Mental Health

Living with OCD: Practical Tips for Everyday Life

January 14, 2026

By Martyn Bailey BABCP Accredited Cognitive-Behavioural Therapist Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is more than liking things neat or organised. It involves intrusive, unwanted thoughts, images or urges (obsessions) and behaviours or mental rituals (compulsions) aimed at reducing distress. Living with OCD can feel exhausting, but there are practical ways to make day- to- day life more … More Living with OCD: Practical Tips for Everyday Life

Mindfulness by the Sea: CBT-Informed Exercises YOU can do on the Isle of Wight

December 17, 2025

By Martyn Bailey BACBP-Accredited Cognitive Behavioural Therapist Living on the Isle of Wight means we have constant access to something many people only experience on holiday: the calming presence of the sea. Whether you’re listening to the waves at Compton Bay, strolling the long sands of Ryde, or sitting beneath the cliffs at Freshwater, our … More Mindfulness by the Sea: CBT-Informed Exercises YOU can do on the Isle of Wight

“Beating the Winter Blues: A Therapist’s Guide to SAD in the UK”

December 6, 2025

By Martyn Bailey, BABCP Accredited Cognitive Behavioural Therapist Now the clocks have gone back and the days grow shorter, many of us in the UK notice a familiar dip in mood. Grey skies, early sunsets, and seemingly endless rain can leave even the most resilient among us feeling flat, tired and unmotivated. For some, this … More “Beating the Winter Blues: A Therapist’s Guide to SAD in the UK”

Navigating NHS Waiting Lists: 5 Self-Help strategies for Anxiety While You Wait

November 10, 2025

By Martyn Bailey, BABCP Accredited Cognitive Behavioural Therapist “I’ve been on the waiting list for 14 months and I’m scared I’ll fall apart before I get help,” – Anonymous client 2025 If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone. NHS England’s latest data (September 2025) shows over 1.8 million people waiting for mental health treatment, with … More Navigating NHS Waiting Lists: 5 Self-Help strategies for Anxiety While You Wait

Unhelpful Thinking Styles

December 9, 2024

Unhelpful Thinking Styles are styles of thinking that almost everybody has done and they are a perfectly normal way of our mind attempting to make sense of a situation. Unfortunately, they become a problem when they start to become our “go to” or our most frequent way of thinking. This often happens when we are … More Unhelpful Thinking Styles

Is worrying helpful?

November 5, 2024

Does worrying help? Some people say yes, it may help them prepare for something important, or focus the mind in some way. Some people say no, it is not helpful at all. An idea may be to test this out therefore one can either continue being “productive” or alternatively find something more useful. Before highlighting … More Is worrying helpful?

Using our 5 senses for relief from Anxiety

December 20, 2023

I commonly hear that when feeling anxious it is difficulty to think about anything other than the theme of our anxiety. And don’t get me wrong, I appreciate how difficult it can be as our brains are biologically wired to ensure that we focus on the “threat”. After all in caveman times this is what … More Using our 5 senses for relief from Anxiety

The Values of working with Values

March 14, 2023

Nothing against goals here as having well defined, progressive goals can help to motivate us, give us structure, routine and ultimately achieve. Unfortunately, emotional difficulties may occur when we are over-focused on these goals without giving adequate time to make sure we are measuring up to our values. Goals Let’s start with the difference between … More The Values of working with Values

Dealing with Negative Thinking

February 15, 2023

This is a short blog post to identify three concepts that we can all train to help with negative thinking. The concepts in question are: I will explain each concept in a little more detail Openness This is referring to the ability to be open to the unwanted internal experiences such as negative thoughts and … More Dealing with Negative Thinking