So often, mental health struggles begin in silence. Everyone experiences poor mental health at some point, just as we all experience physical ill health to a greater or lesser degree. And while it is wonderful that people are finding it easier to talk about mental health, there is still a stigma around poor mental health that can make it difficult to ask for the support and guidance we need. So many of us carry an inner world of anxiety, exhaustion, grief, shame, or self-crit

Adopted people are one of the most highly represented groups in mental health services. This isn’t because adoptees are unstable or emotionally fragile. It’s because the architecture they grew inside has never been understood. Public narratives — abandoned, unwanted, given up — shape how adoptees are spoken to and interpreted. Questions become invasive. Reassurance becomes erasure. The difficulties adoptees face are structural, created by the early architecture of severance a

The Path After Birth: Reflections on Maternal Mental Health Maternal Mental Health Week highlights the often-unseen emotional and psychological changes new mothers experience. Alongside physical recovery, disrupted sleep and shifting identity, many women struggle with feelings of overwhelm, anxiety or disconnection — sometimes linked to difficult or traumatic birth experiences. These responses are common, yet stigma can make them hard to share. Drawing on personal and profes

This reflective essay explores the simple but powerful truth that everyone has mental health — and that it exists on a spectrum, not as an on/off state. Inspired by a child’s insight, the piece reframes mental health as something that must be nurtured through care, boundaries, movement, rest and connection. Drawing on family experience, yoga teaching and community, it highlights how practices such as running, mindful movement and shared spaces can support resilience and wellb

When I think about roots and earth for adopted people, I recognise how complex these words can be, especially for those adopted in the closed‑adoption era. For most people, roots come from family lines, familiar stories, and the ground they were born into. But for adoptees, the architecture begins with a severance and a forced reconnection.

One of the simplest resources we all have to hand is also one of the most powerful: our breath. We can make use of this tool whenever and wherever we are, to help bring us back into the present, to feel grounded and connected.