Articles & Resources

Adult Mental Health
Nicky Edwards

Love Languages and your Needs

We explored love languages previously (catch up here). The concept, of Love Languages were developed by Gary Chapman (PHD) in his book ‘The 5 Love Languages’ and are often referred to. Their purpose was to identify the different ways that people express and receive love, to develop a deeper recognition of how this influences our

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Parenting
Nicky Edwards

Children’s Activity: Energy Accounting

Managing our energy is an important skill, as it allows us to still be able to move forward and feel good about ourselves. Learning to be able to regulate our feelings, and increase our energy means that we can feel more in control, confident and able to tackle the tasks at hand. When we think

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Anxiety
Nicky Edwards

Signs of People Pleasing in the Classroom

People pleasing relates to a set of behaviours or habits whereby the individual repeatedly abandons their own needs in order to meet other people’s wishes or desires. Their giving and pleasing of others is always at the detriment to themselves, which is associated with poor mental health. It is correlated to individuals with a deep

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Parenting
Nicky Edwards

Winter I-Spy

Winter Solstice is coming! So, what better time to blow the cobwebs away and get out for a wintery walk and see how many of our wintery ‘I Spy’ items you can find from the checklist! Download here How to use it Want to learn more?  Would you like to deliver emotional literacy interventions in

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Neurodiversity
Nicky Edwards

Supporting Neurodivergence at Christmas

Whilst for some children and young people at Christmas, there is no issue and they adjust to the glitter and sparkle quite happily. For others, Christmas brings new challenges which may need some extra support. In this article, we explore some of the elements of Christmas Day that you may want to explore ahead of

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Activities
Nicky Edwards

Children’s Activity: Mandala Colouring

Benefits of colouring: Colouring has multiple benefits, including; enhancing creativity, promoting well-being, stress relief, increasing a sense of mindfulness as well as providing a sense of achievement on completion. Colouring allows us to unwind and let our minds focus on just the task in front of us. So, we’re sharing a free nature colouring sheet

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Parenting
Nicky Edwards

The effects of technology on brain development

We talk a lot about technology and the challenges that it creates for young people. Whilst on one side, technology opens the opportunity for connections, learning and creativity, on the other, there are a great deal of conflicting opinions about the effects on mental health and well-being. The World Health Organisation (WHO) guidance for screen time

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Activities
Nicky Edwards

Children’s Activity: Challenge Limiting Beliefs

Limiting Beliefs Limiting beliefs are negative thoughts or beliefs which hold us back from achieving things, or trying things in life. They can be about anything, from ourselves and our personalities, to our abilities and skills, to the world or other people. They keep us in a negative mindset, where they can cause chaos as

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social media
Nicky Edwards

The perils of sadfishing

Disclaimer – the content of this article is not medical advice, if you have a concern about the mental health, safety or well-being of a child or adult, please raise with the appropriate services to activate help for them **** With so many parents and professionals raising the question about how we manage young people’s

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Activities
Nicky Edwards

Children’s Activity: Bumblebee Breathing

Teaching children breathing activities has multiple benefits: Teaching children how to slowly engage breathing techniques and practice them regularly supports them to relax and respond more constructively when they are feeling overwhelmed. Bumblebee Breathing Download Here Next Steps Want to learn more?  Would you like to deliver emotional literacy interventions in your work? Our Level 3

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Adult Mental Health
Nicky Edwards

Taking the lessons from challenges

When challenging things happen, it can be difficult not to fall into the trap of asking ‘why me’ and experiencing the spirals of anxiety and sadness that feed from it. So, how do we claw our way out of it? Being able to take the lessons from the challenges that we experience has been found

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Activities
Nicky Edwards

Children’s Activity: Butterfly Breathing

Butterfly Breathing When we are relaxed, our minds are clearer. This means that we can make decisions easier, feel more in control and manage situations more effectively. Teaching children breathing exercises helps them to learn to breathe deeply, as well as feel more relaxed and calm. B breathing is a fun and simple activity, which

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Child Mental Health
Nicky Edwards

Why reading supports empathy

Whilst I appreciate that I am biased, being a child Matilda and the author of 30 books, I cannot pretend that I am not a lover of reading. However, something that is less spoken about is the role that books play in mental health, and I am not referring to the role of self-development books

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Activities
Nicky Edwards

Children’s Activity: Journal Prompts for the Future

Journal Prompts Journalling can help us to calm our minds by structuring our thoughts. Journal prompts help us to explore different aspects of our lives and develop a deeper understanding of them. By taking time to deeply think about different concepts, we can find peace, solutions or identify areas for support. Journal prompts are questions

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Emotions & Feelings
Nicky Edwards

Does your love language alter your expectations?

Love Languages were developed by Gary Chapman (PHD) in his book ‘The 5 Love Languages’, it has since been updated numerous times and gained popularity as the years have gone on. Its purpose was to identify the different ways that people express and receive love, to develop a deeper recognition of how this influences our

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Activities
Nicky Edwards

Children’s Activity: 8 ways to regulate

Being able to regulate when we are overwhelmed or overstimulated, or underwhelmed (tired or bored) is an important skill in both childhood and adulthood. Finding our own unique combination of strategies that work for us builds our confidence and self-compassion as we stop thinking ‘what is wrong with me?’ and instead ask ‘how can I

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Child Mental Health
Nicky Edwards

What is functional freeze mode?

We often talk about fight-flight-freeze-fawn and their role when our nervous system is activated by a potential threat. Traditionally, these states were activated when we were in potential danger, but now they can also be activated by long term stress, overwhelm and exhaustion which is not managed. We discuss how, in these states, we can

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Activities
Nicky Edwards

Children’s Activity: Nature Colouring

Benefits of colouring: Colouring has multiple benefits, including; enhancing creativity, promoting well-being, stress relief, increasing a sense of mindfulness as well as providing a sense of achievement on completion. Colouring allows us to unwind and let our minds focus on just the task in front of us. So, we’re sharing a free nature colouring sheet

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