The Spark Blog

Category: mental health

  • 3 Signs You’re Suffering from Stress

    3 Signs You’re Suffering from Stress

    Stress is a part of life but too much of it can be very harmful to us mentally, emotionally and physically. Not only that, it has a way of creeping up on us whilst we are completely unaware. Thus we tend we tend not to be looking for help or finding ways to deal with…

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  • Why I Became a Counsellor

    Why I Became a Counsellor

    The Spark counsellor Josie tells us why she became a relationship counsellor in this week’s blog. I had spent most of my life living in Australia before moving to Scotland with my family. While I waited for my work permit I thought volunteering on a helpline would be a worthwhile thing to do. As part…

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  • Filling the Youth Mental Health Gap

    Filling the Youth Mental Health Gap

    Despite increased investment the NHS is struggling to cope with the demand for youth mental health support. Recent data indicates half of Scotland’s 14 health boards missed waiting time targets for young people with mental health issues. This comes following the addition of a further £150m in funding for mental health services in Scotland. The…

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  • Anxiety: 5 Ways to Cope Better

    Anxiety: 5 Ways to Cope Better

    Anxiety is one of the most common mental health issues in the UK. Research in 2013 indicated there were 8.2m diagnosed cases nationally. Anxiety can be debilitating but it can be managed, allowing sufferers to get back to enjoying life. Here are 5 practical ways to cope with anxiety1. 1. Get the jumble of thoughts…

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  • 5 Ways to Be Happier at Work

    5 Ways to Be Happier at Work

    The research is in and being sick is the only thing that makes us more unhappy than work. Apologies if you are reading this at work as we have probably made your day that little bit harder. But fear not, we are offering up 5 ways to help make you feel happier at work. But…

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  • Why Did They Have an Affair?

    Why Did They Have an Affair?

    When an affair brings a couple to counselling, a common early indicator of problems is when one partner has taken intimate, emotional issues outside the relationship. Even if the emotional connection does not progress to sexual intimacy, severe damage can already have been done. The emotional cost of an affair Sharing your deepest thoughts and…

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  • Early Mental Health and Adulthood

    Early Mental Health and Adulthood

    If you are interested in ‘what makes people tick’ you cannot help but have noticed the mass of TV programmes focused on the development of humans from childhood to adulthood. From The Secret Lives of 4 Year Olds to Bringing up Baby they examine how early mental health in children shapes the adults they subsequently…

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  • The Taboo of Men’s Mental Health

    The Taboo of Men’s Mental Health

    Great strides have been made in recent years in the promotion and awareness of men’s physical health and wellbeing. Multiple forms of cancer and the likes of heart and lung disease amongst men have started to lose their taboo status. Consequently, the discussion of such topics is more commonplace. Work is still to be done…

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  • What Does Debt Do to Relationships?

    What Does Debt Do to Relationships?

    These days it is easy to become immune to the scale of the statistics quoted by news programmes, websites and in the media. Those concerning debt are a prime example. Consider this: according to research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, in 2015 1.25m adults and 312,000 children were destitute in the UK. That is 1.56m…

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