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    From Unconscious Eating To Intentional Wellness

    We’ve all done it before – eating on the go, snacking in front of one or more screens, indulging when we’re not hungry, and rushing through meals, it’s even become the norm to some. However, these are not harmless habits.In response, mindful eating has been gaining popularity in recent years as a way to cultivate a deeper connection with our food and our bodies. The practice is centred on fully immersing yourself in the nutritional experience of tasting your food.

    According to Márcia Garcia Eugenio, Head for Multiply Incentivised Wellness for Momentum Health Solutions improved health and wellness lies in breaking free from this cycle of thoughtless eating and instead approach each mouthful with intention.

    To help start you on your journey and guide you in making mindful eating a fun and positive practice, Momentum Multiply has created the 5Ms of truly mindful eating:

    1. Make time

    Set time aside for meals, this will ensure that you don’t hurry while eating and end up just gulping everything and anything down. Not eating enough times in the day can result in actually eating more than we may need at our next meal.

    2. Minimise distractions

    Aim to be fully present with every meal – turn off the TV, put down your phone and step away from any other distractions. Except good company of course – sharing meals with friends or family is a great way to connect.

    3. More chewing = smoother digestion

    Take your time and chew your food slowly and thoroughly to make sure that you savour each mouthful. This will help you experience the depth of your foods’ flavour, texture and taste. 

    4. Mind the 80/20 Rule

    Research1 suggest to achieve a healthy diet, 80 percent of your daily intake should consist of nutritious food such as fruit, vegetables, high-fibre carbs and protein. So stop before you eat – and intentionally choose based on what you’ve already eaten, and still planning to consume.

    5. Make it an experience!

    Different foods have different textures, taste, and consistency. So, when you eat, opt for variety in food to add to the experience. This provides you with a wider spectrum of valuable nutrients and encourages to make every meal worth sitting down for.  

    To guide you on your holistic wellness journey, Momentum Multiply’s new products Multiply Inspire and Engage helps members live a healthy, balanced life by rewarding them for improving both their physical health and mental wellbeing.

    Truly mindful eating is not a one-size-fits-all approach, and it may take some time and practice to develop. However, the benefits it can offer are limitless. By adopting a more mindful approach to your overall health from eating to keeping active and everything in between, will result in endless benefits.

    Visit multiply.co.za to start your journey and unlock the priceless value of holistic wellness. 

    1Understanding Calories | Why All Calories are not Equal – Harvard School of Public Health (chgeharvard.org) More

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    All the mental wellness clinics to visit in Dubai

    Life

    by Sarah Joseph
    2 hours ago

    With the high-pressure society we live in, mental health is quite often an overlooked subject.
    To delve into the matter, it’s important to provide an opportunity for people around the world to make mental health care a reality for all.
    As the UAE continues to break the stigma surrounding this, mental health clinics have gained popularity to address factors surrounding depression, fatigue, anxiety, panic attacks and more.
    With the outbreak of COVID-19, several clinics have adapted to Zoom healthcare services, adding a new meaning to virtual sessions, along with in-person sessions as per usual.
    If you, or anyone you’re aware of, might require these services, Emirates Woman has curated a guide to all the mental health clinics here in Dubai.
    The LightHouse Arabia

    With a team of over 30 psychologists to address different areas in one’s life, The LightHouse Arabia provides high-quality services to help with a wide range of mental health and well-being challenges. From adoption support to psychotherapy, the in-depth sessions make it one of the leading mental health clinics in the UAE. With various events hosted every month, the interactive sessions make it helpful for people to address their problems in a community-driven environment. Located in Villa 1, Al Wasl Road, Al Safa 2, it’s open daily from 8am to 8pm with Fridays being closed.
    For more information visit lighthousearabia.com
    Priory Wellbeing Centre

    Each treatment programme is tailored to the specific needs of each individual ensuring the best possible outcome is achieved. Knowing that everyone has a different pace, the sessions are tailored to each person’s potential in their own time. With a team of professionals, the therapies provide an experience to suit each patient. From cognitive behaviour therapy to individual therapy, the clinic helps everyone to work through their problems and discover more about themselves. Located in Dubai Healthcare City, Block F, it’s open on Sunday and Monday from 8am to 7pm, Tuesday and Wednesday from 8am to 6pm and Thursday and Saturday from 9am to 5pm, with Fridays being closed.
    For more information visit priorygroup.ae
    Thrive Wellbeing Center

    In a judgment-free environment, this clinic helps clients accomplish their goals while supporting them in a warm, empathic and seamless manner. Combining the latest research, the professionals know that mental health is just as important as physical health. From parenting support to individual therapy, the expert psychologists support people through a range of challenges including depression, anxiety, grief, relationship issues and trauma. The clinic also conducts a host of workshops for people together in a group. Located in Saba Tower 1, Cluster E in JLT, it’s open from Sunday to Thursday, 9am to 8pm and Saturday 10am to 6pm.
    For more information visit thrive.ae
    Wise Mind Center

    This clinic is committed to building a sense of community and belonging ensuring that anyone who visits is never treated as an outsider. Creating a confidential space to explore and harbour lasting change, Wise Mind Center ensures its clientele is kept small for quality over quantity. With individual access to each therapist, the services are provided in Arabic, English and Dutch. Located in Lake Central Tower, 1209, Business Bay, it’s open daily from 10am to 8pm, except Friday’s are closed.
    For more information visit wisemindcenter.com
    American Wellness Center

    As the ever-increasing societal pace wears people down, the clinic was born to make the brunt of modern life a lot easier. This multi-specialty clinic ensures every session is carefully tailored as per the customer’s surrounding concerns. From mindfulness training to parenting skills training, both children and adults are looked after in a safe environment with highly qualified experts. Located in Al Faris Building 39, Dubai Healthcare City, it’s open from 8am to 10pm.
    For more information visit americanwellnesscenter.ae
    Camali Clinic

    With a step-by-step guided programme created to address any challenges, the clinic creates a personalised schedule to overcome each obstacle. By identifying the root cause of each patient’s personal challenges, clinically proven counselling sessions provide a holistic approach to addressing its client’s mental health. Various emotional and behavioural issues are addressed with love and support. With two locations, it’s situated in Block A, Ibn Sina building no. 27 in Dubai Healthcare City and Cluster M, HDS Center, in JLT.
    For more information visit camaliclinic.com
    – For more on luxury lifestyle, news, fashion and beauty follow Emirates Woman on Facebook and Instagram
    Images: Supplied & feature image: Unsplash @priscilla-du-preez More

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    5 Steps For Tapping Into Motivation, Direct From The Pros

    We’re meant to start a new year full of beans, dreams and a renewed sense of purpose… At least that’s what Instagram tells us. But, if it feels like you’re in a rut or can’t quite work up the energy to do whatever it is you really want to do, you’re not stuck in neutral alone. Just one example: 52 per cent of unhappy employees say they lack energy and motivation, according to a recent Indeed survey. No matter where you think your drive is – or isn’t – right now, these simple steps can help to rev up your motivation. Hint: it’s all about embracing the long game and being kinder to yourself.

    1. Do Something 

    Reality check: drive isn’t something that only lucky people have, like great hair or fast feet. Anyone can develop drive (or motivation – experts use them interchangeably) if you know how to go about it.

    “People often think of motivation and drive as the big flame that happens if you take lighter fluid and spray it all over a grill,” says Steve Magness, an executive coach, performance expert and co-author of the book Peak Performance. “A better way to think about drive is that you get some coal, light the fire and let it slow burn over time. That allows us to sustain and cook whatever we’re trying to cook.” 

    James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, writes that “one of the most surprising things about motivation is that it comes after starting a new behaviour, not before.” In other words, you don’t just get motivated, then do something. You do something, and that gets you motivated. “Getting started, even in very small ways … naturally produces momentum,” he writes. If starting out, even in a “very small way,” feels like anything from a minor sticking point to a monumental obstacle, he recommends making the first few steps so easy that you waste no energy thinking about doing them.

    So instead of waiting “until you feel like it” to overhaul your LinkedIn profile to get the job you want, block out 10 minutes to play around with the first entry. Instead of trying to overhaul your nutrition, start by planning what you’ll have for breakfast most days and buying the ingredients.

    2. Remove Barriers

    Even the pro athletes sometimes have a tough time getting started, says Magness, who has worked with NBA players and Olympians. “What saves these athletes is that their environment is set up in a way that lowers the bar – there’s less activation energy that’s needed to get out the door.” They have trainers devising their workouts, training partners depending on them to show up. Their systems are organised to minimise hurdles. And good news: you can do the same. 

    During a rough period when Magness says he was working too much and finding excuses not to exercise, he added five minutes to his evening commute to get to a park where he liked to run. The easy choice would have been to take the faster way home. But by going a few minutes out of his way and seeing his running shoes on the passenger seat, he removed the barrier to taking that run. “It’s almost like your brain sees running as the easier decision now. Those cues are inviting you to take that action, and you don’t have to think about it,” he explains.

    Success strategy: Unlocking motivation is all about the long game, say experts. Seeing drive as a slow burn to sustain rather than a big flame.

    3. Create Micro-goals

    Dr David Zald has watched motivation disappear. He’s the director of the Center for Advanced Human Brain Imaging Research at Rutgers University. His research has found that this happens when the workload seems too heavy or the rewards too far off. The obvious but hard-to-see-when-you’re-in-it solution is to break that big goal into smaller, doable tasks. 

    “Below your goal are subgoals, each of which has its own subgoals, cascading down to specific behaviours,” says Dr James M. Diefendorff, a professor of industrial/organisational psychology. Goals closer to the top of the hierarchy explain why you’re doing what you’re doing and reflect your values, while goals further down explain how the goal will be met, he says. Subgoals help you understand the steps you need to take and give you tasks to succeed at along the way – both help make long-term goals more manageable. Feeling like you’re making progress also feeds drive.

    So below ‘take all my vacation days this year,’ subgoals might be: ‘narrow down Airbnbs to two,’ then ‘email options to friends,’ and finally ‘book it.’ Similarly, if you’re having a hard time getting excited about a long run, promise yourself that you’ll run a kilometre or so, then take a break, and repeat that pattern until you’re finished, tips Zald.

    Key in on the phrase ‘take a break,’ too. You’re more likely to stick to a goal if you earn immediate rewards for steps you take rather than delaying rewards until you’re finished, according to research by Dr Ayelet Fishbach, author of Get It Done: Surprising Lessons from the Science of Motivation.

    4. Stop One Rep Short

    If you’re driven, you’re always pushing yourself hard… right? Performance coach Brad Stulberg wants to change your mind about that. In his new book, The Practice of Groundedness, he makes the case that “anyone can crush themselves and do an Instagram-worthy workout or all-nighter. That’s actually pretty easy. What is hard is maintaining drive for longer periods of time.” To keep it going, “force yourself to stop the equivalent of one rep short, day in and day out. Doing that is all about going a little slower today so you can go faster tomorrow.” Close the laptop at 6pm instead of 7pm. Sit down to eat lunch. Drive runs on sustainable energy, so feed it right.

    Success strategy: Rather than driving to the basket non-stop, be patient with yourself and look after your energy levels for a real motivation winner.

    5. Let Drive Change

     “The pandemic altered the lives of nearly everyone and led millions to re-evaluate and clarify the core of what is important, essential or meaningful in life – which may not be climbing the corporate ladder,” says Diefendorff.

    What sets you on fire can be a moving target, since we become interested in different things and develop different values over the course of our lives, he adds. To understand what you care about, try thinking about what happens on your best days. What gives you energy and excitement? If you don’t want to switch jobs or goals to feel a sense of drive again, “try to structure your day to ensure that some ‘best day’ activities can be experienced at least some of the time,” Diefendorff suggests.

    The post 5 Steps For Tapping Into Motivation, Direct From The Pros appeared first on Women’s Health. Words by Emily Sohn More

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    10 Of The Most Common Phobias, Explained

    By Nikolina Ilic

    Did you know there are more than 500 recognised phobias? Ranging from super common to incredibly rare, and from NBD to deadly serious, they’re more common than we think: according to Australasian Psychology Services, specific phobias are thought to affect around 11 per cent of the Aussie population. In South Africa, the biggest animal phobia is arachnophobia or the fear of spiders.

    “Approximately one-quarter of the population have one or more phobias, with the number one fear being glossophobia: fear of public speaking, which affects up to 75% of the population,” explains Mark Stephens, lifestyle hypnotherapist and phobia specialist. “Phobias can develop at any time of your life, but will often start when you’re a child and can be triggered by a single traumatic event or a series of events that induce fear.”

    The most common phobias:

    Trypanophobia: Fear of needles

    Mysophobia: Fear of germs

    Coulrophobia: fear of clowns

    Catoptrophobia: Fear of mirrors

    Glossophobia: Fear of public speaking

    Leptophobia: Fear of losing weight/ being skinny

    Hadephobia: Fear of going to hell

    Decidophobia: Fear of making decisions

    Pteronophobia: Fear of being tickled by feathers

    Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia: a fear of long words

    Phobias: Everything you need to know

    What is a phobia?

    A phobia is a concern or fear about certain situations or activities, like animals and objects. Fear is a rational response in certain situations, however, some people react to objects, activities or situations (the phobic stimulus) by imagining or irrationally exaggerating the danger, resulting in panic, fear or terror that is out of proportion to the actual threat. Sometimes, even the thought of, or simply seeing the phobic stimulus on television, is enough to cause a reaction. These types of excessive reactions may be indicative of a Specific Phobia.

    What happens when I have a phobia?

    People with phobias are often well aware that their fears are exaggerated or irrational, but feel that their anxious reaction is automatic or they are not able to control it. When exposed to the phobic stimulus, anxiety can reach excessive levels. Specific Phobias are often associated with panic attacks, during which the person experiences and is overwhelmed by physical sensations that may include a pounding heart, choking, nausea, faintness, dizziness, chest pain, hot or cold flushes and perspiration.

    How do I know if I have one?

    A person may have a phobia if they:

    Have a persistent fear that is excessive and unreasonable in relation to a specific object, activity or situation, such as heights, seeing blood or encountering a dog. Adults will be able to recognise that the fear is excessive; children with Specific Phobias may not be able to.

    Avoids situations in which they may have to face the phobic stimulus, for example not walking down a street where there may be a dog or refusing to go further than the ground floor of a building. If the situation is unavoidable, it is endured with distress.

    Finds that the anxiety or avoidance associated with such situations makes it difficult to go about daily life (for example, working, studying or seeing friends and family).

    What are the main categories?

    Specific Phobias are generally divided into the following categories:

    Animal type: fear that relates to animal or insects (e.g. fear of dogs or spiders).

    Natural-Environment type: a fear associated with the natural environment (e.g. fear of thunder or heights).

    Blood-Injection-Injury type: A fear associated with invasive medical procedures (e.g. injections), or by seeing blood or injury.

    Situational Type: a fear of specific situations (e.g. elevators, bridges or driving).

    Other: Any other Specific Phobias (e.g. fear of choking or fear of vomiting).

    What causes phobias?

    Several factors are likely to increase a person’s risk of developing a Specific Phobia. These include:

    A family history of mental health problems:

    A predisposition to anxiety may be passed down from a parent with a mental illness. Research has shown that children of moderately to severely depressed parents are up to three times more likely to have an anxiety disorder, and specifically a phobia, than children of non-depressed parents.

    Traumatic experiences: someone who has, for example, witnessed or experienced a traumatic event (e.g. being bitten by an animal or trapped somewhere like a cupboard) may feel extremely fearful of situations or objects associated with the event afterwards. By avoiding these, even when they are in a non-threatening situation, they may develop a phobia.

    What treatments are available?

    Phobias are treatable and seeking professional help is the first step towards recovery. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) is the most commonly- used therapy for people with Specific Phobias and can be conducted either in group sessions or individually. Cognitive behaviour therapists work closely with people to develop a shared understanding of their thinking and behavioural difficulties. Therapists will help people to uncover unhelpful and unrealistic ways of thinking (e.g. “I will be trapped. Medication is also available, like antidepressants, however, there has been no clear indications of efficacy in using medication have been found in treating phobias.

    This article was first published in womenshealthmag.com.au More

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    Can Manifesting Really Help You Smash Your Goals?

    Angie Tiwari wakes up, slides out of bed and pulls the shutter back from her bedroom window. As she prises it ajar, a stream of morning light comes in and, as if on command, the sound of chirping birds fills the room. She sits back on the tangle of sheets and drops her eyelids to soften her gaze, turning inward. 

    In her mind’s eye, she sees herself running a yoga retreat; she’s speaking to a group of people, sharing with them how the practice helped her in difficult times. Next, she picks up a hardback journal the colour of charcoal and pulls it open at a blank page. The words flow through her fingers and onto the paper. ‘I run a successful online yoga business, I inspire and encourage people to try it, I share the true meaning of yoga, I build a collaborative community.’

    What is manifesting?

    The 29-year-old yoga teacher and founder of Tiwari Yoga isn’t alone in this practice. Alongside other items in the New Age bag of tricks (tarot reading; crystal healing), manifestation – achieving material goals through sheer force of belief, using techniques like affirmations and visualisation – has enjoyed an energised buzz over the past year, taken up by a shiny new cohort of fans. This you’ll know if you’ve clocked one of the 8m+ Instagram posts tagged #manifestation or contributed to the billions of views of manifestation content on TikTok.

    So, is it truly possible to engineer real-world change using such practices? Or is this a Covid, cost-of-living, loadshedding crisis era balm that’s likely to lose its appeal when things feel a little less chaotic? 

    Where did the concept of manifesting come from? 

    While some practitioners argue that the root ideas behind manifestation are present in certain ancient spiritual traditions, you’ve most likely come across it in the guise of the law of attraction, which is central to the New Thought movement. At its most basic, the premise is this: your thoughts and feelings send out vibrations to the universe, attracting events that share those frequencies. Good attracts good, bad attracts bad; positive thinking on steroids. 

    The idea first circulated at the start of the 19th century, but was beamed into the modern zeitgeist in 2006, when Australian writer Rhonda Byrne stitched it together with various New Age ideas in her book The Secret – 35m copies sold and counting – and the film of the same name, which you can find on Netflix. Latterly, the theory has had a wellness makeover, with evangelists Oprah and Gwyneth Paltrow testifying to its power in the past decade: a technique to sit alongside mindfulness and breathwork in your arsenal of self-care activities.

    So, why is everyone manifesting all of a sudden?

    As to the uptick in interest of late, we’ll give you three guesses. Research has found that periods of high stress correlate with a surge in ‘magical thinking’ – believing that unrelated events are causally connected, with supernatural forces affecting outcomes. Research from Tel Aviv University, for one, has found that exposing people to high-stress conditions causes them to report a greater urge to ‘knock on wood’, and to ‘knock’ more times when asked questions designed to elicit the ritual, versus those exposed to a low-stress environment.

    For health psychologist Dr Sula Windgassen (@the_health_psychologist_) it isn’t just the stress of the turbocharged price of everyday life and the pandemic’s reverberations that might be generating increased interest in manifestation, but the loss of control that’s come with it all. ‘In situations where you have little or no control, you try to find ways to make sense of things.’ This, she explains, is an evolutionary response. ‘It’s inherently threatening for us to think of the world as an unpredictable place. One way to think of manifestation is as wishful thinking. This can be a process of regaining control in some way.’

    Could it have something to do with what’s going on right now?

    So it makes sense that the practice found a following among those hit hard by Covid. Dani Britten, 32, was helping to run her mum’s cafe near her home in March 2020, when the order came to shut up shop. Not being contracted staff, she wasn’t eligible for furlough, and while her husband was, thankfully, still able to work, she had to rely on Universal Credit and Covid-era self-employment grants through repeated lockdowns. 

    ‘It’s inherently threatening for us to think of the world as an unpredictable place’

    Last November, with another lockdown looming, she was feeling low and anxious. She’d started following law of attraction coach  Esther McCann on Instagram months earlier, and when she saw McCann was running a Black Friday deal, she signed up for eight one-on-one telephone sessions, putting the cost on a credit card. 

    McCann taught her several manifestation tools, such as the emotional freedom technique (EFT, or tapping), and how to create a vision board. After doing the latter, Dani decided to follow her intuition and plunge into a new professional venture – selling healing crystals.

    Six months on, her live crystal sales which she hosts twice weekly in a Facebook group she set up for the enterprise, sell out every time.

    What does the science say about manifesting? 

    Coincidence, you ask? Or evidence of the universe in action? It’s true that much of the language used in these practices is rooted in the spiritual; and talk of the universe, vibrations and energy is understood to be pseudoscience in mainstream circles. And yet, research does support some of the techniques that sit under the manifestation umbrella. 

    Stanford psychologist Professor Carol Dweck’s seminal research into ‘growth’ versus ‘fixed’ mindsets, for one, shows that believing your capabilities are not set in stone makes you more likely to put in the work to reach a punchy goal. 

    Believing your capabilities are not set in stone makes you more likely to put in the work’

    Her work, synthesised in her book Mindset: The New Psychology Of Success, showed that people with fixed mindsets – those who believe their intelligence, character and creative ability are as static as their eye colour – limit themselves by avoiding new challenges that come with a risk of failure. In doing so, they’re less likely to learn new skills with which they don’t find instant success or to chip away at a tricky barrier to accomplishment, with ramifications for what they achieve in life. 

    Conversely, those with a growth mindset thrive on a challenge, seeing failure as an opportunity to grow and develop. Multiple studies in school pupils show that those in the latter camp routinely learn more new and difficult things, thus allowing the neurons in their brains to form fresh and stronger connections.

    ‘The law of attraction doesn’t just respond to your thoughts’

    Arguably, in some of its less fantastical iterations, manifestation is growth mindset by another name. ‘The law of attraction doesn’t just respond to your thoughts,’ says McCann. ‘It responds to the way you feel about yourself, the world and what you believe is possible. You only go as far as you believe you’re capable of going.’ 

    What about visualisations?

    As for visualisations, they’re used by professional sportspeople and elite athletes, thanks to a body of evidence that supports their efficacy. 

    ‘The success of the law of attraction lies not in purely visualising your goals, but actioning them’

    Dr Tara Swart, author of The Source, is a fan, too. Since pivoting to executive coaching, the former psychiatrist with a PhD in neuroscience has used an incarnation of manifestation with her clients. For Dr Swart, the success of the law of attraction lies not in purely visualising your goals, but actioning them; it’s the reason she gets her clients to make action boards instead of vision boards, so that the emphasis is on the work they need to put in. ‘The trick is to look at it daily, visualise the goals coming true and do so using sensory integration – imagine what the goal looks, feels and tastes like.’

    By stimulating your brain with specific, goal-oriented images every day, she says, you’re cementing them in your brain’s limbic system – the home of emotional responses and memories – and priming it to pay attention to those things.

    ‘The trick is to look at it daily, visualise the goals coming true and do so using sensory integration’

    This is called ‘value tagging’. Dr Swart gives the example of someone who wants to work in the field of mindfulness; you’ve put a visual representation of this on an action board and you’ve been doing visualisations in which you’ve pictured yourself in such a role. Then, in conversation, someone mentions that they are developing a mindfulness app. Because you’ve value-tagged this, your ears prick up; perhaps you ask for an interview and realise your ambition. In short, the visualisation creates action.

    Still, if, to you, the idea that the universe works in much the same way as filling up your Superbalist cart and hitting ‘place order’ feels a bit too good to be true, you’re in good company. 

    Are there any potential problems with manifesting?

    For Dr Windgassen, it isn’t just a question of whether the techniques that sit under the manifestation umbrella will work, but how you’ll feel if they don’t. ‘People may be more likely to turn to manifestation and other self-help ideas when they’re particularly vulnerable and depleted and, consequently, their self-esteem may be lower,’ she says. 

    Because interpretations of manifestation can be ‘magical’, she explains, if it doesn’t work out, you might see it as your fault, which could lead to negative rumination.

    ‘It could exacerbate this perception that already exists that people who are worse off deserve it’ 

    What’s more, she warns, the idea that you can manifest anything fails to account for the structural disadvantages that are woven through society. ‘It could exacerbate this perception that already exists that people who are worse off somehow deserve it, because they’ve not worked hard enough,’ she adds. ‘That forgets that privilege [like your race or social class] plays a huge role in the division. It taps into this unhelpful side of self-help culture – the idea that you’re in your own way and if only you’d get out of it, you could thrive.’ 

    How manifesting is present in some workplaces

    Research has even found that the language of manifestation has become bound up in the DNA of the networking marketing world. Researchers from Bournemouth University and the University of Essex found that the law of attraction was ‘ingrained in the culture’, of one networking marketing organisation they studied, with senior leadership warning that negative thoughts would send energy into the universe and attract bad sales. 

    ‘It ignores structural inequalities and pushes responsibility on to the individual and not the organisation,’ says Dr Melissa Carr, who worked on the research. While this didn’t cause people to work harder, she says, it did lead some individuals to blame themselves for not having the right attitude.

    What happens when manifesting doesn’t work? 

    Laura Holland, 25, a mindset and wellbeing coach (@livewell.withlaura), has experience of the negative side of the practice. Her interest in manifestation began when she saw content on wellbeing and health Instagram pages, before listening to the audiobook of The Secret. After following the tome’s advice to start small, she tried to manifest a parking space: while driving to the shops, she visualised the precise bay she wanted, repeating mentally how happy she was going to be when she got it. 

    ‘I started to overanalyse myself’ 

    When she arrived, it was vacant, and she slid straight in. Naturally, she decided to level up. ‘I launched a course and said I was going to manifest 30 women to sign up for it. But when only one woman did, I started to overanalyse myself, thinking: “Maybe I didn’t want it enough. Did I have a thought that went against it?”’ What followed was a descent into self-blame and policing her thoughts to ward off any possible negativity.

    She began to feel that she had to mask feelings of nerves with any new venture, and that she had to perform endless positivity – something she says was hard amid the tumult of a global pandemic. 

    The social media stream of manifestation content only exacerbated these feelings. ‘You see all over Instagram and TikTok that everyone’s manifesting their dreams – and you don’t have the success you were hoping for. It kind of makes the fall from not getting [what you were trying to manifest] even harder.’ 

    So, could manifestation be right for you? 

    Dr Windgassen notes that there are many positive aspects to manifestation rituals, pointing out that vision boards and intention-setting can create positive emotional experiences and increase motivation and focus – all ingredients for supporting behaviour change. 

    ‘In therapy, we often use imagery to help create emotional shifts and introduce new perspectives and solutions, or even reduce anxiety about the unknown.’ And, doubtless, sitting down and carving out space to crystalise your desires, rather than drifting through the years on autopilot, can be a nourishing practice.

    One way of doing so is to create an annual action board. Dr Swart suggests blocking out some time, then sitting down with a stack of magazines and cutting out images that speak to something you’d like to bring into your life – an interiors shoot could represent your goal of saving for a flat or house deposit. Then place it somewhere you’ll see it at least twice a day and visualise the things you want in as much detail as you can conjure: imagine walking up the path to your home, the sensation of wind on your face.

    But it’s advice that comes with a caveat, and the key to whether manifestation is right for you lies in both your mindset and your goals. 

    When could manifesting not be right for you?

    ‘It would be unhelpful to put a lot of emphasis on things that you have very little control over and may be counterproductive as a result, making you more disengaged and perhaps demoralised over time,’ adds Dr Windgassen, who reiterates Dr Swart’s approach of following up wishes with actions. ‘I would never discourage someone from dreaming big, but it’s important that you have other building blocks to help with those dreams.’ 

    When it comes to manifestation, there are rubies among the rubble. But believing that your thought vibrations alone have the power to transform your existence? To close with a cliché: all that glitters isn’t gold.

    5 science-backed steps to achieving your goals

    1. Write it down

    In 2019, psychology professor Dr Gail Matthews studied goal achievement in the workplace. Her research identified that the act of committing your intentions to paper increases your likelihood of success. Permission to pop to Waltons, granted.

    2. Get visual

    In a survey run by leadership expert Mark Murphy, those who used pictures to illustrate their goals were more likely to succeed than those who didn’t. Those who wrote down vivid goals were 1.4 times more likely to succeed than those who wrote nothing. So, use words to paint as detailed a picture as possible in your mind.

    3. Create action steps

    In the same research from Dr Matthews, participants who defined a plan of action – showing how they would make incremental moves towards their goal – were more successful than those who simply stated an aim. Those who did the best? People who did this, made themselves accountable to a friend and sent weekly progress reports.

    4. Track your progress

    A 2015 meta-analysis found that monitoring your progress is the key link between setting an intention and making good on it. The studies focused on health goals, like quitting smoking and losing weight, and found that prompting participants to track how they were doing upped the likelihood that they’d succeed.

    5. Hold yourself accountable

    You have a 65% chance of meeting a goal if you elect someone to share your intention with, according to the American Society of Training and Development. Supercharge this hack and schedule regular appointments to share your progress with them – folk who did this saw the odds go up to a dizzying 95%.

    *Words: Claudia Canavan

    *This article was originally published by Women’s Health UK More

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    A Therapist Answers 6 of Your Questions Around Feeling Lonely at Christmas

    Whatever your typical set-up around December the 25th – perhaps a chunky get-together with the extended family, a little celebration with a few key friends and fizz or a firmly ‘non-traditional’ takeaway from your local Chinese restaurant, Christmas can feel a little strained and sometimes lonely.

    The festive period is a core cause of the feeling, even though we’re allowed to all be together again this year, after the global pandemic. While covid might be largely gone, loneliness manifests in different ways, pandemic or not.

    To help you through, WH asked leading psychotherapist and author of This Too Shall Pass, Julia Samuel, to respond to some of your questions, musings and comments on feeling alone, this Christmas.

    READ MORE:Mindful Drinking: How More And More People Are Becoming ‘Sober Curious’

    How should I deal with Christmas loneliness?

    But first, there is some universal advice to root yourself in. Regardless of your situation, the below is likely to be a tonic, to some degree, in this bizarre time.

    Keep a routine

    ‘It helps to have regular routines that you can rely on that give you some certainty, so it might be structural routine of exercise before breakfast, or meditate after work,’ says Samuel.

    Just breathe

    ‘Both exercise and any breathing technique also reduce the anxiety caused by uncertainty, so you get double benefit. Intentionally choosing to do things that give you joy also helps manage uncertainty, so it might be listening to wonderful music as you cook.’

    Know what you can control

    ‘Recognising and jotting down the things you can change and influence and those you can’t is worth sticking on your fridge door,’ Samuel details.

    Remember that, even amid wild uncertainty, you are in control of some aspects of your life. ‘It is important to be proactive, make times for online connection and if possible real connection through walks together, even taking hot drinks that you can stop and drink together,’ she adds.

    ‘We need connection to others more than anything else. People need people and love in every form is vital medicine right now, we have to commit and work to have it, not wait for someone else to connect with us.’

    Scroll on for her response to WH readers who are feeling a little stuck, sad or solitary, at this time.

    READ MORE: How To Manifest Something From Start To Finish

    6 of your Christmas loneliness questions, answered

    1. ‘I feel sick about Christmas! I am alone and dreading seeing people with their families on Instagram. What should I do?’

    ‘I can understand that living alone is heightened over Christmas when you both imagine and see on Instagram families being together,’ says Samuel. ‘I wonder if you might contact an organisation that connects people in communities, young and old online and in person.

    ‘Another thing to note is that using our skill and agency to make something through painting or any kind of craft gives us both purpose and satisfaction, there are also many online craft meet-ups that you can join to discuss your area of interest.’

    READ MORE: If The Festive Season Stresses You Out, Try These Psychologist-Backed Coping Strategies

    2. ‘I am struggling with uncertainty. It looks as if Christmas will be very miserable this year and there’s a shortage of money through no work…’

    ‘The uncertainty and shortage of money make celebrating anything worrying. I wonder if you can schedule virtual meet-up with, say, four good friends to wish each other a happy Christmas.

    ‘I have been pleasantly surprised how meeting with a small number of close friends can feel intimate and enriching.’

    3. ‘My main concern is my 94-year-old mom, who lives alone, abroad. My sister is nearby and sees her a couple of times a day, but if there’s a bad snowstorm, she might not see anyone.’

    ‘I imagine not being with your mom on Christmas day is particularly hard, when the number of Christmases you are likely to have together in the future is uncertain.

    ‘Could you perhaps create a Plan B for your mother if there is a snowstorm – does she have a next door neighbour who she could ring and would agree to drop in, and could you agree a time you will telephone each other on Christmas day whatever the weather?

    ‘I would write and send her a card with a message of all that you feel about her, and memories of your happy Christmases of the past that she could open on Christmas Day.’

    4. ‘I lost my mom four years ago and she made Christmas magical. It’s not ever been the same again.’

    ‘Having memories of those very Happy Christmases with your beloved mom must be bittersweet.

    ‘I would create an annual Christmas ritual which reflects your mom and your love of her, maybe light a candle with flowers and a photograph of her that you can turn to at particular times or do something that connects you to her over Christmas.

    ‘Touchstones to memory are a way of expressing the love of the person who has died, for our love for them never dies.’

    5. ‘I think I will get depressed as I alone am expected to carry out all household chores. I used to have my friends as support, but, because I’ve not been in touch with them regularly through lockdown, they have left me.’

    ‘I can hear how hurt you are not being in touch with your friends, but I would suggest you draw on your courage and contact them and agree to reconnect. I am sure they would welcome hearing from you as they might well be feeling left and lonely too.

    ‘Partly it is about just daring, taking the leap to text or call and it is also cognitively recognising that the feeling of fear doesn’t in anyway match the reality of fear – feelings are not facts.

    ‘The worst that can happen is the status quo, they don’t respond, so you have lost nothing and may gain a friend so it is definitely worth the jump.’

    READ MORE: 21 Best Self-Care Gifts For Her That Go Way Beyond Face Masks

    6. ‘I have no family anyway and I think Christmas is over-amped as a time of togetherness – and that itself is the key cause of the seasonal loneliness.’

    ‘I wonder if you would find some sense of enrichment over a time that feels over-amped by volunteering on Christmas Day or around it? Helping others is both good for those that receive but also the giver.’

    *This article was originally published on Women’s Health UK More

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    The Results Are In: Running Proven To Significantly Improve Mood

    Johannesburg, 28 November 2022. A total of 99% of people feel good or great after going for a run. This was the key finding from a series of running support groups set up by Nedbank in partnership with the South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG) leading up to and throughout Mental Health Awareness Month. The runs took place every day in August and September and were led by Nedbank Runified, Africa’s biggest virtual mass participation race. They aimed to show the nation that exercise, particularly running, can be a starting point to address what has become our nation’s next great health crisis: mental health.
    Nedbank Runified for mental health saw athletes, mental health advocates and running enthusiasts lead group runs across the country that were open to anyone who wished to take part. All those who participated were challenged to be cognisant of their mood before and after their run and to report back on how they felt.
    READ MORE: 4 Ways To Boost Your Mental Well-Being
    ‘The results were staggering, but also not totally unexpected’, commented Tobie Badenhorst, Head of Group Sponsorships and Cause Marketing at Nedbank. ‘It has been scientifically proven that exercise, particularly running, improves mental health and reduces depression, stress, and anxiety – this is widely known. But we wanted to illustrate this to South Africans in the most practical way – by facilitating support groups for anyone who felt they needed them. These groups were designed to allow participants to experience the mental effect of even light exercise first-hand.’
    Of those who participated, 59% described their mood as ‘flat’ before their run, with only 7% saying they were feeling great. Post-run, just 1% felt their mood hadn’t improved, with 17% describing their mood as ‘good’ and 82% as ‘great’.
    ‘With South Africa’s mental health stats being one of the worst in the world (one in three South Africans battle with their mental health), our hope is that Nedbank Runified not only gave those who participated an outlet to boost their mood but that it will broadly raise awareness and drive education on mental health. Ultimately, we hope it can create a shift in how we think about and approach mental health. We’d like to thank Nedbank for providing its Runified platform as the vehicle to help us do this and look forward to building on the achievements of the past months,’ added Badenhorst.
    ‘Nedbank has been involved in running for decades, and we are proud to use the Nedbank Running Club as a partner to create a lasting impact in the communities we serve. Through Runified, we were not only able to raise awareness while driving education on this issue, but through clear insights, we have also demonstrated that running, particularly in groups, can reduce stress, depression, and anxiety,’ concludes Badenhorst.
    Nedbank Runified for mental health is not yet over – those who want to join the movement can participate in November from anywhere in the world by joining the Nedbank Running Club on Strava or by searching #NedbankRunified on social media for more details.
    If you or your loved ones are battling mental health challenges, there is hope. Visit sadag.org or call 0800 567 567 in the event of an emergency. More

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    Wimpy Launches Multilingual African Folktale Collection Encouraging Diversity, Inclusion And Literacy

    As a proudly South African restaurant, Wimpy recognises Mzanzi’s richness and has partnered with Ethnikids, an online children’s bookstore started by five South African moms, for a second year to give children access to an African folktale collection in their home language.
     Passionate about kids and their education, Wimpy is committed to bringing its edu-tainment philosophy to life. “Children are close to our hearts and core to our offering. Our collaboration with Ethnikids enables us to bringing real South African stories to kids in a fun and engaging way,” says Jodi Law, Brand Manager, Wimpy.

     In a country with 11 official languages, mother tongue books are not readily available, and most children’s books lack cultural context. “It is critical that children are exposed to literature that includes diverse ethnicities, this positively impacts a child’s self-image and develops pride in who they are and where they come from” says Seago Maapola, Educational Psychologist. 
    Stories that speak about who we are play an important role in representation, guiding what we should be proud of. “When there is a lack of representation, children are exposed to a single narrative based on stereotypes, this leads to them experiencing negative psychological outcomes and often feeling like they’re not good enough,” adds Maapola.
    Wimpy commissioned Ethnikids to develop a multilingual, multicultural folktale collection giving children access to diverse characters and stories that they can relate to and identify with. The collection is based on five South African folktales, with some of SA’s most talented authors and illustrators collaborating to provide children tales that represent the rainbow nation’s melting pot of cultures.
    English versions of the books are available at Wimpy restaurants nationwide with every Kids’ Combo Meal. Online versions of the books are available in all SA’s official languages, as well as in Khoe/Nama the original Bantu language of the Khoisan people that is being advocated to become one of SA’s official languages on the Wimpy website.
    “This year’s campaign includes an interactive online and in-restaurant experience encouraging children to engage with the stories. Children can choose their own ending by scanning a QR code at the back of the books, using their own imagination to expand on the narratives” adds Law.

    A second phase of the campaign will enable to kids collect 3D cardboard puppets from each of the featured books. These fold-out scenes will include different characters and allow kids to make use of their imagination, acting out scenes and making up their own characters.
    Visit https://wimpy.co.za/kids/mzanzi-stories/ to find out more.

    *In Partnership With Wimpy More