If you've ever wondered why we become depressed or anxious – believe it or not, there is a suggestion that it is in our best interest to feel this way at times. Our human brain is naturally wired to seek the 'bad' or negative in circumstances – as a life-saving strategy. In historical times, for example, it was more conducive to assume that the noise in the bush was a lion rather than a bird - for obvious reasons! The brain is constantly scanning for what might endanger us, sifting through the past to ensure we don't repeat mistakes that caused us pain (physical or otherwise) and attempting to predict the future (otherwise known as 'worry') to save us from entering into a dangerous situation.

However, this way of thinking doesn't always serve us well in the modern world. An overactive mind can contribute to a chronic state of depression or anxiety.

The good news is that we can retrain our brains.

I can’t tell you, how many times I say to someone - “you are okay”, “there is nothing ‘wrong’ with you”.

You body or your mind (or both) are reacting the way they are because something happened to you.

You may not know what that is. But often you have an idea. But you have pushed it away, deep down because you had too.

I’m not sure when I wrote this. I’m not sure it’s all my content - but I found this tucked away in an old notebook of mine. So I though I’d share them - just in case this might be handy to you right now.

In no particular order - here is my 40 point guide to recovering from a break-up.

1. Call in your allies

2. Give yourself time

3. Grieve…

I remember hearing this once, and it stuck me a being incredibly profound and at the time incredibly humbling and kind. It was in relation to a work colleague, talking about another work colleague, who had lost their son via suicide. His comment was 'it could of happened to any one of us, any one of our children could have taken the same steps.... but for the Grace of God".

I have remembered this, and have used it on many occasion, quietly to myself. Although it stirs up a slight sense of guilt ("Thank God it is not me"), it also rouses an incredible sense of gratitude. How fortunate am I, to not be going through what this person is experiencing? How fortunate that I have shelter, a warm bed, a loving family? How fortunate am I that I have not experienced what this person is going through.

Are you particularly hard on yourself?

Are you always striving to achieve?

Do you hate failing?

Are you trying so hard all the time?

Are you tired - but continue to push through?

Do you work twice as hard at the gym (or elsewhere) because you feel you have to?

Are you constantly trying to prove to yourself or others your worth?

Yesterday was world mental health day. The theme of this years mental health day was ‘suicide prevention’.

I struggle with this concept. Suicide prevention? What about preventing people from becoming depressed in the first place?

Depression isn’t simply ‘feeling sad’, or having issues coping with a loss - ie a normal part of grieving. Depression often comes on with no discerning reason, to those who on the outside appear to ‘have it all’. It’s complex, complicated and confusing.

This is a subject I feel quite passionate about - and I wondered whether it fitted into my business concepts or not. Then I realised that 1) I don't care if it does or doesn't and 2) I think it does.

You see, I don't think you can care about your body, mind and soul without taking notice of what is going on in your environment.

I bumped into someone recently who for health reasons had to stop working (temporarily). Money is not too big an issue (husband works full time) and the health problem isn't so serious. I asked her how she was enjoying not working. She replied 'I don't like it, I'm struggling to feel that I have a purpose in life' :0

I was a little surprised. And then I realised….

We all think and perhaps even daydream about our future – how it all might look – and try to hope for the best. Many times we can’t see a clear path from now to that gleaming future.

The ‘Best Possible Self’ exercise was developed to help us visualize what we might be in the future and through increasing optimism and improving mood, help us get there. The best possible self is a researched and studied approach to changing our mindset, improving coping skills and elevating levels of happiness.

To understand how to implement the Best Possible Self Exercise in our daily routine, we will first discuss the origin of this approach and then move on to the instructions and step-by-step guide.