HomeTagsPosts tagged with "therapy"

therapy

Chronic insomnia is a condition that affects millions of people all over the world, where individuals find it difficult or impossible to sleep.

The NHS Inform defines insomnia as a challenge to stay asleep “for long enough to feel refreshed the next morning." While it's treatable and can be targeted in a variety of ways, it can be hugely debilitating for those who suffer with it.

Changing your sleep habits, diagnosing underlying issues like mental or physical health condition or using over-the-counter sleeping medication can combat insomnia, but therapy can also help, according to a recent study.

The study, published in the British Journal of General Practice, has found that therapy may actually be the best choice of treatment.

Researchers at Queen's University Ontario, Canada, found that Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) helps to fight chronic insomnia successfully, despite the fact that it's often used to combat mental health problems like anxiety and depression.

CBT can apparently be used to change the way your mind thinks about sleep. It's regularly offered through a therapist with "the number of sessions you need depending on the difficulty you need help with.”

The British Association for Behavioural & Cognitive Psychotherapies describes CBT as therapy which is “based on the theory that thoughts, feelings, and what we do and how our body feels are all connected.”

The Guardian reports that the study was conducted through “four randomised control trials, with between 66 and 201 participants of mixed ages.”

Researchers from the trials found “that participants fell asleep on average nine to 30 minutes sooner after completing a course of CBT for insomnia and experienced a reduction of between 22 and 36 minutes in the amount of time spent awake after going to sleep.”

In the study, data analysts found that those who received CBT treatment for between four to six sessions found improvement with their insomnia and that these improvements “were generally well maintained for 3-12 months post-treatment.”

This was compared to the results of those who received treatment “in which the format or content veered substantially from conventional CBT which were less conclusive.”

With blue light from laptop and phone screens increasingly causing sleep disruption, and considering how hard it is to switch our brains off from the hectic attention-grabbing modern lifestyle, CBT therapy sounds great to us.

Trending

A smartphone app has been designed to manage negative emotions and periods of anxiety in order to reduce self-harm in young people, new data has revealed.

BlueIce is a prescribed app and is created to be used alongside face-to-face therapies, overseen by medical professionals.

Clinical psychologist Professor Paul Stallard, of the University of Bath, developed the app in conjunction with patient groups.

A number of papers published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research emphasise that the app could help tackle self-harm in young people.

Head of psychological therapies for Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, Prof Stallard, claims the idea for BlueIce came about as a result of his work with child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS).

“Many of the young people I was working with were self-harming but nearly all had their mobile phone close by,” he said.

“Our young people’s participation group at Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust thought that a smartphone app could be a way of helping at times of distress, and with their input we produced BlueIce," he continued

“It helps the young person to monitor and manage their unpleasant emotions and to find alternative ways of coping," Prof Stallard added.

“Feedback from young users has been overwhelmingly positive, and there’s a huge potential for it to make a difference to young lives across the UK and internationally.”

BlueIce refers to low mood and ICE (in case of emergency) and is now included on the NHS Apps Library, which holds apps which have undergone technical and clinical reviews.

The app has a mood wheel for young people to keep track of their mood every day, adding notes on their current emotions and actions

The user is immediately routed to a mood-lifting section if a low mood is reported, which has activities designed to reduce distress.

Options include ideas from Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), and personalised mindfulness guides, images and music.

BlueIce can also take users to emergency contacts like Childline and the 111 service.

Professor Stallard assessed the influence of using the app for three months on a group of 40 young people aged between 12 and 17.

He discovered that 73 percent of those involved either stopped self-harming or reduced it as a result of the app.

BlueIce is currently being used by CAMHS services in Bath, North East Somserset, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire.

It's also being evaluated in a randomised controlled trial undertaken across Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust and at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute in Melbourne.

Professor Stallard will start a trial in September to analyse whether BlueIce reduces the number of young people taken to A&E.

Trending

Amy Hart has opened up to Grazia Magazine about committing to therapy after leaving the Love Island villa, and the forgiving nature of women in the villa.

The former BA flight attendant has also commented on certain Islanders in particular, namely Maura Higgins' "ever-changing" definition of girl code and the two sides of Curtis Pritchard.

The blonde beauty quit the show after Curtis ended their 720 hour romance, following his head turning in Casa Amor and his new romance with Maura Higgins. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Amy Hart (@amyhartxo) on

Amy has been open about putting her mental health first, which has earned her fans from all over the world and celebrity support alike.

The former Islander also claims she "cannot fault" ITV for their improved after care, saying: “I’ve got 14 months of therapy guaranteed, but if I need it afterwards I can still have it.

"People have had a lot of bad things to say about them and they might have upped the aftercare, but it’s the same team who’ve worked on the show for five years. I don’t agree with the criticism – they are amazing.”

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Amy Hart (@amyhartxo) on

The suicides of former Love Island contestants Sophie Gradon and Mike Thalassitis has drawn criticism and increased scrutiny on ITV over the aftercare of the show.

The broadcaster recently announced a more intense duty of care process for participants on the show, including a minimum of eight therapy sessions.

According to Hart, all the contestants were briefed on the pressure of fame they would face when they exit the famous show, saying: “They told us, ‘You might be a star, but you might not’.

“‘Be aware you won’t be able to go back and work at Tesco afterwards because everyone will know who you are – your work life will change’. We were all very aware."

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by (@amyhartxo) on

Amy later blocked the words 'fat' and 'ugly' from appearing on her social media feed, but doesn't regret leaving despite the trolls.

She said: “When you’re thinking rationally you’d think this was all so stupid but it’s such a pressurised environment in there.

“Before leaving I just sat there and thought, ‘There are 17 other people in this villa but I am so lonely’. I went to the Beach Hut and just sobbed.”

She's got job opportunities coming out of her ears now, at least, with Loose Women calling her up to be a permanent guest panellist;

Derry Girls’ Nicola Coughlan said that Richard Curtis, creator of Notting Hill, texted her saying, ‘I never believed in the saying it’s better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all, until I watched Amy leave Love Island’".

“The king of romantic comedy! I made him believe in love," she adds, saying that she hasn't been disheartened from finding love again. David Walliams even slid into her DMs, which is an achievement.

The forgiving nature of women has also been commented on by fans;

"‘Yes, 100% we shouldn’t have blamed ourselves. But I was willing to hear all of that and work on myself to make it work," she says. "I did feel humiliated."

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by  (@amyhartxo) on

Her forgiveness of Curtis has moved on to unconcealed frustration, saying, "We’ve seen two different people in that villa, the Curtis that I knew and the Curtis now. I don’t know which one’s real, because they can’t both be."

Amy has wisely decided not to watch Love Island, but she's aware that Maura and Curtis got together just days after her exit. Maura, she says, definitively does not follow Girl Code;

"The thing with Maura is that she has an ever-changing definition of Girl Code. She constantly moves the goalposts to suit her situation. And then suddenly she decided we were never friends. And I will maintain this forever: we weren’t best friends but we did have a close friendship."

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by  (@curtispritchard12) on

When asked if she's have happiness for Curtis if he wins the show, Amy replied;

"If I say no that will be the headline!" she says. "If he’s happy I’m happy. If he’s happy and they win that’s fine. No one will beat Tommy and Molly, though I really want Anna and Jordan to win."

Unfortunately, Anna and Jordan have been in the bottom three multiple times and now Jordan's head is getting turned by India, who is coupled up with Ovie. So that ship has most likely sailed…

Feature image: Instagram/@brett_d_cove

Trending

Ex-Islander Amy Hart has opened up about being forced to seek psychological help 12 times during her stint on Love Island following her break-up with Curtis Pritchard.

The air hostess walked out of the villa voluntarily last week and had to leave at least once to get help as she was in such an emotional distress.

She has now opened up about her heartbreak while on Love Island: Aftersun, revealing that she had to make use of the show's therapist on a dozen different occasions.

"I had therapy 12 times in the villa – but I've come out stronger," she told OK! magazine. "I deserve a man who loves me for who I am."

Amy had never had a boyfriend before meeting Curtis, and was destroyed following his decision to end things with her.

The shock move came after his head was turned by Jourdan Riane while Amy went to Casa Amor. Curtis also told her that he couldn't see a future with her on the outside, or marriage and kids.

The professional dancer decided to be brutally honest with the blonde bombshell, who sobbed in the Beach Hut and proclaimed that she couldn't stay and watch him crack on with other women.

Strictly Come Dancing professional and Curtis' brother AJ has claimed that Amy DM'ed him while speaking on talkRADIO.

"She spoke to me. She sent me a message actually afterwards and said she feels like she knows the family and she could only praise Curtis about being honest," he said.

AJ admitted that his brother was too ruthless while speaking to Amy about his feelings;

"Sometimes he was maybe a bit too brutally honest. He could have let her down a bit softer rather than saying, 'yes, I don't see myself marrying you and having kids with you'. "That was harsh, I'm not lying, it was harsh."

AJ and Curtis' mum Debi has also said that she'd like to meet the woman who had her heart broken by her son; "I would like to meet Amy. My heartache is there for Amy and for the parents," she said.

She continued; "When I watched the moment when Curtis told her how he felt, I couldn't stop crying because of all the emotion. I wanted to reach out and give Amy a hug.

"I was thinking of Amy’s mum a lot and I'm so happy Amy is with her family unit now because I know she will be fine and her and Curtis will be friends," she added,

Amy has a new look and seems better than ever, thank the Lord. She's 100 percent stronger after the experience, and we're proud that she speaks so openly about mental health.

Feature image: Twitter/@amyhart1707

Trending

Black Panther star Michael B. Jordan has revealed to Oprah Winfrey during a SuperSoul Conversation toping that he went to therapy after playing Killmonger.

The 31-year-old opened up about how he spent 'a lot of time alone; before and during filming the Oscar-nominated Marvel flick, and admitted that he found it 'tough to readjust to people caring about me".

He added how valuable it was to "be in this lonely place as long as I could" for the film; "I started talking to people, started unpacking a little bit. I was by myself, isolating myself. I figured Erik Killmonger's childhood growing up was lonely."

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by bisexual Guy named Nakia(kirby (@kirby_fandoms) on

He described his character's solitary and angry upbringing after the murder of his father;

"He didn’t have a lot of people he could talk to about this place called Wakanda that didn’t exist,’ he added. "It was a little tough for me at first. Readjusting to people caring about me, getting that love that I shut out. I shut out love, I didn’t want love."

He described how therapy helped him to progress past those feelings, and called on men to remember it’s more than okay to do so.

"Your mind is so powerful. Your mind will get your body past a threshold that it would have given up on way before,’" he said. "Honestly, therapy, just talking to somebody just helped me out a lot. As a man, you get a lot of slack for it, I don’t really subscribe to that. Everyone needs to unpack and talk."

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Michael B. Jordan (@michaelbjordan) on

The ground-breaking movie has an all-star predominantly black cast, and is nominated for seven Academy Awards; it's also the first superhero film to be nominated for Best Picture ever.

Michael's character is presumed to be dead, but a body was never recovered, leaving that spot open for a sequel return.

Angela Bassett, who played Ramonda, was asked if ‘everybody’ would be coming back for Black Panther 2 on SAGs red carpet: "I would assume so… We didn’t see him Killmonger go into the ocean did we?"

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Black Panther (@blackpanther) on

The film has become a hugely important cultural milestone for cinema, with the cast winning outstanding performance in a motion picture at the SAG Awards.

 Chadwick Boseman, who plays Black Panther, delivered a rousing acceptance speech expressing the value of being "young, gifted and black";

 "We all know what it’s like to be told that there is not a place for you to be featured, yet you are young, gifted and black. ‘We know what it’s like to be told there’s not a screen for you to be featured on, a stage for you to be featured on." 

The 41-year-old concluded;

"We knew that we had something special that we wanted to give the world, that we could be full human beings in the roles that we were playing, that we could create a world that exemplified a world that we wanted to see."

Feature image: moviedash.com

Trending

Former Friends actor Matthew Perry has been battling addiction for many years, but his fans are worried about his welfare after his latest tweet.

The 49-year-old's weight has hugely fluctuated over the years of his substance abuse, with reports of pancreatitis after his Vicodin addiction and use of methadone, amphetamines, and alcohol. 

He entered rehab in 1997, 2001 and 2015, the BBC reported. He also told that publication in 2016 that he barely remembered filming three seasons of Friends.

He tweeted this morning; "I got kicked out of therapy today," leading many fans to worry that he's slipping back into substance abuse.

The post comes only five months after he tweeted in September that he had spent three months in hospital to undergo surgery to repair a ruptured bowel.

He told his followers, "Three months in a hospital bed. Check."

Image: In Touch Weekly

He spoke to ABC News in 2018, saying; "Mostly it was drinking and opiates. I think I was pretty good at hiding it from my Friends co-stars but eventually people are aware."

The actor says he has used his abuse issues to aid fellow addicts, telling The Hollywood Reporter:

"I've had a lot of ups and downs in my life and a lot of wonderful accolades, but the best thing about me is that if an alcoholic comes up to me and says, 'Will you help me stop drinking?' I will say, 'Yes. I know how to do that.'" 

We wish him a healthy recovery, and hope that he's taking care of his mental health too.

Feature image: Variety

Trending

By Shauna Coen 

Most of us have a friend who 'just needs to vent' on a regular basis.

She calls you up at all hours, blind to the fact it’s 2am on a Tuesday, to unload the latest crisis in her drama-filled relationship with the same man you’ve repeatedly implored her to break up with.

Whether you’re a self-proclaimed therapist or the great responsibility of giving advice was bestowed upon you unwillingly, giving guidance and support is what makes a good friend. But what if shouldering that role starts to take a toll on you emotionally?

'You’re such a good listener.' 'You give great advice.' I’ve been told these lines numerous times by friends.

They filled me with warmth and buckets of pride. Most people need an outlet to unload all their concerns and problems that arise in their lives, and for a long time I wanted to be that sounding board for my friends. It stemmed from a desire to be needed – to be the person someone could rely on. 

In secondary school I was the friend who’d spend her lunch in the girls’ bathroom, comforting a friend over a poor grade or offering advice on a case of unrequited love. I rarely missed an opportunity to prove my worth as a friend.

Lending an empathetic ear and offering advice to those close to me felt rewarding. But recently it started to become too much. The weight of my friends’ problems was dragging me down. They had become overly dependent on me for support and coupled with my own challenges in life, a burnout was imminent. But what could I say?

Nowadays, if you mention that you’re unavailable, you’re automatically thrown into the bad friend category.

People can get defensive and arguments can form over a lack of understanding. Even the smallest sign of feeling overwhelmed by other people’s personal problems can be regarded as a character flaw if it is not communicated properly. According to Siobhan Murray, a behavioural change therapist at Twisting The Jar, these situations can be avoided by creating 'healthy boundaries.' 

'It’s about creating our own personal boundaries, looking after ourselves first in order to be a good friend' says Murray. After all, how helpful can we really be if we’re constantly feeling drained or overwhelmed? 'I think regardless of age, Irish people equate self care with being selfish.'

That our friends wouldn’t like us if we say no or 'sorry, I can’t help.' In her book, The Four Tendencies, best-selling author Gretchen Rubin breaks down what she denotes as four different personality profiles – Upholder, Questioner, Obligor and Rebel.

The obligor is the person who puts everyone else first. They don’t like to see anyone hurting and they feel that they can help. As quite a sensitive person I knew I perfectly matched these characteristics. When it comes to one-sided relationships, the person that’s left out in the cold can start to feel bad about the entire arrangement.

I was absorbing all their stress but no one was listening to me and feelings of resentment were creeping in.

'If we don’t look after ourselves first and we’re constantly saying yes to our friends, then long term it can lead to resentment because it’s not being reciprocated and as human beings, we valued being valued. If we’re not being valued, we can resent,' says Murray.

A lot of the time, friends just want an ear to listen to but what can happen is we get sucked in and think we need to fix it or give an opinion and get emotionally involved. 'Sometimes just offering an ear to listen to and be able to say “look, I don’t have the answers to this but I’m here for you” is enough,' says Murray.

But how can you tell a friend you need to step back without hurting them in the process? Murray suggests that discussing anything regarding boundaries should be dealt with using kindness and love and must come from a good place. 'If you say, “you know what I’m free at this certain time; unfortunately I can’t speak right now because I’m in work"' or wherever you are.

'Then if that friend takes that up as you don’t care, that’s their problem, not yours,' says Murray. My friend who was dealing with issues at work kept calling to give late night monologues despite my quiet protests that I was up for 7am. Although I really did care for her, my words were not genuine because I was honestly tired of listening.

I was not in a position to offer real compassion and understanding.

'In cases like this it’s important to take a step back and acknowledge that they are hurting. But you shouldn’t have to suffer, being a good friend doesn’t mean you are required to feel exactly how they feel,' says Murray.

Instead of digging myself further into a hole, I spoke out, not only to her but a few friends and explained that there needed to be some boundaries. A girl needs her beauty sleep.

They took it surprisingly well and I was able to work through my own obstacles and challenges in life which in the end gave me more time to spend with my friends and actually be present.

We’re all so bad at setting our own boundaries.

But one of the key ingredients of a healthy friendship is a sense of balance. Being empathetic can be a wonderful, endearing trait.

Just don’t forget that your own needs are met too- be a good friend to yourself.

Trending

From smashing lipsticks to ASMR videos to watching pottery spin, there are plenty of self care and relaxation-based videos on the internet.

Some videos, such as makeup destruction and bath bomb art, are inexplicably soothing.

Scrolling through Instagram, we stumbled upon these amazing glitter mixing videos, and were completely mesmerised. 

 Uploaded by Jazzy Glitter, the colour and texture combinations are amazingly relaxing, as well as making us seriously excited for festival season.

Jazzy Glitter is an epic Etsy store, selling hand mixed glitter makeup for festivals and costumes.

 

A post shared by Jazzy Glitter (@jazzy_glitter) on

With a huge repertoire of  shades and glitter styles, we could watch these mixing videos for hours.

From the hypnotic brush swirls to the shimmering sparkles, we're hooked.

Check them out for yourself:

 

 

A post shared by Jazzy Glitter (@jazzy_glitter) on

 

A post shared by Jazzy Glitter (@jazzy_glitter) on

 

A post shared by Jazzy Glitter (@jazzy_glitter) on

Feature image: Instagram / Jazzy_glitter

Trending

As Hollywood stars go, Robert Pattison tends to fly under the radar, for the most part.

Despite becoming a household name as a teenager and enduring a high-profile break-up with former co-star, Kristen Stewart, Robert appears to have maintained a fairly stable equilibrium in a notoriously difficult industry.

Discussing this during a recent interview with The Telegraph, the 31-year-old credits regular therapy and a positive social circle for his triumphs.

"I had good agents and stuff and I’ve had really good friends since the beginning," he explained.

"So I think when it gets dangerous for people is when you have no friends and you think, ‘Oh, if I get strangers to love me then it will fill that hole’. And then when it doesn’t fill the hole then you go 10 times crazier."

Like many in the spotlight, Robert says he has benefitted massively from seeing a therapist – an element of his life he says left his parents relatively stunned.

"I was like, ‘Why is that a bad thing?'” he remembers. “There’s just this weird stigma. It’s so strange… But I think it’s a sort of throwback attitude.”

An advocate of seeking help and guidance when necessary, the Twilight star was quick to communicate the importance therapy plays in his life, simply saying: “I don’t know how you’re supposed to do… life without it.”
 

Trending

In a very strange turn of events, former Girls Aloud member, Nadine Coyle, has revealed she is studying to be a psychiatrist.

The 30-year-old shared a photo on her Instagram page of a a hoodie, with writing on the front saying, "I don't need therapy, I just need to listen to Nadine Coyle."

She captioned the photo, "Funny that. I am studying to be a psychiatrist."

But she did reveal that it may be a while until we can walk into Dr Coyle's office, adding to her caption, "in possibly 10 years."

She was also quick to point out that she's not turning her back on music, as she said on the end of the post, "ps I'm still a singer."

Whether she is being real or not, we don't know. But it'll be fairly strange to go to therapy and see a former Girls Aloud singer pop out of the office. 

Trending

Selena Gomez is currently in counselling after being fat shamed for a bikini snap she posted in May. 

The Revival singer told US Weekly that the criticism was so extreme that she had to seek professional help and confessed she was mocked over her body when she would travel.

"I'd land at the airport and people would yell out, 'You're fat!'. It was awful."

But the 23-year-old said it was the first time she heard anybody talk about her figure. 

"I've been working since I was seven, this was the first year I ever dealt with anyone talking about my body."

"Even if I did gain weight, I'm fine. That's what the picture represents."

She also addressed her weight issue in November's upcoming issue of Flare Magazine

"I was really bummed when I found out all that stuff was going on, and that's when I was like, 'I'm so tired of feeling like I'm being pulled down by something'."

But the former Disney star insisted that she has only grown from the negative experience. 

"Each year, I'm becoming more who I am. I have a little more self-awareness. I feel confident and free."

"I'm not going to hide in my room and be depressed."

And we don't blame her, because she looked smoking hot on the cover of her Revival album, which she said felt really good to do. 

"Being naked is amazing," said Selena.

We only wished we looked that good naked, Ms Gomez!

Trending

When you go through something tough in life, or when you’re just feeling down, it can be hard to know whether the way you’re feeling is normal, or if you could benefit from seeing a professional. Here are five occasions when getting professional help is a really good idea:

If it’s affecting your daily life
If you just can’t concentrate any more, don’t want to socialise or you just can’t seem to muster up motivation for anything, then perhaps talking to a professional could help you get back on track.

You’ve tried everything else
If you’ve tried all the usual things such as talking to a friend, exercising or meditation, but nothing seems to have changed, then it’s a totally valid reason to go to see a therapist.

You can’t talk to your family anymore
It’s great to be able to talk to your family and friends, but if things are really bad, and you feel like you can’t tell them anymore, then you need to see someone whose job it is to listen, and who isn’t emotionally involved. The difference this makes is immense.

You start abusing some kind of substance
Whether it’s food or alcohol, or something entirely different, the minute you start abusing something is the minute you know it’s time to see a professional. Becoming dependent on something like this isn’t healthy, for your body or your mind.

People are starting to notice
If your friends have mentioned that you haven’t been yourself lately, then you know it’s gotten to a stage where you can’t hide it anymore. This is proof of the extent of your stress, so you should definitely seek out a good therapist.

Remember, the sooner you get help, the sooner you’ll feel like yourself again.

Trending