How do you cope with negative thoughts?
It's not easy, that’s my experience.
In fact, sometimes it can feel like the hardest thing we have to do each day.
Rowing against the current. Walking into a headwind. Being caught in torrential rain without a jacket.
Last year more than 2,000 of the people I worked with requested help with difficult thoughts and emotions. It was the number one requested session across all clients.
I’m piloting two new sessions to help. Both fully funded. Both with similar aims but coming from a slightly different direction. You are welcome to join both sessions or just one. Whatever feels like a good fit for you.
Pilot 1 - Restorative Excellence
Wednesday 30th April 12.30pm - register here now
Helping you plan a daily restorative break for the week ahead. Hard working people know they need breaks but struggle to take the breaks they need. I’ve spoken about this a lot but it’s worth repeating, I think restorative breaks are the No 1 protective habit for cognitive performance and mental wellbeing. They help improve our time management, ability to focus and how we regulate emotions. But how we think about them and plan them are crucial - the devil is in the detail, which is what the session will focus on. It’s like pumping up our bike tyres, a tiny change can make a huge difference to how easy things feel and protect us from the bumps. See the science of restorative breaks here.
Pilot 2 - Navigate Negative Thoughts
Wednesday 7th May 12.30pm - register here now
This session is a more personalised enquiry to help us convert a negative thought into a constructive action. Managing negative thoughts is one of the challenges we have to do most often with the smallest amount of help. No wonder it feels so hard! The aim is to offer something useful in the middle ground between, a) ignoring them, most people's most common response and b) going to therapy, which for many feels like too much effort or cost. Practising the skill to manage negative thoughts leads to psychological flexibility and this is probably one of the most life changing skills we can all learn. Helping us solve problems and adapt to the situations we are in.
They are pilots therefore it’s unlikely I will share the recordings but you can join either pilot at any point. Please manage your expectations, I will be testing different techniques to understand which ones are most effective. The sessions will be imperfect, some parts will work better than others. Places are limited.
By joining the pilots you will really help me. You thoughts and suggestions will help me understand what I need to change or adjust to make the sessions highly effective.
Please share this invite with friends and colleagues, everyone is welcome.
Even if we don't like swimming, we understand the value of learning to swim. It will almost certainly save our life at least once in our life time. Learning how to manage negative thoughts is the psychological equivalent. A skill we all benefit from even if we hardly have to use it. A skill that improves the decisions we make. A skill that improves how we manage our relationships at work and home. A skill that empowers us to live with courage and integrity.
You are a good person, doing your best. That’s the most each of us can do.
“Growth occurs when individuals confront problems, struggle to master them, and through that struggle develop new aspects of their skills, capacities, views about life.”
― Carl Rogers
This week I enjoyed:
This true story here
Need a hand? Feel alone? Don’t wait, contact someone today. You deserve support as much as anyone else. You are not alone. Reply to this message if that’s easiest.
Text Shout - 85258 - simple support via text, I used when I wasn't sure who to turn to
Call Samaritans 116 123 - no problem too small, I've used a couple of times, once during a relationship break up, once when one of my family said they were suicidal and I wasn't sure who to ask for help
NHS Every Mind Matters - simple and effective resources you can access immediately here