Creating artwork allows your mind to be in a safe place while it contemplates the tougher issues you are dealing with. One can use the tools of brush, paint, pastels, crayons etc to expose and even for a short time colour those issues in a different light.” ― George...

Dear Victoria, My wife and I have been married for six months now and recently I decided to take paternity leave after the birth of our son, while my partner returns to work. However, as I remain at home, I find that childcare while keeping the house tidy and trying...

Dear Victoria, My husband and I have been together for 4 years now and just recently I have discovered that he has been using online chat rooms to talk to other women. When I confronted him about this he assured me that it meant nothing and that he is just conversing,...

Dear Victoria, ...I think my partner is having an affair. We’ve been together for 4 years and we have a 3 year old son. She’s accused me of being too controlling in the past, but I’m suspicious because she’s behaving differently.She’s coming home later than usual and...

In family life, separation and divorce is traumatic and distressing. It has a negative impact on the overall health and wellbeing of those involved. Although the EU is not a ‘family’ unit, the UK’s vote to exit reflects and parallels the negative fall-out and effects...

During the run-up to Christmas and the New Year, you may have noticed that some people are getting really excited, whilst others are getting moody and short-tempered. With so much pressure and unrealistic expectations to have the “perfect” Christmas the pressure...

APPRECIATION It’s time to focus on the things you have, rather than the things that you don’t have. When you throw out your unrealistic Wish List (which has no limits) it can alter your mood in a really positive way. But if you continue adding to it, don’t be...

EMOTIONS Emotions are signals. You are programmed with a wide range of feelings that signal pleasure, pain, danger, anger etc. Use them along with information from your rational brain to help you work out what’s going on inside, and how to respond when events happen....

ISOLATION This can work in one of two ways. Firstly we can choose to avoid other people, situations and tasks e.g. taking time off work, saying no to invites from friends, preferring to stay indoors evenings and weekends etc OR we decide we have the power to impose a...

OPENNESS To admit that we feel overwhelmed at times attracts the fear of being perceived as not coping. For this reason, we put on our beautiful masks to dance through the competing demands of daily life. The fast rhythms, pace and tempo of life (with short pauses),...