Has anyone ever told you to act your age? You might have a memory of an irritable parent, partner or friend telling you so. I certainly remember being scolded this way on occasion. It’s a setting where one person urges another to be more ‘grown up’ than they appear. It’s always seemed an interesting expression…
Ageing and death are two topics we find difficult to think and talk about. Do you remember when you first realised you were a grown up? Major events like the loss of a parent signal a change in the social pecking order, and how society or the world sees us. There are moments that symbolise…
The official definition of contentment is “freedom from worry or restlessness: peaceful satisfaction”. I would define contentment as a state of inner quiet and peace, and a satisfaction with oneself and with life. This is not linked to material satisfaction, which is usually temporary and unsubstantial, but more of an acceptance of who one is…
I often have women clients who are going through the peri-menopause or who are post-menopause and I am curious about how I might better support them therapeutically. I want to share some thoughts from a recent talk by Joanna Groves where she invited us to think about the peri- and post-menopause in more practical and…
The historian Susan Mattern argues there is no doubt there is some value to naming menopause as a concept. It has provided women with reasons and different perspectives and interventions on what can be sometimes very distressing symptoms. However she points out that modern medicine can have a tendency to locate cause and explanation inside…
I found myself being asked ‘what is the menopause?’ by a friend’s 13 year old son a few weeks ago. All the women in the room chimed in to answer. It was not surprising to me that he asked, nor was it surprising all the women answered. Interestingly I had no idea about the menopause…
Is it too late to consider going into therapy once we reach a certain age? As I walked through the gardens on an early spring morning, this was the question going through my mind. I intended to get down to writing this blog, an unfamiliar task, when I got back to my office. We seem…