Stay calm people – A stress free Christmas tip!

Imagine if you could go though a day in slow motion.  Life would be so much calmer.  You wouldn’t have that sense of rushing to get everything done before the 25^th December.  You will also have more patience with others.

Even on Christmas Eve and day, when relatives can be hard to handle, pause before you speak so you don’t say anything you will regret later.

So when you get that feeling of being stressed out, just think “go slow”, and it will go away and you will find that everything will get done – but without the anxiety.

Your brain can tell you to love or hate certain foods.

Isn’t it funny when you think as an adult, “I love broccoli now, but hated it as a child”.  Same for brussels sprouts, asparagus, and green beans.  Do you ever wonder why?

Well as it turns out, it is the same for any food or drink for that matter.  Think of the first time you ever tasted alcohol (whiskey, gin, vodka, jaggermister), what was the reaction?  Yuck!  Never going to drink that….

But if you try something at least 6 -7 times, you brain begins to switch your preference for it.  So, mothers should persevere with having their toddlers try vegetables over an over, even if it’s raw, blended, baked, boiled or mixed.  Just don’t mask the taste of the vegetables with sauces or other spices as you will just mask the true taste of the vegetable you are trying to encourage your child to love.   Bon appetite. 

Acceptance and support for transgender children

It is hard enough being a child and having to learn all of life’s lessons, but if you have a learning difficulty, or disability, or you do not feel your true self, it is 100% worse.

There has been a lot of attention in the media for transgender children.   They say the calls to charity counselling lines have tripled in the last 3 years (Daily Mail 13^th December).  It appears that the more support being shown to these children, it is giving other children the confidence to call in for help and support.

Can you even imagine the pressure of school, activities, puberty, “fitting in” and on top of that “feeling different” about your own sex” and “trapped in the wrong body”?  Then on top of that you feel you can’t talk to anybody about it. 

I always focus on keeping myself up to date on children’s issues, as I would hate not to be prepared on how to help them should a child confide in me  as a counselor or hypnotherapist.  One woman who started a site for her transgender son, said a very profound statement.  She wrote, “I would rather have a transgender daughter than a dead son”.  Wow – powerful.

So my advice to you is listen to them, take it seriously, ask them what you can do to support them and act on it.  There are great support lines for them to talk to counselors as well as getting a referral on the NHS.  They have a specialist team to help transgender children.   They need to hear they are still loved for who they are, not their sex orientation.  Feel free to call me if you would like more information.

The Secret returns

I read an interesting article in the Daily Mail (13^th December) in the life section.

It was about the 10-year anniversary of the release of The Secret.  If you missed it, this book promotes the power of positive thinking.  I totally believe in it and now they have brought out a second book sharing the stories of people who have put The Secret into practice in their lives. 

However, it is not just a matter of positive thinking.  It is about the way you ask the universe for what you want.  You can’t just throw it out once and hope for the best.  You have to ask in a positive open way (with the right phrasing), you have to do it regularly, and you must focus on it in a positive healthy way, i.e. using visualization techniques or vision board.

My belief is what is the harm in giving it a go, but if you do, don’t do it without actually believing it, as you will just be disappointed.  Start small and build.

Have fun!