Recent research has reported that 48% of Britons have increased their alcohol use during the pandemic, which will come as no surprise to many. It seems we can’t browse social media without seeing a meme or funny video depicting a dishevelled parent pouring wine on to their cereal while home schooling or someone claiming to only have one drink a day but holding a glass the size of a fishbowl. Although we might not actually be drowning our cornflakes in pinot (well some of us might!) the reality is we are a nation of people whose resilience is waning the longer this pandemic goes on. 

Have you ever been told you’re overreacting or do you often find yourself thinking I’m just too sensitive? What if I told you that there is no such thing? That overreacting is just a word in the dictionary. Google defines overreacting as “respond more emotionally or forcibly than is justified”. Well, who is google to tell you whether your reaction is justified or not!!

​As the year draws to a close and the new year approaches, it is often a time for reflection and looking forward to the year ahead. This can bring joy, excitement and hope but also dread, fear and apprehension. 

​In the most uncertain times our current generation have ever encountered it is so very easy to become consumed by the anxiety and challenges that we are facing. However, as a nation I truly believe that we have an opportunity to take this situation and learn from it, grow and change for the better as individuals and as a community.
The way we think about our experiences influences how we feel about them and then how we react to them. Paying attention to our thoughts and how they make us feel can really make a difference to how we manage challenging and distressing situations. 

​We all know someone who we would define as being a ‘creative’ person. Someone who can make something out of an empty toilet roll, a pipe cleaner and a glue gun or someone who can walk in to an empty room and imagine what it could be then create that vision. 

​Our interactions with others, whether they be with our family in childhood, our peers in school or our partners in romantic relationships they all influence and shape the development of our self-concept and as such how we perceive ourselves as individuals.
If these interactions and relationships are affirmative, validating and nurturing it is likely they will contribute to a positive self-concept. However, if they are critical, dismissive and harmful they can all too easily lead to a negative self-perception.