My Mission

Let me explain…

Despite the massive medical and scientific progress of our sophisticated society, we seem to be suffering more pain, not less. Research by Naomi I. Eisenberger, Matthew D. Lieberman, Kipling D. Williams at the Universities of California and Sydney, has revealed that emotional and physical pain are linked – the same areas of the brain are activated by both.

Probably the biggest part of my work is helping clients cope with their reactions to life’s ups and downs. Everyone these days seem to be so stressed and miserable. And it hurts.

I find that most clients need virtually the same skills, and so I take them through a process I’ve designed to help them acquire the tools and understanding they need to navigate through life with more peace, more fulfilment, greater satisfaction, better health and relationships – and with more ease.

I’ve noticed a trend over the years – increasing numbers of people seeing me with anxiety and stress. But why? Why do we seem to be suffering more problems? Why are we coping less well?

Is it because we’re doing the wrong things?

While we all have ways of coping with our lives, and use strategies to make ourselves feel better, some of those strategies will never give us what we truly need, and will create much bigger problems in the long term, than the original problem they were supposed to be fixing.

It’s no wonder we’re in the mess we’re in.

Look at these alarming statistics and imagine the pain people must be in to try to solve their problems through drink, drugs, food, relationships etc. And then imagine how much more pain they must be in, with these extra problems to deal with on top of the original issue.

Drug abuse

• Between 2008 and 2011, 41% of drug users successfully completed their recovery treatment and did not return. (What about the other 59%?)
• There are increasing numbers of over 40s receiving rehabilitation treatment. People over 40 constitute nearly a third of all those receiving treatment.

(National Treatment Agency)

Alcohol misuse

• Healthcare, crime and lost productivity due to alcohol abuse cost £21bn per year in England alone
• There has been an increase of over 9% in average alcohol consumption in the United Kingdom in the last three decades. (It has fallen elsewhere in Europe)
• 2.6 million children in the UK are estimated to be living with parents who are drinking hazardously

(Alcohol Concern)

Divorce Rate

• 42% of marriages in England and Wales end in divorce

(Office for National Statistics)

Anxiety & Depression

• 1 in 4 people will experience some kind of mental health problem in the course of a year
• Self-harm statistics for the UK show one of the highest rates in Europe: 400 per 100,000

(Mental Health Organisation)

Obesity

• In 2011, 24% of men, 26% of women and 9.5% of 4-5 year olds are obese

(Health and Social Care Information Centre, NHS)

Underage Sex

• The UK has the highest teenage birth and abortion rates in Western Europe (five times higher than the Netherlands, twice that of France and more than twice the rate in Germany.

(The Family Planning Association)

Stress

• Between 2011 and 2012, stress accounted for 40% of all work-related illness

(Health & Social Care Information Centre, NHS)

And I‘ve only got to mention school exams to send shivers up the spines of countless teenagers under pressure to perform.

It’s not looking good, and it’s not improving on its own – it’s getting worse. Surely, it’s got to be because a lot of people don’t have a better understanding of what they really need, and therefore aren’t in the best position to take care of themselves in a healthy way.

There’s so much misinformation (and much of it circulated by industries benefitting from it) – how are you supposed to know what’s good and what’s not good for you?

Instead, imagine this scene…

Everyone understands their emotions and what they’re really for,  and people take care of their physical and emotional needs in a safe and healthy way, not just for themselves, but in a way that is OK for everyone else too.

Imagine the difference that would make to all of us, and every day of our lives.

Jeremy Kyle would have to look for another job for a start!