Month: November 2020

The Difference between a Psychiatrist and a Psychologist. Which can best address your needs? By Anita Ginsburg

~ Eleanor Segall ~ 2 Comments


It’s always important to seek professional help if you are dealing with a mental health issue. Unfortunately, finding a professional can be harder than you might think. Even if you can find someone for you, you’ll still have to decide upon which type of professional with whom you should work. For most, the answer comes down to knowing the difference between a psychologist and a psychiatrist.


What Is a Psychologist?

Generally speaking, a psychologist is a person with an advanced degree in psychology who works with patients on their mental health. These individuals usually use various types of talk therapy to help individuals work through a diverse number of mental health issues. When many people think of the basic idea of therapy, they’re thinking about what a psychologist does.

When to Choose a Psychologist

It makes sense to choose a psychologist when you’re looking to address your mental health issues without medication. Attempting to change behavior of the long-term is usually best done with the help of a psychologist, especially if you’re looking to get to the root causes of why you feel how you feel. It should be noted, though, that even those who do seek medication can often work with a psychologist as well as a psychiatrist.

What Is a Psychiatrist?

A psychiatrist is specifically an individual who holds a medical degree and specialises in psychiatry. While psychiatrists do conduct many of the same types of therapy as psychologists, they differ from psychologists because psychiatrists can prescribe medication to their patients when needed.

When to Choose a Psychiatrist

The most common reason to choose a psychiatrist is because you are considering the possibility of pursuing some type of medical treatment for your mental health problems. This can range from specific types of medical therapies to medication, but all of these therapies do require a psychiatrist’s oversight. While most do choose psychiatrists because of the medical angle, many psychiatrists do still use talk therapy in a manner similar to psychologists.

It’s important to know what you want from therapy before you make a choice between a psychologist and a psychiatrist. While each type of professional does deal with mental health from a specific angle, whether one is better than the other has everything to do with your personal situation. While you will ultimately need to make the choice between the two, choosing to pursue at least some kind of therapy is a good step on the path to a brighter future.

This article was written by freelance writer Anita Ginsburg

Using Yoga to Improve Productivity when Working from Home: by Daisy Moss

~ Eleanor Segall ~ 2 Comments
(image: Unsplash)

Life can often be overwhelming, especially when working from home. Dealing with work deadlines, disagreements, constant emails and stressful situations is difficult enough, but trying to process those issues in your home environment can be confusing and difficult. It is likely that you are lacking motivation and potentially feeling anxious after working at home for months on end which will be impacting your productivity.

If you are in need of a serious boost, set aside some time each day and unwind by practicing yoga. We’re going to discuss how yoga can help you to overcome anxious, stressed and overwhelmed feelings in order to significantly improve your productivity when working from home, as well as talking about a few other tips that will ensure you are getting the most out of the time you spend doing yoga. 


Overcoming Barriers

Yoga has endless benefits for our mind and body, firstly being it can substantially reduce stress and anxiety. Practicing yoga regularly can really help to clear the mind of negative thoughts and enable you to focus throughout the day, helping you to be productive when you need it most.

Yoga can also help you to sleep much better, giving your mind the time it needs to rest and recover to function as productively as possible the next day. As well as this, yoga can improve your overall well being and confidence, helping you to have faith in yourself when working on overcoming negative thoughts or stressful situations.

Finally, and most importantly, yoga boosts our happiness, which will do wonders for both your productivity as well as your general wellbeing. All of these fantastic benefits that help to reduce negative feelings simultaneously help us to become more productive. 

Fitting Yoga Into Your Routine

Working and living in the same space can be testing, but setting aside even 10 minutes to practice yoga in the morning can help to completely clear your head space ready for a productive day ahead. Alternatively, doing yoga in the evening can help you to unwind and truly relax when your body needs it most, helping you to be more productive the following day. If you struggle to maintain focus throughout the day, why not try setting aside 10 minutes of your lunch break to clear your headspace.

You will eventually workout the time that works best for you, whether you can spare 10 minutes or an hour. Something that works well for many people is completing shorter sessions throughout the week and then spending around an hour at the weekends in order to improve your strength and ability to fully relax, which will in turn help you to make the most of your weekday sessions.

The best thing is the only equipment you need is a small space and a yoga mat if possible, so you can do it anywhere, anytime!

Pair With a Healthy Diet

To maximise the benefits of your practice, having a healthy diet is important. Consuming a variety of different fruit and veg, plenty of protein to support muscle recovery, and foods that help with joint pain or stiffness such as fatty fish, will all help you to make the most of your yoga experience

Integrating turmeric into your cooking is also a great option, as it has been used in Chinese Medicine for centuries to help with all kinds of health problems such as reducing inflammation and helping muscle recovery. In terms of vitamins and minerals, magnesium supplements have multiple benefits such as regulating the nervous system, supporting muscles and helping to convert food into energy. The last point is particularly important for those struggling with a lack of productivity, as you will find you have that extra bit of energy needed to get you through the day, as well as the strength to help you get the most out of yoga. 

Summary

Overall, yoga has endless amounts of benefits that can completely change how you work and alter your outlook on life. All of these benefits help you to become happier and more productive, enabling you to prosper in every aspect of your life.

Many people are sceptical of yoga before practicing it themselves, but if you are in need of an intervention then give it a go. You potentially have so much to gain, and nothing to lose! 

This article was written by freelance writer Daisy Moss.

MENtion Health: A Panel event and Campaign for Men’s Mental Health by Superdrug

~ Eleanor Segall ~ 1 Comment

On Wednesday 4th November, National Stress Awareness Day, Superdrug invited me to a zoom virtual panel event highlighting men’s mental health.

They said, ‘The event will aim to break taboos and increase the conversation around the mental health challenges that men have faced during the current coronavirus pandemic. ‘

We had a chance to listen to some famous and insightful panelists, including

Professor Green – Award winning musician and patron of CALM charity

Chris Hughes– TV personality

Matt Johnson– Broadcaster and mental health advocate

Alexander Leon– Writer and social change advocate

Dr Amir Khan– Doctor and best selling author

(image: Superdrug)

In October 2020, Superdrug conducted research to find out how the pandemic is currently affecting people’s mental health.

The research was conducted among 3419 of its customers. Key findings are highlighted below:

● 86% of people believe men find it more difficult talking about mental health issues than women

● 82% of people believe there’s still too much stigma attached to mental health problems

● 71% don’t think employers take mental health problems seriously enough

● 80% of people would like to see mental health services being made more accessible to people

● 66% people said that their mental health is still being impacted by the pandemic.

As a result, Superdrug decided to launch a new service, known as Mind Care Superdrug. There will be an online doctor for people to find mental health support, with a video consultation and people will be referred to appropriate services. This will be a huge step forward and is an amazing thing to do!

Matt Johnson opened the panel, introducing each pannelist in turn to discuss men’s mental health. For me as woman, I recognise how important it is for men to speak out about their feelings after generations of stigma around mental health.

Professor Green talked about his battle with life long anxiety, saying ‘You just want to get out out of your own skin’, anxiety can be difficult but in life we encounter difficulties and learn to build resilience. Prof Green experienced anxiety as a child and teenager and still deals with it to this day and promotes talking about men’s mental health. He also spoke later in the discussion about self harm in men, to include drug and alcohol abuse and his familys own experience of suicide.

Chris Hughes then spoke about his anxiety and panic attacks, saying he was ‘proud to discuss it openly now‘. He said that before he became well known, he would get anxiety in the workplace that he tried to distract from by going to the gym. However, it didn’t work as well and now he is in the limelight, he has experienced panic attacks, which would manifest as pins and needles in his body and hyperventilation. Hughes shares about his mental health to help others, especially men, through it so they stop bottling feelings up.

Alex Leon told us that he was (in his words), ‘gay, brown and didn’t fit in’. He reminded us that LGBTQ and minority communities often have poor mental health due to a lack of acceptance. He said that 75% of suicide rates in the UK are men and that the narrative that ‘big boys don’t cry and men should just get on with it‘, should be addressed. Leon asked ‘what forms of stigma do men face?‘ and said often it is ‘Be stoic’ ‘be unemotional’ or ‘here is what a man or boy should be‘ – which all lead to poor mental health outcomes.

Dr Amir Khan also introduced himself and his work as a doctor in the UK- a GP working with mens mental health. He agreed with a lot of what Alexander Leon said and offered some profound insights.

The discussion then came back to Professor Green, who told the discussion that sadly his Dad and uncle had died by suicide and he felt mental illness ran in his family. He has struggled with depression and said, ‘ We all chase happiness. You should feel highs and lows- when I don’t feel anything is when I worry’.

Chris Hughes said we must normalise the conversation around mental health and Alex Leon added that self compassion is so important.

I very much enjoyed the panel discussion and really appreciated the chance to hear from great speakers on mens mental health. Superdrug are definitely ahead of the game!

I wasn’t paid for this article but Superdrug sent me a box of wellbeing goodies including Vitamin D tablets, vitamin tea, lavender and peppermint essential oils, sleep aids, moisture socks for feet with marula oil and a pampering skin and body set. Thank you!

Our wellbeing and mental health is so important. You can learn more about Superdrugs mental health campaign here: https://onlinedoctor.superdrug.com/mental-health-and-relationships/

My Book Bring me to Light turned 1!

~ Eleanor Segall ~ 2 Comments



Yesterday, on 5th November, my book Bring me to Light: Embracing my Bipolar and Social Anxiety (with Trigger Publishing) turned one!

Today, I got this lovely review from a Twitter follower Robin so I thought I would share it here:

‘It is an amazing book, really enjoyed reading it. An honest and open account of life with bipolar, your strength of character shone through. Thank you for being so open and writing it. – Robin Josephs

I wrote my book to help others and dispell the stigma about severe mental illness. Everyone is human and everyone has mental health. Whether you have never suffered or whether you have depression, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, schizophrenia, bipolar, OCD, BPD or EUPD, self harm, addictions, PTSD etc- I would love everyone to be more open if they feel able.

I hope my book explains what being in hospital can be like but that you can recover.

You can get your copy on Amazon and in all good book shops now 🙂

Happy bookversary to me! Thank you to YOU for supporting my blog, reading this and helping get my book deal. To everyone who has bought a copy and to my fab editors Stephanie and Katie.


‘Out of Office Ditch the 9-5’: An Outstanding new book by author Fiona Thomas.

~ Eleanor Segall ~ 1 Comment

(image: Fiona Thomas/ Trigger Publishing)

Out of Office: Ditch the 9-5 and Be Your Own Boss, by my friend and author Fiona Thomas is an incredible read! I have known Fiona for some time as our writing careers overlapped. We both became freelance journalists for publications including Metro.co.uk and Happiful magazine at the same time. We then got book deals around the same time with Trigger Publishing and released our first books within a year of one another. Fiona is one of the loveliest humans in the mental health writer world and so I eagerly anticipated reading her new book.

Ostensibly, the book is a guide to ditching the 9-5 traditional workplace and going freelance! This is something Fiona has great knowledge of, having left the 9-5 after a breakdown in her 20s and being diagnosed with depression and anxiety. It took her a year to recover from this and as she had previously worked as a Manager, she knew she couldn’t go back to the pressure cooker. You can read more about this in her first book Depression in a Digital Age.

Instead, like me, she found solace in blogging online about mental health, then writing and becoming a freelance writer for many publications. Now, she is not only an author but a writing coach, journalist and in demand speaker!

Freelancing is booming for people who want a more flexible lifestyle or have found themselves out of work too. All you need is a laptop, phone and internet connection!

(image: Fiona Thomas)

Now, to the book Out of Office. The book is full of Fiona’s trademark wit- I felt like she was talking directly to me as I read it. She has so much knowledge to impart on how to navigate the freelance world, avoid its pitfalls and make a successful career (and what to do when things can go pear shaped too!).

Whether you are just thinking about going freelance, just starting out or a few years down the line, this guide addresses all the questions you might have about working for yourself and making the most of life. Designed to help you attain and enjoy a self employed career, the book challenges the misconceptions around freelancing and offers the pros and cons of taking the plunge.

Fiona covers topics such as how to raise an invoice and submit a tax return, how to sell yourself, coping with imposter syndrome (aka I’m just not good enough to be here), as well as why working from home is proven to have a positive impact on productivity and mental health.

Fiona is a mental health advocate and always strives to help others on their journeys. I loved how engaging the book was, how I couldn’t wait to read the next chapter and learn more. As a freelance writer/blogger/author myself, I knew this book would help me too (especially with the finances) and it is sitting in pride of place on my book shelf as I devoured it. I will definitely re read and use Out of Office as a reference point in the future too.

This is a must read and you can get a copy here and in all good bookshops.

About Fiona:

Fiona Thomas is a freelance writer who was born in Glasgow but now lives in Birmingham. She has been published in Metro, Reader’s Digest, Happiful Magazine and Grazia. Her passion is working with female-led businesses and shining a light on the positive impact that freelancing can have on our wellbeing. This is her second book. She blogs at fionalikestoblog.com