World Menopause Day

A selection of books, articles, and experiences about where to go for menopause advice and support for health, nutrition, mental wellbeing, body confidence, along with a celebration of midlife for World Menopause Day.

World Mental Health Day 2021

World Mental Health Day is acknowledged every year on 10th October. As someone who has lived with depression and anxiety for most of my adult life, I'd like to share my story and my tips with you, and advise where to go for professional help for your mental health and wellbeing.

9 Ways to Cope with Dental Phobia

Read about how I cope with my dental phobia along with 9 ways that might help you deal with dentophobia or odontophobia.

The Menopause Monologues 1 & 2 by Harriet Powell

Read my thoughts on The Menopause Monologues, 2 books full of varying personal experiences of menopause. Buying this will also benefit the charity Shelter - find out how.

Robbie Williams Talks Mental Health

My thoughts on the Wellness that Works podcast where Robbie Williams talks about mental health. Includes links to the video of the podcast and to other helpful mental health websites.

I Quit My Job Due to Menopause Related Anxiety & Depression!

My story of how menopause exacerbated the decline in my mental health, and my I decided to quit my job to improve my anxiety, depression and general wellbeing.

Health inc Mental Health at Tea & Cake for the Soul

I write about various health topics that include mental health, menopause and pain. You will find self help tips and personal experiences that I hope you can identify with.

The Hidden Side of Loneliness

Updated November 2019 There are often self-help and thought-provoking statuses that appear on Facebook. Some you scroll past and some you read right to the end then feel a little bit cheated that it's a copy and paste post. Some you realise are shared posts but you can appreciate that people are just trying to …

14. Running for the Soul

Today's guest blog comes from a dear friend of mine Ali, who publishes Diary of a Detour  As part of my Self Help for Mental Health series,  Ali shares her story about how running and exercise keeps her demons at bay. Let me start this blog by saying that I’m no Paula Radcliffe.  When you see …

The Smiling Fanny Manifesto

I came across The Smiling Fanny Manifesto when reading a novel by Lucy Anne Holmes entitled “Just a Girl, Standing in Front of a Boy".  It’s a lighthearted book but Jenny (Fanny) suffers from depression and her friend Phillipa gives her this list of things to do to keep the black dog at bay. Even if …

13. Self Help For Your Mental Health – Hope

So that’s it, the end of my series of self help tips for your mental health. They were extremely hard to write and probably even harder to publish but it was something that I wanted to do in the hope that it would help others. If everything happens for a reason then perhaps my getting …

12. Help & Support For Carers & Friends of Mental Illness Sufferers

I have seen mental health problems from both sides. I have lived with mental illness for most of my adult life. I've also seen my mother and friends suffer from it. I know how it is hard on the carers, family and friends of those who have mental health issues. You need to know how …

11. Self Help For Your Mental Health – Meditation, Hypnosis & Relaxation

One key element to recovering from mental health, or just coping with it, is to relax your mind and your body. Of course, this is the hardest thing to do when your mind is either whirring or just dull with pain.  Here are a few self help tips to give you a helping hand which includes …

Qi Gong & Tai Chi for Mental Health, Wellbeing and Menopause

This is my favourite post in this series of self help tips for your mental health and wellbeing. It calms me instantly. I have been practising tai chi and qi gong for the last few years and I have found it to be hugely beneficial to my physical and mental health. I have attended classes …

9. Self Help For Your Mental Health – Talk Support

Treatment for your mental health problems might be medication and/or some form of talk support or therapy. It could be in the form of group counselling or one-one with a psychiatrist, psychologist, nurse or a CBT counsellor. It is very important that you talk about your mental health. Get it out in the open. If …

8. Self Help For Your Mental Health – Suicide Awareness

"I didn’t so much want to die, I certainly didn't want to kill myself, but I certainly didn’t want to go on living that way. I was existing, not living, in a permanent darkness with no end in sight. And no-one could tell me when I would be well again. I thought it would last …

7. How to Deal With Panic Attacks – 8 Self Help Tips

8 Self Help Tips for How to Deal With Panic Attacks including breathing, visualisation and meditation techniques

6. Self Help For Your Mental Health – Sleep & Duvet Days

Read my tips to promote good sleep hygiene for a more restful night, aimed at people suffering from depression and anxiety.

5. A Mental Health Diet – Self Help for Your Mental Illness

Any professional help websites or literature will tell you the importance of a healthy diet to aid your recovery from mental illlness. I quite agree, but I also know how hard it can be to eat or how arduous the task of preparing food can be. This post is all about managing a mental health …

4. Self Help For Your Mental Health – Learn About & Accept Mental Illness

For a very long time, I was frustrated and angry and scared that I had depression. I had many questions that nobody could answer: Why me? What reason did I have to be depressed? When would I get better? What could I do to make it go? Of course, nobody could tell me. I had …