More comfortable online than out partying, post-Millennials are safer, physically, than adolescents have ever been. But they’re on the brink of a mental-health crisis.

16/12/2017

this is very good news indeed
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/marmite-stress-anxiety-victoria-university-vitamin-b-a8114121.html

Reducing your stress levels could be as simply as choosing the right spread for your morning toast. A new study has found that people who regularly eat yeast-based spreads (YBS), such as Marmite, showed lower stress and anxiety levels than those who didn’t.

11/12/2017

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/young-offenders-mental-health-crisis-prisons-children-custody-deprived-psychology-services-epidemic-a8098286.html

Children in custody are facing a “significant shortfall” in mental health provision, with some given no access to psychology services and having to wait more than half a year for treatment. Young offenders aged between 12 and 17, many of whom suffer with mental health problems, are being left wi...

06/12/2017

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/42225775/christmas-party-season-why-my-anxiety-gets-worse-after-drinking

I don't feel capable of fighting against it.