3 MIN TAPPING TO REDUCE ANXIETY

Anxiety is a completely normal human emotion that everyone experiences to varying degrees. If we didn’t have it we would all be lemmings walking into the road, so anxiety quite literally keeps us safe.

The problem is, our amygdala (brains fear response) doesn’t know the difference between a real and imagined threat. This is why you can feel anxious speaking in public, going on a date, new social situations, thinking about a future event, making new friends, getting on a busy bus….none of these are REAL threats to your life but your amygdala still thinks you’re about to get eaten by a sober toothed tiger.

Tapping is the perfect way to face it head on, which is the quickest way to reduce anxiety and bring stillness to your body and mind. The physical tapping sends a calming signal directly to your amygdala and reminds your nervous system that you are in fact SAFE.

Are you feeling anxious right now? Try this quick 3 minute tapping process and see how you feel.

For more support please get in touch kim@happyheads.me I would love to help xx

HAPPY HEADS MONTHLY RESET - GRIEF SUPPORT NOW LIVE!

This months Happy Heads Reset is all about supporting anyone grieving right now. It will give you an insight into grief and how it can manifest for you both emotionally and physically, a video showing a tapping meditation to use to help process grief when it arises, tips on how to manage grief and a guided meditation called ‘Wise Words’ that will help you reconnect to your loved one. Follow the link at the top of the page to sign up and you’ll receive it straight away 👆🏼xx
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#grief #grieving #griefsupport #sadness #mentalhealth #wellbeing #happiness #process #emotions #meditation #tapping #efttapping #griefjourney #breathe #breath #happyheads #life #pause

SUICIDE PREVENTION 🖤

This is what depression looks like. This is a picture of my lovely dad, looking very happy, not too long before he killed himself. That's the problem with depression you can't always tell from the outside when people are suffering and people can wear their 'i'm ok' masks very well.
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Anyone that takes their own life is ultimately struggling deeply with their mental health and most likely very depressed. Of course the route courses for each individual are completely different but this is why people reach a point where they find life too unbearable to live.
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I WISH my dad had felt that it was ok to talk and realised that you CAN transform your mental health but you need to start looking after your brain and process the things that you're struggling with. Some people say that suicide is selfish and quite honestly trying to tell a 7 year old who felt abandoned by her father that it's not selfish would have been a very difficult task.
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It was only when I lost my own mental health to burnout that I truly realised what it felt like to be depressed and realised that it's so much more complex. In that moment my dad felt like he couldn't go on any more, it wasn't selfish and I was able to forgive him.
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So if you're struggling right now please remember that you 100% can improve your mental health, it just takes some loving care and there are people available right now to help you on your journey. Contact samaritans on: 116 113
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If you're worried about someone then NOW is the time to reach out and check in. It's easy to isolate yourself when you're struggling so be the person that they need today. My dad is a driving force behind why I teach - no one should ever feel like life is no longer worth living.
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#mentalhealth #wellbeing #suicide #suicideprevention #suicideawarness #suicideawarenessmonth #depression #mind #meditation #meditate #happyheads #itsoktonotbeok #itsokaytonotbeokay #reachout

BEAT BURNOUT

Burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It occurs when you feel overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and unable to meet constant demands. Add a global pandemic to people feeling like they have to be working 24/7 it’s no surprise that so many people are struggling right now.

Watch this video to see a simple breathing and tapping technique to engage your parasympathetic nervous system (rest and relaxation) the opposite of fight and flight, which is what we go into when we're stresses and anxious.

For more support in the workplace or a private session please get in touch kim@happyheads.me xx

The Negative Impact Of Stress

5 Signs of Burnout

The past year has been hugely difficult and burnout continues to be something that people are struggling with so it's never been more important to prioritise the mental wellbeing of your staff and Mental Health Awareness Week is fast approaching (May 10th - 16th).

Happy Heads workshop are the perfect way to help staff nurture their mental fitness and make them feel fully supported. Each workshops is 1hr and and can cover a HUGE range of mental health and wellbeing topics. They can be tailored to the needs of your company and include:

- Insight into the brain and topic
- Breathing techniques to calm and soothe both body and mind
- Guided meditation to help release worries and bring your brain back into balance
- Emotional Freedom Technique (tapping) a powerful way to release tension held in both body and mind and overcome anxious, negative thoughts

For more information get in touch kim@happyheads.me xx
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#mentalhealth #burnout #staffwellbeing #corporateworkshop #staffwellness #burnoutprevention #meditation #meditate #emotionalfreedomtechnique #efttapping #tapping #wellbeing #selfcare #wellness

TEACHING CHILDREN MEDITATION

There is nothing normal about the world we live in right now so it’s no surprise that lots of children and parents are feeling anxious, stressed and overwhelmed. Happy Heads teaches people how to stop, pause and breathe - empowering you with simple tools and techniques that reduce anxiety, build confidence and help to release worries.

The 30 minute workshop below includes breathing techniques, guided meditation and Emotional Freedom Technique (also know as Tapping). EFT is a powerful way to help release tension held in both body and mind and overcome any negative thoughts that children or parents may be having right now…

MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT FOR CORONAVIRUS ANXIETY

We're living in some scary times right now and not knowing what the future holds is understandably creating anxiety for a lot of people. While we can’t control everything that is yet to come, you can control your mind and reduce anxiety any time you feel the fear beginning to kick in.

Watch this video to see how you can utilise both meditation and Emotional Freedom Technique to deepen your breathing, calm your nervous system and reduce any anxious thoughts.

For more support, download the FREE MEDITATION on my website or check out my online courses.

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#meditation #meditate #coronavirus #anxiety #reduceanxiety #reducestress #emotionalfreedomtechnique #eft #tapping #wellbeing #mentalhealth #selfcare #itwillbeok #staystrong #freemeditation 

STOP WORRYING

If everything seemed to be going great in my life I genuinely used to worry that, if I didn’t worry - something bad would happen. Put your hands up if you do that! This is 100% an anxious thought and not something that your brain needs to think.
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I’ve now worked on this particular negative thought, so I’m able to quickly reframe my thoughts if ever it starts to creep into my mind. For me personally I know it comes from losing my dad at the age of 7. Before that I never worried about bad things happening and then something bad did happen - so this is why I used to have this anxious thought.
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A great way to reduce the intensity of your negative thoughts is to identify where it may have come from. Become a memory detective and see if you can make any links - gently reflecting back. Don’t worry too much if you can’t make any links, you can still reframe your thoughts.
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Always remember that there's no need to worry if things are going smoothly in life - you deserve to be happy. Life can always throw you curve balls but it has no correlation to whether you worry about it or not so stop the worry and trust the process.
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#mentalhealth #worrying #reduceanxiety #mentalfitness #worryless #meditation #meditate #happyheads #wellbeing #wellness #happiness #positivethinking

THE NEGATIVITY BIAS

Have you ever found yourself ruminating on over a past comment or mistake? We tend to dwell over negative memories far longer than positive ones. The reason being - negative events have a greater impact on our brains than positive ones. This is often referred to as our ’negative bias’ - exhausting right!

“Our tendency to pay more attention to bad things and overlook good things is likely a result of evolution. Earlier in human history, paying attention to bad, dangerous, and negative threats in the world was literally a matter of life and death. Those who were more attuned to danger and who paid more attention to the bad things around them were more likely to survive. The evolutionary perspective suggests that this tendency to dwell on the negative more than the positive is simply one way the brain tries to keep us safe” - Kendra Cherry ‘Very Well Mind’

The next time you find yourself ruminating over the past - take a minute to STOP, PAUSE & BREATH. Remember that this is an evolutionary brain process that you no longer need to succumb to there is no perceived danger. Ruminating over the past is a guaranteed way to create anxiety so focus on the present moment to strengthen your neurological pathways and reduce your worries. The body and breath are amazing tools to help anchor you in the moment - use them as often as you can.

To read the full article by Kendra Cherry simply click HERE.

Image from @howmental

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HOW I BEAT BURNOUT AND OVERCAME ANXIETY

Hi Lovely Human,

A recent study in the UK found that some 6 million people suffer from anxiety (3 million with depression as their primary problem) so if you suffer with your mental health - you are not alone!

I wanted to share my own personal journey with anxiety and depression with you, how I came to suffer from both and most importantly, how I overcame them.

WHAT LEAD TO MY BURN OUT?

In my last work place I experienced complete and utter burnout. I was a happy, super positive person but over the space of 7 months my mental health and self esteem plummeted to rock bottom.

Our manager had left suddenly just before Christmas and we were left completely unsupported in our roles for 5 months. For some people, not having a boss might be great, but for me, having a manager that supports you is vital for my wellbeing. 

I began to severely over-work, I was living and breathing work from the moment I woke up to the moment I went to bed. I was completely exhausted and my amygdala was being triggered almost constantly. I started to struggle with social anxiety (something I’ve never experienced before) worrying what other people thought of me, my memory began to quickly decline and I found it really hard to focus.

My stomach was always tight, I had really bad digestive problems, my mouth was always dry, I had regular headaches, my shoulders muscles were constantly painful and I was getting colds all the time - stress was taking a damaging toll on my physical health.

I began to have issues with a newly appointed manager who was extremely critical towards me. My anxiety began to skyrocket, my self-esteem disintegrated and I started to have panic attacks. It felt like my brain was in a constant tumble dryer at full speed and I’d lost my ability to vocalise sentences properly.

My anxiety was so bad that by this point that it had lead into depression. It felt like I was stuck in an alternate universe - you know you’re alive but the world around you looks different, like it’s coated in sadness. I felt completely helpless and lost - hitting rock bottom in the mental health department. Luckily a very kind doctor signed me off work after assessing my wellbeing.

MY ROAD TO RECOVERY

It was during my time off that I went and did the hugely transformational Hoffman Process, which is a retreat filled with visualisations, guided meditation, movement work - all of which transformed my mental health. It was here that I saw the true power of guided meditation to improve your wellbeing.

It was also here that I was able to grieve for my dad who very sadly killed himself when I was 7 years old, due to depression. This for me was the REAL transformation. Little had I known that the un-processed grief was living on in my nervous system as anxiety and a constant feeling of not being good enough.

It was after processing the grief that I’d held locked inside for 25 years, that both my mental and physical health transformed. I no longer felt anxious or depressed and my digestive system completely changed. When you look after your mind, the rest follows. I began meditating regularly everyday, and quite quickly my confidence, self esteem, focus and memory all started to improve and grow.

I realised my true purpose in life was to help people of all ages improve their mental health so I retrained to become a meditation teacher and Emotional Freedom Technique practitioner - two very powerful tools for looking after your wellbeing and releasing negative blockages. I now have an entire tool box of calm to help me navigate any difficult situation that life throws at me. You can listen in HERE to an interview I did with the lovely ladies at Project Love if you would like to hear more on this. You 100% don’t need to change career to start nurturing your mind. There are many things you can do right now to help you start feeling better straight away.

CONQUERING YOUR MIND

You don’t need to have a traumatic childhood to have anxiety - every human has fear. Let’s say a teacher severely criticised one of your projects, that could live on in your subconscious as a negative belief of not being good enough or being stupid.

Irrelevant of where things come from, the first step to conquering anxiety is calming your nervous system down and telling your amygdala that you aren’t about to get eaten. The more you deepen your breathing, the more you engage your parasympathetic nervous system (rest and relaxation).

Here are a few things you can do to combat anxiety and depression:

SPEAK - to a professional, friends or family if you need help. My friends and family were pivotal in me getting better.

PRIORITISE your mental health. Find time every day to calm your nervous system, even if it’s for 5 minutes in the morning your brain is the most important part of your body.

MEDITATE - every day to strengthen your prefrontal cortex (area of the brain connected to self regulation of emotions)

STOP looking at your phone and flooding your brain with unwanted information, especially first thing in the morning and last thing at night. An anxious brain does not need any more information!

PAUSE - everyday to deepen your breathing and soothe your internal world

LISTEN - to your body and where you are holding your anxiety. Breathe into the areas you feel anxious as regularly as you can

EAT CLEAN - gut functionality is just as important to your mental health as your mind so stop eating any processed food

TAKE - yourself out of any situation that is making you feel anxious or depressed as much as you can. Set healthy boundaries with people who drain your energy.

HYDRATE - yourself regularly. The brain needs water to function properly so stay away from too much alcohol or coffee

PROCESS - any grief or trauma that might be an underlying cause of your anxiety

HAPPY HEADS SUPPORT

If you are currently struggling with anxiety or depression and can relate to anything I’ve spoken about please do get in contact: kim@happyheads.me for a private session or sign up to my 8 Week online Course - Reducing Stress & Anxiety

Your mental health should always be a top priority in your life. I teach people of all ages, simple mindful tools and techniques that empower you to live a happier, calmer and stress free life.

Life doesn’t need to be overwhelming - it's time to make your head happy again.

Take Care

Kim xx

REDUCE STRESS IN 60 SECONDS

Don't worry if you’re feeling a little anxious today - this is a simple breathing technique to help calm your nervous system down and soothe your mind.

If you would like to learn more about how to reduce stress, decrease anxiety and improve your mental wellbeing check out my 8 WEEK ONLINE COURSE x

THE ONE PARENT CLUB

The benefits of meditation and mindfulness are broad and can help people with all kinds of personal challenges in life.

Losing a parent when you're young is like having your whole life sped up right in front of you. All the years of making memories you thought you had, suddenly disappear.

Nothing can prepare you for that moment when you realise they’re actually gone, especially when you're so young.

I was only 7 years old when my dad passed away and the moment you find out is like something out of a film. You can’t quite comprehend what you're being told and trying to make any sense of the finality is impossible. They’re not coming back?

I attempted to process the situation in a completely matter of fact way and remember saying to my Mum “everyone’s Dad’s got to die, right?” Yes, she answered “Ok, so my Dad just died early then?” It’s a bizarrely logical way of thinking about it but it was the only way I could make any attempt to process what had just happened.

I could see how upset everyone was around me and didn’t want to make it worse, so I made it my mission to be ‘fine’ with it and tried to be as ‘perfect’ as I could so no-one else would leave.

As a child, your brain is still developing and you don't have the vocabulary to express what you're feeling inside so it's very easy to suppress your emotions because you don’t have the tools to deal with them. I was a very happy and confident child, right up until last year. Heading towards burn out my brain had been in fight or flight mode for 6 months and suddenly I had to face the very real fact... I wasn’t ok.

Back then, mindfulness wasn’t something recognised in supporting a Child's mental health so there wasn’t anything non-invasive to support grief and the feelings you have. It was only during the Hoffman that I realised how much anger I'd held inside of me and was finally able to process the loss of my Dad.

It's so refreshing and inspiring to hear I’m not alone. Prince Harry recently spoke frankly about mental health, his struggle to deal with the loss of his mother and how it took him over 20 years of saying ‘I’m fine’ to finally say, ‘I’m not ok’. The journalist Bryony Gordon, who talks openly but her own mental health put it so eloquently “Prince Harry just re-defined strength and dignity for a new generation”.

Simple mindful tools and techniques give children the space and opportunity to process their emotions without feeling like they’re being counselled or judged. Every person is unique - meditation and visualisations give you the opportunity to process emotions in your own way and on your own terms.

Grief doesn’t need to be something that creeps up on you later in life.

Knowing first-hand the difference mindfulness makes to both your physical and mental well-being means I can now help everyone get that one step further to a Happy Head.

HELPING GENERATION STRESS

When I was little, childhood was in many ways simpler because we were able to switch off from the outside world when we came home. There was no internet and social media hadn't been invented yet.

At the age of seven my whole world shifted when my dad very sadly took his own life. Of course 26 years ago mindfulness wasn’t even a 'thing', meditating was something that only hippies talked about and counselling held negative connotations, so there was no outlet to really process my emotions.

Ploughing forward with life at an insatiable speed as a very happy and confident girl, I witnessed the rise of social media at the end of university and the digital revolution was upon us. Moving to London, the Blackberry was quickly introduced to the working life and the ‘always on’ culture had begun.

Having worked in marketing for 11 years, I know all too well the immense pressure people can feel to meet strict deadlines; be available for bosses, clients and colleagues 24/7; and climb the professional ladder in search of that ‘ultimate job’. The levels of stress, work and often our own minds put us under is huge. Add on top of that a bully-boss and before you know if you're quickly 'losing your marbles' with anxiety reaching a whole new level.

So many people experience huge levels of career related stress and I want to teach them tools to ensure they remain on track.

One of the saddest things I've seen in the news recently was a story from the Teachers Union showing that the next generation - dubbed 'Generation Stress' - is starting to suffer from mental health problems including panic attacks, anxiety and depression from as young as four years old.

Nighty-eight per cent of the 2,000 teachers surveyed said they had come into contact with pupils who were experiencing mental health issues. Nine in 10 said they had encountered pupils of every age suffering from anxiety and panic attacks, while 79 per cent were aware of a pupil suffering from depression, and 64 per cent knew of a child who was self-harming.

The world is evolving so quickly that our brains which have developed through many thousands of years of natural evolution are struggling to keep up as everything moves from human skill and interaction to computer interfaces and digital solutions. There are things we can do to help though. For one, we can teach the next generation how to deal with mental health issues through simple mindful tools that they can utilise for the rest of their lives.

If we teach children from a young age how to deal with increasing exam pressures, social media and how to take time to stop, breathe, pause and reflect, we can give them invaluable space to self regulate their emotions.

We can’t turn back the clock on our busy digital world, but we can learn to live with our high paced environment as well as communicate and support each other better.

And that's exactly what I intend to do. My mission with Happy Heads, which I launched this week, is to help turn 'Generation Stress' into 'Generation Happy'. Please join me.