Stress, road rage, queue rage, rage in general, and how to give it up

April 22, 2021 Penny Metcalf

Stress is a significant factor in many mental and physical health issues. From anxiety and inability to concentrate to eczema, IBS, insomnia and heart disease, so many of our issues are related to stress, but do we give it the attention that it deserves? A short meditation a day can change how you experience life and it is free. It is easy to do, you just have to find five or ten minutes a day to do it. That is not so easy.

How to use mindfulness and meditation to let go of stress, road rage, queue rage, rage in general

How to beat depression and anxiety in lockdown 2021

January 29, 2021 Penny Metcalf

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It is the end of January 2021. Did anyone make any goals or resolutions? Did anyone stick to them? Are people feeling generally stuck and that although on the one hand we have endless amounts of time, on the other we don’t really have the time to do the things we want, or need, to do? Are we feeling like we aren’t doing much but what we are doing is taking up a lot of effort, and we are too tired to do any more things?

These are some of the things that I am hearing from clients and friends. I would be interested to hear your take on this time and how you are feeling right now.

Accepting that things are hard right now and that it is normal to struggle with this situation can be a relief in itself. There are also many things that we can do to ease these feelings and to make a life a bit easier.

Cats, mice, Covid and lockdown in 2020

November 23, 2020 Penny Metcalf

The cat is very cute when it is asleep but when it is awake it succumbs to its natural instincts.

Why is this relevant to mindfulness? One of the benefits of practising mindfulness is to be able to respond calmly to unexpected events, rather than react negatively. This ability to respond calmly was tested this morning as a small mouse ran, repeatedly, towards my feet while I was teaching mindfulness online. My feet moved out of its way, but my face remained calm, as my brain flicked through all the options - and where the mouse trap might be!

As the cat is keen to bring its mouse friends home to play with so it was inevitable that this would happen at some point. It made me smile because I have not always been able to handle these small furry creatures quite so calmly.

And why is all this relevant to everyone and everything in 2020? Because almost everything that has happened this year has been unexpected and out of our control. From the shock of the first lockdown in March 2020 to the ongoing uncertainty that still surrounds all of our plans for the festive season and the end of the year, it is the unknown and the lack of control that has contributed to our increased sense of anxiety and stress.