Until you’ve learnt the meaning of the blues — Trigger Warning: this article contains a discussion of suicide that may not be suitable for all readers. AoE community, please read with care. My headline is the title of a song recorded by Chet Baker and Nina Simone. This is the story of how it became interwoven with my life. …

How to take struggle and conflict out of your life — I'm pretty sure most of us want to thrive. To feel alive in the moment and in connection with ourselves and the rest of humanity. Thrive: To prosper; be fortunate or successful. To grow or develop vigorously, to flourish. The trouble is we have collapsed the idea of thriving with…

Here's how I survived — The approach to anxiety in children has changed a little over the last 50 years. The problem is steadily increasing and the issues of the pandemic have made it worse. I was treated brutally, but now I have the privilege of helping others navigate their way through this common childhood…

Are they a myth, a legend or a fantasy? — There is no right way to grieve. The grief police will not smash through your tightly sealed door and pluck you from the sanctuary of your bed for contravening the rules of mourning. Your pain at the loss of a loved one is yours alone. You are at liberty to…

The garden was home, and the house sat within it — It was a two-minute walk home from primary school. We all walked, apart from the doctor’s son and the dentist’s daughter, who their mothers picked up, and those boarding the bus and travelling outside the two-mile walk zone. We would breathe in warm, yeasty aromas as we passed the bakery…

Acknowledging the dark to appreciate the light — I was walking the cliffs near my home on a beautiful sun-baked afternoon. I noticed the skylarks were not singing. I chatted with my wife about the life cycle and habits of these melodious beauties. Had they fledged all their chicks and abandoned those nests in the long grass? …

But brings back precious memories — I have two daughters. Holly lived life on full throttle for 28 years and then stopped. Two years after this photograph on a hot summer morning, she sent her last text to me, “Love you, daddy”, and took her own life. Like everything she did, Holly thoroughly researched and planned…

Some signposts as to what and why and where you might go for help — I think everyone could benefit from counselling. Everyone struggles with something, and if you think you don’t, you are probably in denial and counselling could help with that. There is a lot of stigma and confusion around mental health and the services available. I am making a distinction and giving…