Lindsay Wilkinson, Consultant Clinical Psychologist

31/01/2022

28/01/2022

Check out the awesome posts on mostlyadhd. This one really spoke to me of the experience a lot of the people I work with have

16/05/2020

This is a useful article for us all at this time

Why You Always Feel Tired, Even If You're Moving Less Than Ever

The coronavirus pandemic has us exercising and moving around less, yet we have no energy. What gives?

06/05/2020

I'm posting this attached video on revived from the corona virus not to worry people but to help them to think about loved ones and themselves if they contract the virus. We need to think about the help and support that people might need and the fact that this may need to go on for weeks or even months after they are no longer experiencing the obvious symptoms. If people don't think about this, they might put too much pressure on themselves or loved ones to 'get back to normal' and may become irritated or impatient if that doesn't happen in the timescale expected.

I particularly draw your attention to the tiredness and mental health issues that might occur. People have a habit of thinking that tiredness is something you should ignore or push past and that giving in to it is weak or a failing. When your body is recovering from an illness it needs more sleep as sleep is the primary time that repairs to the body can occur. Damage to the lungs can also mean that oxygen delivery is impaired which makes everything use more energy and thus even everyday tasks use the same energy that would normally be taken up going for a run.

Feeling anxious, depressed or having other symptoms such as flashbacks or panic attacks is not a sign of weakness after a serious illness. It is very common for people to become more anxious after they consider that they might have died and struggle with any prolonged recovery. The absence of visitors will make this worse as people won't have had the opportunity to reality check their fears whilst in hospital or be supported or reassured so they may have had long periods of time with nothing to do but worry about their future. This can hit people who have never suffered from anxiety or depression particularly hard as they don't have the skills or experience to fall back on and others around them may not think to check in on them. Its also very hard to become reliant on others for a prolonged period if you have always been the strong one and the pressure to be fine and get back to normal as quickly as possible might be very high.

You may also experience high levels of anxiety or depression or even post traumatic stress symptoms if it wasn't you who was ill but a loved one. Worrying about them, again particularly when you can't visit them, may push your anxiety levels through the roof and many of our normal support systems are missing right now. If your partner has ended up in hospital, you may have a whole range of feelings that you don't think you should talk about as you are now supporting their recovery and as you are having to be the strong one whilst they recover.

If you are struggling and finding this difficult, you aren't alone. Try to access your support network via videochat or phone - you aren't bothering them, they would rather help than watch you suffer. If this doesn't help or you have a limited support network, there are a range of resources available to you. Call your gp and ask them what resources are available via the nhs or look up other resources at :

https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/urgent-support/

If that doesn't give you the help you need and you need more in depth support for yourself or your loved one, please don't hesitate to get in touch and we can chat about whether I can help.

BBC News - Coronavirus: How long it takes to recover
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-52508831

Feeling stressed, anxious, low or struggling to sleep? Every Mind Matters and One You can help with expert advice and practical tips. Start the fightback to a healthier you today.

28/03/2020

Quite a useful article for parents. Watch out for getting into unhelpful cycles with your kids such as finding clingy behaviour too much and then pushing them away, pushing them extra hard to do school work when they can't concentrate etc.

Remember too that you may well be going through a lot of these feelings and difficulties yourself so compassion all round is needed. You will have moments where you lose your temper and don't parent by the text book - that's normal! Try stopping to calm back down, and chatting it through with your kids. Apologising for losing your temper or not doing something perfectly doesn't make you weak - it teaches your kids that everyone messes up and the important thing is to apologise and then try to learn from your mistakes.

Most importantly remember this is new to everyone and no one knows exactly how to react. We're all just doing our best to survive and being up front and honest about that as a family may well help all of you get through

Child psychologists share their advice for concerned parents during this time of uncertainty.

20/03/2020

I just wanted to update you on what changes I am making in light of the corona virus spreading across the country. Following government guidance, I am going to be practicing social distancing for the next few months as I fall into one of the vulnerable categories. This means I won’t be able to offer face to face appointments but will instead be moving to using video or telephone calls for sessions. I can use a range of technologies, depending on your preference (although unfortunately I don’t have access to facetime) and am happy to arrange sessions flexibly as usual.

If you aren’t familiar with video calling, don’t worry it is really easy to use. If you have a smart phone, a tablet, a laptop or a pc with a we**am attached, you will be able to connect easily enough. If you don’t have software for video calling already set up, let me know and I will send you a link to connect to me on skype which will talk you through the process of downloading the appropriate software and setting up an account (there is no cost to use such software). If you don’t have the appropriate technology or don’t like using videotechnology, let me know and we can discuss what alternatives might be available to you.

I will still be available for phone calls and to respond to emails as usual so if you are struggling through this difficult time. If you are anxious and stressed and are just needing a little extra support, don’t hesitate to get in touch and we can arrange a session time or just have a chat as needed.

Please take care of yourselves and your loved ones. This is a strange, unprecedented time and it is hard to deal with the uncertainty out there. Be kind to yourselves and others around you and we can all get through this intact

Best wishes

Lindsay

14/03/2020

With all the worry out there, this might be helpful

You might be worried about coronavirus (also known as COVID-19) and how it could affect your life. This may include being asked to stay at home or avoid other people.

25/12/2019

For those of you struggling at Xmas, you aren't alone

04/06/2019

Managing Trauma

Bad things happen to everyone, no matter how much one tries to avoid them. Whether this is an accident, the loss of a loved one, the end of a relationship or being bullied at work, experiencing a trauma can leave you struggling to manage for prolonged periods.

How people respond to a trauma is affected by a whole range of things such as the beliefs they have about themselves and the world, the support they have and the ongoing impact of the trauma on their life. Some people seem able to shake off the bad event and move on whereas others can find themselves in a nightmare which they don’t feel able to escape.

Experience bad reactions immediately after a traumatic event is normal but sometimes it is so severe it prevents you living your life, or the symptoms persist longer than you would expect. When this happens, people often need professional help to find their way back to their lives. A severe reaction that lasts for more than 6 months post trauma and is characterised by nightmares, flashbacks, avoidance of events reminding you of the trauma, as well as a range of other symptoms, can be a sign that you have developed post traumatic stress disorder (commonly known as PTSD) and may need professional help. The success rate of treatments for PTSD are high so don’t lose hope, you can get your life back but try and seek help as soon as you realise that you are struggling.

There are some things that you can do post trauma to reduce the chances that you will go on to develop PTSD. The first of these is talk about the event with people who are supportive and who understand. Talking about what happened helps you to process the events and make sense of them. It also helps you to do the other thing that really helps, challenge any unhelpful sense of self blame. Lot of people who survive traumatic events blame themselves inappropriately for what happened. Talking to supportive people around you can help you to get a more objective picture of what happened. Finally, you can improve your chances of surviving by trying to get back as much as possible to life as usual. You may feel more anxious when travelling to certain places or doing certain things, but it will get easier with time and avoiding things only postpones the inevitable.

Remember though if you can’t find your way back to life after a trauma, its not a sign of failure or weakness, you are just one of the many people who need a little extra help to get over the something awful that has happened to them. If you think you do need some extra help, feel free to message me to see if I can help or contact a support service such as MIND at www.mind.org.uk

05/03/2019

I seem to always be promoting coursera videos - I think I might have to start asking them for a fee....

When looking through courses I came across a course called the philosophy of emotions. I have watched the first week and it looks like a pretty useful introduction to the subject for people who have difficulties in this area. I do need to give a heads up that the presenter is a little difficult to understand at times but I think it may well be worth persisting with. I would be really interested for feedback if anyone accesses the course:

https://www.coursera.org/learn/emotions/home/week/1



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