Mindful Messages

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Mindful Messages

1-2-1 Counselling (BACP reg)
Mental health training
Wellness Resources
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~* Counselling Services (BACP registered) *~
~* Mental Health & Su***de Prevention Training *~
~* Wellness Resources *~

08/09/2025

🏝️How to Be🏝️

A follow on from ‘doing’, ‘being’ takes practise

Its ok if slowing down and being has felt scary, it’s ok if it’s difficult, it’s ok to ‘titrate’ into the experience. We’re learning a new skill, and like every new skill it takes time.

Tips:
🏝️practise recalling a warm / good memory, or create a visualisation of somewhere that feels good & safe
🏝️use sensory items: smell, touch, taste to activate (bring energy) or deactivate (bring calm)
🏝️practise grounding: whether that’s standing, sitting or laying down - focus on how we are ‘held’ / ‘supported’ by the ground. Or focus on sensations where our body touches the ground.
🏝️mindfulness: notice shapes, colours, textures, smells in the room

*while moving into ‘being’ can be helpful, I recommend being guided / led by a mental health professional. ‘Being’ can be scary and it’s helpful to have someone who you can process that with.

04/09/2025

📆Doing📆

‘Doing’ can be how we cope: distraction, busy-ness, never standing still, struggling to relax

But the art of doing is often acquired, it’s an adaptation we have made because being busy is safer than just being

I hate the word avoidance (although I’ve used it in this post); but doing can be about survival

Staying still, relaxing, being - can all feel terrifying when our internal world is chaos - so instead we ‘do’

05/08/2025

🚶‍♂️The Benefits of Forward Motion🚶‍♀️

You'll have seen my stories recently, I've been trying to move my body more as a way to support processing and emotional wellbeing.

The neuroscience & research behind movement is extensive - both to down-regulate and up-regulate our nervous system.

Forward motion is a powerful tool we can include in our toolbox as a way of processing events, experiences and emotions and it doesn't have to be intense, it can be cycling or walking.

12/06/2025

I have spent the last 2-3 days in a state of sadness & rage watching neighbours & communities live in fear as my community wraps up racism in a guise of ‘protecting women & girls’

My space is safe here if you need it 💜

27/05/2025

🎁Teacher / End of Year Gifts🎁

I have some limited stock remaining of my Mindful Memo Notepads - these are on sale for £4.

A5, 100 page notepad suitable for popping in your bag or on your desk.

Incorporates space for your own:
✨ affirmation
✨mood tracker
✨gratitude diary
✨habit tracker
✨busy mind doodle space
✨5 Senses grounding technique

These have made lovely end of year gifts for teaching and support staff, I only have around 10-15 of these left - drop me a DM if you'd like one. P&P extra.

23/05/2025

🛟Regulation Bingo: Agitated State Edition🛟

Let's Play Regulation Bingo

Polyvagal theory acknowledges our neurophysiological responses to stress; it theorises 3 states: hyperarousal (agitation), hypoarousal (collapse) and rest.

Imagine your nervous system like a thermometer, our comfortable temperature (window of tolerance) will be unique to us; as the temperature rises (moving towards agitation) we'll have unique sensations and emotions. As it drops (moving into collapse) we'll experience unique sensations and emotions.
There are some exercises that we can do as our temperatures shift to bring us back into our window of tolerance.

Agitation can *feel* like needing to move our bodies - like there's so much pent up energy and we need to either beat the s**t out of something, or flee. It's energy. It's intense (when the temperature is hot) and we *need* release so...

Here are some for agitation (entering into hyperarousal):
✨count backwards in 7s
✨scream into a pillow
✨hold ice on wrists
✨box breathing
✨listen to birdsong
✨psychological sigh
✨punch a pillow
✨stamp feet on carpet (or pillow)
✨barefoot outside

Try the activities for 30 seconds to start.
Be mindful, if and where you can with the activity - notice the physical sensations of screaming into the pillow, for example: what do my vocal cords feel like, the temperature of the pillow when I scream, the rasp in my voice, the energy leaving my body.
If one doesn't work, don't be disheartened... try another; pause - breathe and go again.

As our nervous systems regulate, our cortex lights back up again (it switches off when we enter these states and we are wholly manned by our back brain (emotions)) - we connect back to reason, rationale and logic.

I'll pop some regulation bingo cards on my website as a downloadable resource at some point for you to include in your own toolkit 🙂

15/05/2025

🖊Creative Writing🖊

Creative writing, poetry, storytelling... art.. art in any form is incredibly therapeutic. We can connect more deeply with our feeling parts when we connect pen to paper.

Research completed by Baikie and Wilhelm (2005)(1) deduced that writing about stressful and traumatic events can improve both physical and mental health both in clinical and non-clinical environments.

When I am low or anxious I find myself more drawn to poetry and writing as a way of articulating and processing what I am experiencing.

Caleshu, Waterman and Kemp (2023) who completed research on the impact of poetry on mental health during Covid reported respondents "feeling closer to others, feeling better able to process their feeling about the pandemic, feeling less isolated and finding solace"(2)

Here is one of my more cheerier poems, inspired by beautiful women in flowing Spring dresses, surrounded by friendship and feminine music 💜

(1)Baikie, K.A. and Wilhelm, K. (2005) 'Emotional and physical health benefits of expressive writing,' Advances in Psychiatric Treatment, 11(5), pp. 338–346. https://doi.org/10.1192/apt.11.5.338.

Caleshu, A., Waterman, R. and Kemp, S. (2023) 'Poetry and COVID-19: the benefit of poetry and the poetryandcovidarchive.com website to mental health and wellbeing,' Journal of Poetry Therapy, 37(3), pp. 198–218. https://doi.org/10.1080/08893675.2023.2250921.

12/05/2025

🌎Mental Health Awareness Week 2025🌎

This year the theme is 'Community' - community can be a significant protective factor for someone living with and healing from mental illness.

Community can be a combination and collaboration of personal and professional connections.

Community is where we can unmask, be seen, heard and grow - somewhere where we feel people 'get us'.
We can also be community for others, by noticing, being curious and connecting someone with support.

Please pop into the comments any community - big or small, that has helped you on your journey

Helplines on the last slide 💜

25/04/2025

💨movement💨

I’ve been juggling with the idea of running again, last time I ran seriously I was in the throes of Postnatal depression & covid. Running became a lifeline at that time but, as I speak openly about here, I live with a chronic illness & running.. well it’s just not really good for the joints 🙈🤣

But, with the cherry blossoms in full bloom, a holiday behind me and the realisation that - “f**k; the people I work with show up EVERY fu***ng week & do the hard things”, I’m going to do the hard thing & show up for myself too (the domino effect means I’m showing up better for clients & my family 💜)

This could last a day, a week, a month or a year.. who knows: all of those things are ok. Because we try & in trying we don’t fail, we learn: what works & what doesn’t, what needs tweaked, what needs left alone.

So, anyway, I encourage you to try.. it doesn’t need to be the hardest thing (eating the frog first), it can be the easiest thing (gradual exposure).

05/04/2025

🖊Blog/Article: Self-Harm🖊

March was Self-Harm Awareness month; as a professional with lived experience I wanted to write something to help public and professionals increase compassion, decrease stigma and see the human behind the behaviour.

I've included some facts from my piece here, but you can read the whole thing for context by clicking the link in my bio.

This piece is about increasing UNDERSTANDING & I am including a *content warning* here, it does not focus on therapeutic support, self-help or recovery but it does include details of where to get support for anyone who needs it.

Link in bio: @mindfulmessagesni

(absolutely delighted for my article / blog to have been shared with staff in Trusts and charities in Northern Ireland 💜)

10/03/2025

🚑Anxiety Emergency Inserts🚑

Eek! So, my late night creative moment didn't really translate well into a reel on IG (sorry!) - the link also wasn't really working for people.

BUTTTTT

This should be it now -
✨FREE
✨DOWNLOAD & PRINT AT HOME

Link in bio to download from my website (IG) you can find it in the shop tab on my website 🙂

20/02/2025

✨Feedback✨

Little me is delighted; I completed some training for the Dental Foundation Trainees back in December; I was pretty upfront with the groups while there - I was feeling burned out and overwhelmed - we were all just holding out for that Christmas break, pushing on.
I was feeling apprehensive about the feedback but I think we all needed that reminder to look after ourselves and consider how work can have a massive impact on our wellbeing and how we need to step in and care for ourselves as early as possible.

I adore training, so if you'd like to get in touch to chat about wellbeing training for your organisation - pop me a little message 💜🙂

Address

Newtownabbey
Newtownabbey

Telephone

+447872177631

Website

https://bit.ly/mindfulmessagesNI

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