October is the tenth month of the year and is from the word octo, meaning eight as it was originally the eighth month of the year in the old Roman calendar. World Mental Health Day takes place this month, its aim being to promote good mental wellbeing and to highlight important issues that need addressing. To support this, I will offer you ideas to keep your own mental health in check. In Australia Stress Less Day is this month and offers us all an opportunity to remember the importance of …

September is the ninth month of the year, yet is named after the word septem, meaning seven as it was originally the seventh month of the year in the Roman calendar. This month a new season begins, whether it is spring in the southern hemisphere or autumn for the north.
This month we will consider the impact your thoughts have on your life. This is in recognition of Albert Ellis who was born on the 27th September. Albert Ellis was a psychologist who devised Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy, and his work …

August is the eighth month of the year and is named after the emperor Augustus. It was originally called sextilis meaning sixth, as it was the sixth month in the old Roman calendar. Another reminder that things do change, even though such things can seem like they’ve been around forever. This month marks International Youth Day. Each year has a central theme but the underlying principle is about raising awareness of the struggles of youth as well as their achievements. Also this month we celebrate International Left Hander’s Day on …

February is the second month of the year and is named after Februa the Roman purification festival. This month celebrates International Friendship Month. Friendships have been shown to be important to our happiness, health and wellbeing, so it makes sense to consider the friends in your life. It is also Random Acts of Kindness Week during this month. Research continues to gather to support the link between kindness and happiness. I also celebrate my birthday this month, and as such I will begin this discussion with a reminder that when …

Have you ever felt lonely? It doesn’t feel so good does it? You feel separated from others both physically and mentally. Because you do not have to be alone to feel lonely. You can be surrounded by others, yet anything they say or do does not matter. It’s like they’ve ceased to exist. If your loneliness continues for just a little while you can end up feeling helpless, isolated and despairing. It is easy to start to believe that you will always feel this way, believing you have no control …

Earlier this year, there was some research published which found a link between passive work and an inactive social life. Men who did work that involved little stress and little control were more likely to be have less active leisure activities compared to those whose work was more active.

Do you struggle for time, wondering where it’s gone with very little achieved?  An activity that might help is to write a description of a day where your time is well spent. What are you doing? What distractions are you avoiding? Now what steps can you take to bring your well spent day in alignment with your actual day to day routine?

Are you doing what you love? At least some of the time? There’s ample opportunity each and every day to be doing things we dislike, find mundane or irritating. Yet if you make the effort to find time to do the things you do enjoy on a weekly basis then you will cope with the mundane so much easier. An even better plan would be to look for pleasure in the things you dislike.

A variety of activities are the key to happiness. So as you continue on your happiness journey, bear in mind that doing the same thing over and over means it may become stale. Try to monitor how you feel about a particular activity to check it is still adding to rather than taking away from your happiness.?

Are you suffering from stress, spending far more time working than at leisure? Try recording each day how many hours are spent working and how many at leisure.  Then take gradual steps to balance this out, allowing yourself extra time each day for leisure activities. Note how you spend your leisure time, to ensure you make the most of it.