Balance - Sarah Barr

Living with a mental illness this time of year can be hard. There is so much pressure pouring in from social media, society etc to “start over” or change how …
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Habits, we all have them, good ones and bad ones.

Firstly let’s define habits. Habits are the small decisions you make and actions you perform every day. According to research …
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Being a mum in today’s world is no easy task, as amazing as it is, it is hard. With all the ‘normal’ duties of motherhood, mums today also have to …
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Anxiety is a part of everyday life for many people. Yet you may be completely unaware, as so many people put in a lot of energy and time in hiding …
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It can be so hard to practice any type of self-care when you’re not feeling yourself. Yet this is exactly when you need it the most.

On days …
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What is OCD?

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is a mental illness that creates negative thoughts. These thoughts lead you to believe that if you do not carry out a certain …
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Working in a stressful, high-pressured or demanding job can negatively impact on your mental health. This, coupled with issues at home, arranging child care throughout the summer holidays …
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Researchers found that most mums experience a significant dip in self-esteem after having a baby that can last up to three years.

This is regardless of the mother’s relationship …
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We all know how important self-care is for our mind and body. However it is very difficult to practice self-care if we are stressed and do not recognise that we …
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We all have anxious thoughts from time to time but sometimes these thoughts can be all we think about. They are intrusive, frightening, repetitive and hard to stop.

It …
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Today is World Maternal Mental Health Day, May is Maternal Mental Health Month.

This is a serious health matter, that needs more awareness and acceptance. We need to be …
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By personalising other people’s negative thoughts or opinions we are allowing them to control how we feel.

Q. So how can we stop this?

A. By changing the way we …
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We grow up with labels that are used to define us. These labels can be attached by other people and even by ourself at times. Society, family, social media, work …
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Rejection is hard for most people. Since childhood, we have looked for acceptance from our friends in school to our parents at home. Sometimes doing whatever we can and …
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“You will never speak to anyone more than you speak to yourself in your head, be kind to yourself”

When we are living with low self-esteem, it …
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Let’s do a thought experiment:

• Close your eyes.
• Imagine a pink elephant
• What shade of pink is it?
• Is it happy/sad/indifferent?
• Think about the pink elephant for 60 …
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Weekend Depression: It can start to sneak up on you without you knowing it. During the week you’re busy with work, children, schedules and activities. Yet when Friday or Saturday …
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So yesterday was ‘Blue Monday’ supposedly the most depressing day of the year.

We look forward to winter, the cosy nights and the lead up to Christmas. The parties, the …
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• What are worries?

Worries are just thoughts and thoughts are not fact. They have no reality. Worries begin when we ask, “What if…” then the mental …
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As we all know from experience, making a New Year’s resolution is easy. Sticking with it and actually achieving your goal is not so easy.

New Year’s resolutions is …
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Any special occasion, like Christmas or any ‘first’ can be so difficult when you are bereaved, with each occasion such as a birthday, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day or Christmas bringing …
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With Christmas getting closer, many of us will feel a mixture of excitement and worry. However, for those of you who live with social anxiety, Christmas can be a very …
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How many times a day do you allow yourself to stop, take stock and breathe?

Or do you carry on, listening to all those ‘mustabations’ (I should be doing this, …
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“There once was a girl whose happiness was tied to the sun. As it rose, so did she, and her smile was like beams of light. As it …
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“Fear is nothing more than an obstacle that stands in the way of progress. In overcoming our fears we can move forward, stronger and wiser within ourselves.”

…
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How are you?

“I’m grand, yeah fine, I’m good”.

How many times a day do we tell ourselves this, do we tell other people this?

Have you perfected your mask?

…
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“Mindfulness, being present in each moment, without judgement”

So mindfulness is quite the buzz word at the minute, but what exactly is mindfulness?

It is defined as being …
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Today is World Mental Health Day. The 10th of October each year is dedicated to raising awareness of mental health issues around the world and bringing together efforts which support …
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“October is about trees revealing colours they’ve hidden all year. People have an October as well” – Jm Storm.

Autumn is the season of letting go. I absolutely …
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Positive thinking focuses on the positive side of life.

To use positive thinking in your life, it is more than being aware of it, it is about adopting it …
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We live in a social media frenzied world.

So creating and maintaining an online presence is now a priority for many of us, whether it is for social or …
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In last week’s article I focused on students moving to university and dealing with homesickness.

This week my focus is on the parents/guardians who are left behind. As a mother …
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Moving away for university is a big transition, whether you’ve come from the other side of the world or down the road.

If you’re suffering from homesickness, just remember you’re not the …
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 “Dreams are the royal road to the unconscious.”- Sigmund Freud.

Through analysing our dreams, we can get a “glimpse” into the inner workings of our subconscious.

Dreams can …
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Today mums feel enormous pressure to be the ‘perfect mum’. It can feel at times like a competitive sport. This coupled with social media and the pressure intensifies, as social …
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In today’s article I am focusing on some of the main myths/fears that are associated to attending counselling.

With the hope of quashing them or at least offer a different …
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“I am not boring or shy. I am an introvert. an artist. a lover. a dreamer. a fighter. a seeker”.

Introverted people tend to be more focused …
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Mental health describes how we think and feel about ourselves. Which impacts on how we cope with stress, face challenges, build relationships and move on from difficult experiences.Our mental well-being …
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At some point or another, most of us will have had or have experiences of feeling lonely.

Being alone can be difficult as it may trigger feelings of sadness.

…
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Being a mum is one of the most important jobs in any community. We provide food, safety, warmth, clothing, connection, love, and a sense of personal importance to our children. …
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“Take pride in how far you have come & have faith in how far you can go”.

Sometimes it can be difficult to judge how well we’re doing …
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“Comparison is the thief of joy” – Theodore Roosevelt

Whether it is keeping up with the Kardashians, Joneses or Facebook ‘friends’ we are always looking at that …
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“Depression is the most unpleasant thing I have ever experienced…it’s that absence of being able to envisage that you will ever be cheerful again. The absence of hope. …
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 “When you are a caregiver, you know that everyday you will touch a life or a life will touch yours”

Carers in Ireland play an invaluable role …
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“My nights are for overthinking, my mornings are for oversleeping”

It’s 3am.

You’re wide awake, just laying there in the stillness of night.

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“Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.” – Dalai Lama

In today’s article I will look at what strategies we can use to …
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In today’s article I’m writing about how to identify your thinking patterns. These patterns are your type of thoughts that you have everyday. Therefore how we think contributes to how we …
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Have you ever felt it difficult to be your true self? Find it easier to fit in with what is deemed ‘normal and not to stand out? Worried about being …
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This weekend I am so proud to be from Donegal. We have come together in our hundreds to take part in the Darkness Into Light walk throughout our county. Whether …
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It is estimated that one in five women in Ireland will suffer from antenatal or post-natal depression. Post-natal depression can develop up to 12 months post delivery.

World Maternal Mental Health …
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