Your Happiness Factor

Stress - has yours led to anxiety and/or depression? Wendy Mason  is a Career Coach and Life Coach helping you to solve difficult problems at work and at home. Most of us know these days that long term pressure at work, or in other parts of our lives, can lead to stress. And we know that stress in turn is bad for us and can take a toll on both our bodies and our minds leading, among other things, to anxiety and depression. But how do you know when to seek help? If you answer yes to the questions below, you may need to talk to someone.  Do you feel unfulfilled in your day-to-day life - has life lost it's flavour?  Are you unable to enjoy the things that once gave you pleasure? Do you feel that you are stuck in your life at work or at home and can't see a way out? Do you look for ways to avoid situations that make you anxious?  Do you worry that you are about to have a panic attack, or feel as if you are going crazy?  Do you feel sad, depressed or down frequen

What Is like To Live With Depression? Let This Animation With A Dog Show You! At its worst, depression can be a frightening, debilitating condition. Millions of people around the world live with depression. Many of these individuals and their families are afraid to talk about their struggles, and don't know where to turn for help. However, depression is largely preventable and treatable. Recognizing depression and seeking help is the first and most critical towards recovery.  In October 2012 in collaboration with WHO to mark World Mental Health Day, writer and illustrator Matthew Johnstone told  the story of overcoming the "black dog of depression".  You can find out more about depression and what might help at this link  http://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/depression/#.UqWweNJdUWE

Depression - Recognizing The Signs And Seeking Help Many people think they know the symptoms of depression.  But it can be tricky. You can be depressed for a long time without even knowing it. The most obvious symptoms of depression may be well known.  Feeling sad all the time and unmotivated, having thoughts of suicide, and withdrawing from your friends, are the best known signs. But in reality, depression symptoms are much broader than this.  People do their best to cope with being depressed, and so sometimes you can be in the middle of a rather severe illness without even knowing it. One of the most classic symptoms of depression, for example, is depressed mental function. A lot of the time, people who are depressed go around in a mental fog all of the time. They may not even be consciously aware they are depressed, but they can't seem to get anything done. Basically, rather than facing their feelings of anxiety and depression, they go into a listless state where they

Image via Wikipedia As my grandfather once said, "The secret of life is learning to make a fool of yourself gracefully."  James Redfield  " The Celestine Vision" Shyness is sometimes known as social phobia or social anxiety disorder.  But whatever the name, lots of us know the feeling. Shy people may only fear one specific kind of situation - say speaking in public.  But others may be troubled by a whole range of different situations.  For example; Having to perform  stage Dealing with authority figures like doctors or headmasters Eating and drinking in public Writing an important and formal letter Meeting up with the opposite sex and dating Going to parties and other social events Shy people feel sure that other people are going to judge them and find them lacking in some way.  They think they will feel embarrassed or humiliated and that others expect them to behave perfectly.  Shy people expect and look for negat

   We all have negative thoughts sometimes.   These dark thoughts (known as automatic negative thoughts) just come into our heads and, most of the time, we can just throw them off. At other times they just overwhelm us.  This is so when we are depressed. But sadly these negative thoughts can actually make us depressed.  When we get into the habit of constantly chastising ourselves and telling ourselves we are no good and we are worthless, the feelings we have in response can send us spiralling down.   These thoughts seem to feed upon each other, so deeper and deeper we go!   Thoughts like these can send us spiralling down into depression. This concept is the guiding principle behind cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), a type of psychotherapy which was developed by Aaron T. Beck in the 1960s If we think something often enough, we begin to believe it's true!  Then our feelings start to match what we think about ourselves. How do we raise ourselves back up a

Inspiration - Daffodils Every day, even when I am working at home, I make sure I get out of the house and go for a walk.  Today, I didn’t want to go – it is a dark, cold, grey kind of day and I wanted to stay inside in the warmth and comfort of my home. But I pushed myself and got out there.  Wasn’t I pleased that I had!  Even in suburban South London, there the signs of early spring and these are as bright as sunshine!  Inspiration - Primroses I found a small clump of primroses shyly smiling at the world.    In sheltered spots there were the first dafodils!  And there it was, my Mother’s  favourite,  forsythia; blooming away and determined to flash its colours to the dismal sky.  They made me feel inspired and so when I came back in, I decided to write this post! You see we all can find inspiration around us!  And it is not just in nature! Inpiration - Forsythia Are there books that you have always loved?   How often do you go back to them? Do you remember th