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Tom had joined the army at the age of eighteen. He was a combat veteran, having served two tours of duty in Bosnia during the conflict there in the 1990’s. He’d continued to serve, rising to the rank of sergeant and took part in other conflicts around the world. Eventually he left the army in…

Narcissism Narcissism has many different shades and characteristics. Among the most common are the overt, in your face, grandiose type. This involves intimidation, bullying, a need for attention and externalised anger. The other being the covert or vulnerable type. This involves playing on your guilt in order to manipulate you, being distant and an internalised…

Grieving the loss of a loved one is natural. Although pre-bereavement grief may be different from the grief following a death, the anticipation of the death can bring up many of the feelings we feel following the loss of a loved one. We can experience pre-bereavement grief even when the prospect of death even becomes…

Distress Tolerance Emotional dysregulation is a difficulty in managing difficult feelings. We all have uncomfortable feelings such as stress, anxiety, guilt, frustration and so on from time to time and in certain situations. We also have different levels of distress tolerance. Our reactions and responses are managed through emotional regulation to help keep a sense…

Day Dream Believer Having an active imagination doesn’t make a fantasy addict. Fantasizing and day dreaming is not in itself a bad thing. Letting our mind wander and explore something we might enjoy is normal and healthy. Depending on our intent, we can fantasize over preferred futures and scenarios and it can help us work…

When a narcissistic parent or parents have more than one child, they are assigned different roles within the family unit. These roles may swap and change at the whim of the parent, depending on mood or circumstance. If they have only the one child, that child may have to play more than one role. Here…

In the narcissistic family there is a hierarchy. It begins usually with either a matriarch or patriarch, most commonly known as the head of the family. From there, there is a pecking order of partner and children in which everyone has their roles.  The head of the family dominates others through either overt or covert…

Responsibility can be defined as taking accountability for something. We have responsibilities in work, as parents or as members of society. Sometimes however, we can find it difficult to accept or take responsibility for our actions, beliefs, behaviours or duties. Nothing to do with me Dave worked in a company that designed and built stands…

I was recently interviewed for the Chatterbox TV podcast on the affects of social media on mental health. Click on the bar above to listen to it.