Actualise

23/01/2026

🌿 Stress isn’t “just in your head”—it’s a full-body experience.

When we’re under constant pressure, our bodies stay locked in fight-or-flight mode. This isn’t just exhausting; it’s systemic. Chronic stress triggers a flood of cortisol and adrenaline that can eventually disrupt almost every system you have.

Here’s some of what’s actually happening beneath the surface:

🦠 Immune System: Constant stress suppresses your natural defenses, making you more susceptible to viruses and slowing down your ability to heal.

♥️ Heart Health: It keeps your heart rate and blood pressure elevated, which over time increases the risk of hypertension, heart attack, and stroke.

🥑 Digestive Issues: Ever get a “nervous stomach”? Stress can cause bloating, acid reflux, or IBS flare-ups by altering gut motility and damaging your intestinal barrier.

🧠 Brain Function: Prolonged cortisol exposure can actually shrink parts of the brain responsible for memory and focus, leading to “brain fog” and emotional reactivity.

⚡️ Metabolism: It often leads to insulin resistance and weight gain, as the body tries to store extra energy for a “threat” that never actually arrives.

Your body isn’t designed to run on high alert 24/7. Taking a moment to breathe isn’t just “self-care”—it’s a biological necessity to help your systems reset and repair.

Drop a “🌿” if you’re prioritising your peace today.

22/11/2025

🌿 The impact of trauma is shaped not only by the event itself, but by the response that follows.
When someone’s pain is overlooked, minimized, or unsupported, the effects can deepen and become far more complex.

If you’re still carrying the weight of what you went through—and the absence of care that followed—please remember:

You were worthy of support then, and you are worthy of support now 💚

Healing is possible with the right resources, relationships, and environments. No one is meant to navigate it alone 🌿

📧 I’m currently accepting counselling / psychotherapy clients, so please DM or email me if you’d like to work with me online, by telephone, or face-to-face.

💚 Social Media is not therapy - please reach out to your GP or other qualified professionals for support with your mental health.

The Samaritans (116 123), Shout 85258, or NHS 111 / 999 are also there if you need support urgently 💚

24/03/2025

🌿Hello!🌿

I’ve been working with a lot of clients who are trying to navigate very stressful lives lately, so I thought it would be good for me to touch base with some theory around stress and share some knowledge.

My approach to any mental wellbeing challenges we all face is to provide psychoeducation around the issue. Knowledge is power, and if we know what we’re up against, it can make things seem a little less scary, remind us that we’re entirely normal humans, and empower us to confront and change what’s keeping us stuck.

I’ll be posting more about self-help strategies for stress soon, so please follow if you’re interested in finding out more 🙂

How do you cope with stress? Let me know in the comments 👇

🌿Thanks for reading and take care of yourselves, Donna 🌿

📧 I’m currently accepting new counselling/ psychotherapy clients, so please do DM or email me if you’d like to work with me online, by telephone, or face-to-face.

💚 Social Media is not therapy - please reach out to your GP or other qualified professionals for support with your mental health. The Samaritans (116 123), Shout 85258, or NHS 111 / 999 are also there if you need support urgently

19/11/2024

🌿 A post for International Men’s Day 2024 🌿

I’ve had the privilege of working with lots of men who’ve had the strength to share their struggles, their biggest secrets, and shown the vulnerability they’ve been told time and again they’re not allowed to show.

I’m so proud of the achievements all my clients make through engaging in therapy, but I (and I’m sure lots of other therapists feel the same), still wish I got the opportunity to work with more men.

Let’s keep bucking the trend, think really hard about the cultural normative stereotypes we sometimes conform to, stop engaging in “toxic masculinity,” and support the men in our lives to access the help they deserve 💚

🌿 Talking really can help 🌿

📧 I’m currently accepting new counselling/ psychotherapy clients, so please do DM or email me if you’d like to work with me online, by telephone, or face-to-face.

💚 Social Media is not therapy - please reach out to your GP or other qualified professionals for support with your mental health. The Samaritans (116 123), Shout 85258, or NHS 111 / 999 are also there if you need support urgently

07/11/2024

🌿 I’ve had this post prepped for a while, but given what’s been going on lately, it felt right to share it now.

Evaluating our Circle of Control can really help us to figure out what’s causing us to feel stressed or anxious, to find ways of changing or eliminating stressors, or to accept that we cannot control or influence the outcome of many situations or events.

We spend so much energy worrying about the things we can’t control. Sometimes granting ourselves permission to just focus on “controlling the controllable” can bring us the mental peace a lot of us need right now 🌿

What else have you accepted you can’t control, and how did doing that help you? 👇

📧 I’m currently accepting new counselling/ psychotherapy clients, so please do DM or email me if you’d like to work with me online, by telephone, or face-to-face.

💚 Social Media is not therapy - please reach out to your GP or other qualified professionals for support with your mental health. The Samaritans (116 123), Shout 85258, or NHS 111 / 999 are also there if you need support urgently

04/11/2024

🌿Happy Monday, Everyone!

Here we are at the beginning of another week, at that time of year when stress levels seem to go nuclear (🎄🎁🤦🏼‍♀️)

There are loads of reasons to look after ourselves better as the weather gets colder and the nights get longer, but we often overlook the detrimental role that high stress levels play in our mental and physical wellbeing - especially when it comes to keeping our immune systems in good shape to fend off all the viruses that thrive in the colder months 🦠🤧

These are some of the things myself and my clients do to help us to let it all out and stay better regulated - what would you add?👇🌿

📧 I’m currently accepting counselling/ psychotherapy clients, so please do DM or email me if you’d like to work with me online, by telephone, or face-to-face.

💚 Social Media is not therapy - please reach out to your GP or other qualified professionals for support with your mental health. The Samaritans (116 123), Shout 85258, or NHS 111 / 999 are also there if you need support urgently

19/10/2024

🌿 One of the key things us therapists listen for are the little, harsh words that get added - “I can’t believe I was so STUPID,” “I’m just RUBBISH at my job,” “Perhaps it’s ALL MY FAULT,” “I’m a S@!T communicator, that’s why no one listens to me.”

When we hear these statements of self-blame, self-doubt, and sometimes downright self-sabotage, we’re hoping that by bringing them to your attention, together we can then start to challenge that inner-dialogue, instead of letting it have total control over how you think, feel, and act 🌿

📧 I currently have space for 1 client, so please do DM or email me if you’d like to work with me online, by telephone, or face-to-face.

💚Social Media is not therapy - please reach out to your GP or other qualified professionals for support with your mental health. The Samaritans (116 123), Shout 85258, or NHS 111 / 999 are also there if you need support urgently.

19/10/2024

New Blog just published!
https://wix.to/O65yrtf

After describing the causes, symptoms, and effects of Burnout Syndrome (BOS) in the first part of this blog, October's blog focuses on....

12/10/2024

🌿 If you find yourself struggling with anxiety of any type, anxiety or panic attacks, or are working through PTSD or C-PTSD, then you’ll know that unexpected stressors or triggers can rapidly lead to your nervous system becoming dysregulated.

One way to plan ahead for these often inevitable events and situations, and their consequences, is to have a Distress Tolerance Kit with you wherever you go.

The idea is to keep your kit small - (think make up bag / pencil case size), and to fill it with lots of things which stimulate one of each of your 5 senses; things that will help you to self-soothe and distract yourself from incapacitating thoughts, feelings, and emotions 👀👂👐👃👅

This post has lots of ideas for things you could put in your personalised kit to help you re-regulate your nervous system more quickly and comfortably.

I hope you find it useful 💚🌿

📱📧 I currently have space for 1 client, so please do DM or email me if you’d like to work with me 🙂. I work online, by telephone, and face-to-face.

❌ Social Media is not therapy - please reach out to your GP or other qualified professionals for support with your mental health. The Samaritans (116 123), Shout 85258, or NHS 111 / 999 are also there if you need support urgently 💚

31/03/2024

🌿 Most of us experience mild levels of stress on a daily basis. It’s normal to feel stressed before an exam or job interview, however it’s not normal when stress becomes pervasive, damages our physical and mental wellbeing, and starts interfering with the enjoyment of our daily lives 😔

Some easy and helpful ways of handling the pressure could include:

💚 Exercise - (something you actually enjoy doing)
💚 Getting enough sleep
💚 Eating healthily and regularly
💚 Mindfulness and Meditation
💚 Self-care
💚 Having fun!!
💚 Building a solid support network
💚 Socialising
💚 Offloading with friends
💚 Adopting grounding techniques
💚 Journaling
💚 Getting creative (art, singing, acting)
💚 Laughing
💚 Leaving your work phone / computer alone when you’re not at work 🌿

How do you cope with stress? Is there anything you’d add to this list? I’d love to hear from you!👇

📱📧 I currently have a waiting list, but please do DM or email me if you’d like to work with me. I work online, by telephone, and face-to-face.

❌ Social Media is not therapy - please reach out to your GP or other qualified professionals for support with your mental health. The Samaritans (116 123), Shout 85258, or NHS 111 / 999 are also there if you need support urgently 💚

28/03/2024

🌿I’ll admit it 🙋‍♀️ it’s been a while since I practiced gratitude and it’s something me and my clients have been exploring a lot in session lately.

So, in the interest of practicing what I offer as a helpful option (never, ever preach!), I thought it would be good to re-engage with something that’s helped with my own mental wellbeing in the past too 💚🌿

P.S. Given the strength of the wind tearing through my garden right now, someone might need to remind the weather about it “officially being Spring” 🧐😂

What are you grateful for today? I’d love to hear from you!👇

📱📧 I currently have a waiting list, but please do DM or email me if you’d like to work with me soon 🙂. I work online, by telephone, and face-to-face.

❌ Social Media is not therapy - please reach out to your GP or other qualified professionals for support with your mental health. The Samaritans (116 123), Shout 85258, or NHS 111 / 999 are also there if you need support urgently 💚

25/03/2024

🌿Feeling anxious about places, people, situations, or objects are normal reactions, but most of the time, the physical and psychological effects of anxiety they provoke are short-lived, and we mange to push ourselves to confront, adapt, and overcome our apprehension.

But what happens when anxiety becomes too much for us to handle and we avoid those things which cause us to feel extreme fear? This is a phobia. A debilitating, anxiety-based reaction which limits us and the way we would like to live our lives.

The anxiety induced by phobias, whatever they might be, is very difficult to live with, but we can learn to tolerate them and even overcome them through engaging in talking therapies such as counselling, psychotherapy, and CBT. Hypnotherapy is also an excellent way of working through phobias - the choice is yours 🙂💚🌿

Are you living with Aquaphobia? Have you had therapy to overcome it? How did it help you and what’s your life like now? I’d love to hear from you all!👇

📱📧 I currently have a waiting list, but please do DM or email me if you’d like to work with me soon 🙂. I work online, by telephone, and face-to-face.

❌ Social Media is not therapy - please reach out to your GP or other qualified professionals for support with your mental health. The Samaritans (116 123), Shout 85258, or NHS 111 / 999 are also there if you need support urgently 💚