Check Out Our Blogs

8 Wise Ways to Better Christmas Boundaries

Take a moment, close your eyes and, think of the phrase “holiday season” or “Christmas period” or “festive season” What comes to mind? Is it positive or negative? Do you feel excited or stressed?  Although festive season can be very uplifting for some of us, not all may feel the same way.  You might be

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8 Wise Ways to Better Workplace Boundaries Part 1

Let’s jump straight in – setting boundaries at work means establishing healthy professional practices for yourself. They can help you stay productive and happy at work and allow you to separate your work life and personal life more effectively. Therefore, they are a professional requirement and will help you to establish limits and communicate your

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8 Wise Ways to Setting Healthy Financial Boundaries

As we know, especially if you have read my previous blog, boundaries are important in every part of life, and your finances are no different. Not only can setting financial boundaries help to protect your money, but it can also protect your relationships and your mental health. But what exactly are financial boundaries, and how do

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8 Wise Ways to Setting Healthy Boundaries

Boundaries are essential for good relationships, a healthy happy mind and an important foundation pillar of good social wellness and wellbeing.  In the 8WiseTM Programme we spend a lot of time helping people to learn how to set clear boundaries in order to reduce misunderstandings and develop better relationships. But, as we all know, setting

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8 Wise Ways to Heal from Grief

Let’s start with some facts about grief. Fact 1: we will all experience grief in our lifetime. Fact 2: we can grieve many things, not just death. The reasons for grief are many, such as the loss of a loved one, the loss of health, or the letting go of a long-held dream. Fact 3: Dealing

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8 Wise Ways to Managing Seasonal Affective Disorder. (S.A.D)

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that has a seasonal pattern. The episodes of depression tend to occur at the same time each year, usually during the winter. As with other types of depression, two of the main symptoms of SAD are a low mood and a lack of interest in life. SAD

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8 Wise Ways to Understand and Manage Cognitive Distortions

Cognitive distortions are internal mental filters or biases that increase our misery, fuel our anxiety, and make us feel bad about ourselves. Our brains are continually processing lots of information. To deal with this, our brains seek shortcuts to cut down our mental burden which can lead to faulty or inaccurate thinking, perception or belief that

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Self Care for Optimal Emotional Wellness

So, you have identified you need to start taking care of your mental health and wellbeing a little better whether that be through a recovery or prevention approach. You have come to realise that living the 8 Wise Way is how you will develop the mental wealth needed to be back in control of the

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Swinging through The Mental Health Continuum

The Mental Health Continuum is a tool which helps us to think about our wellbeing and what actions we can take to improve it. It helps us to identify where and when our mental health is low and trigger us to implement strategies to help with our recovery. It also helps us to identify when our

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30 days of Mental Health Tips

Click here to download and print your cards. If you would like to book a session or register for our next programme, get in touch today. For more information on 8Wise™ and the mental health services provided check out the rest of this website. The post 30 days of Mental Health Tips appeared first on

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The Top Ten Stressful Life Events

Stress is a normal part of life. Stressful events can range from minor, easy-to-manage moments, to major or life-changing events that are difficult to cope with. You’ve probably faced many different life events that have been stressful to some degree and many of them would have been directly linked to a life transition. Life transitions

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How to create an 8Wise™ Self-Care plan

So, you’ve used the 8Wise™ Evaluations to identify what your current wellness levels are.  You’ve created your 8Wise Map to help you navigate your 8Wise journey.  But now what?  Well, now it’s time to set your goals and put together your action plan.  But where do you start with that? How do you know what

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How To Develop Your 8Wise™ Map

Are you ready to start developing optimal mental health and wellbeing for an improved quality of life? Before getting to work on developing your 8 Wise™ Map lets first recap each of the eight key elements of the approach. Emotional Wellness: involves your ability to cope with stress, express emotions, and feel positive about your

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8Wise and Me

I had seen inside my first mental health hospital when I was 8 years old. As a visitor I didn’t find it scary, I didn’t find mental health or mental illness scary either.  I just accepted it as part of life, as a part of my life. Fast forward ten years and as I visited

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8 Wise Ways to Summer Self Care – Part 2

In this week’s blog we are carrying on with our summer of self-care ideas.  Using the summer months to relax and recuperate from what the year has thrown at you so far will set you up positively for the remainder of the year. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, To Live the

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8 Wise Ways to Summer Self Care – Part 1

Let’s be honest, while summer festivities offer an often much-desired break in our day-to-day routines, the go-go-go schedules we create for ourselves can also become overwhelming and stressful which can have an impact on our mental health and wellbeing. To Live the 8 Wise Way for a Healthier Happier Mind all year round, a consistent

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8 Wise Ways to Stepping Out of Your Comfort Zone

According to research, once we’ve learnt and adjusted to the best way of doing something, and can comfortably repeat it, our brain’s learning centres essentially shut down. This allows us to go into ‘autopilot mode’, so that we no longer have to put as much effort into the things we do … this is known

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8 Wise Ways to Stop Overthinking

Did you know that because each of our brains functions differently the way we think and overthink is different too? What is common amongst us is the flurry of negative emotions overthinking can bring, leaving us feeling like we are drowning under them all and that there is no way out. Instead, we just keep

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8 Wise Ways to Stop Self Sabotaging Your Success

Many of us have engaged in self-sabotaging behaviours that have become habits. We allow these behaviours and thoughts to continually undermine our success and happiness. Some of our self-sabotage is so subtle, it’s easy to miss. We often fail to recognize how our actions are hurting us. However, there are common actions, thoughts, and behaviours

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How to identify if You are Sabotaging Yourself

  Do you self-sabotage? Try assessing yourself against the points from the self-sabotage test of Dr. Kinga Mnich, to identify if self-sabotaging behaviours are holding you back from achieving optimal mental health and wellbeing in your life by blocking you from achieving your goals and being fulfilled with your life and liking the person you

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8 Wise Ways to Cool a Room in a Heatwave

8 Wise Ways to Cool a Room in a Heatwave

Is working from home unbearable in this heat? Are you struggling to sleep in a warm stuffy room.  It’s nice to approach summer and have good weather but heatwaves can impact our mental health and wellbeing. Here are 8 Wise Ways to Cool a Room this summer. 1. Close the curtains and blinds Closing our

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8 Wise Ways to Boost Your Productivity

8 Wise Ways to Boost Your Productivity

Feeling unproductive can be stressful and frustrating. If you’ve been struggling to be productive, here are some steps to help boost your productivity levels. Tidy space: Getting rid of clutter and keeping tidy spaces improves your environmental wellness which can give you mental clarity helping to improve your decision-making ability, productivity, and overall well-being. To-do

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The 30-day 8Wise™ Challenge for your Mind

Using a 30-day challenge can be an effective strategy for building new habits. Choose your challenge carefully to ensure it aligns with your goals and set realistic expectations for what you hope to accomplish from it. To get you started in becoming a 30-challenge winner, give this one a go for a healthier happier mind.

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8 Wise Ways Weekly Tips

8 Wise Ways Weekly Tips

Emotional Wellness is achieved when we have secured some balance by successfully learning to cope effectively with life’s challenges, traumas and transitions. When we have emotional wellness, we feel in control of our feelings, confident in ourselves and our abilities, we can control our behaviours, and can handle the challenges occurring throughout our life. Emotional wellness

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8 Wise Ways to Better Physical Health and Wellbeing part 1

8 Wise Ways to Better Physical Health and Wellbeing part 1

If you want to boost your physical wellness for optimal mental health and wellbeing here are a few ideas of where you can start to make changes in your everyday life that will have a positive impact. 1.   Eat nuts and seeds Nuts and seeds are incredibly nutritious. They are packed with protein, fibre, and

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How to Beat the Sunday Scaries

How to Beat the Sunday Scaries

There’s a name for that very particular brand of dread we feel on Sunday nights – the ‘Sunday Scaries’, that nagging feeling of nervousness and anxiety that creep up on us as at about 5pm on a Sunday.  The dread about returning to work on Monday, the apprehension about an upcoming event or situation, the

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8 Wise Ways to Manage Anxiety

8 Wise Ways to Manage Anxiety

1. Identify and learn to manage your triggers What causes your anxiety? What triggers it? Sometimes this can be obvious, like caffeine or work stress, and other times the triggers can be less obvious. Sometimes there may be so ant differing factors that it can take time to work the specific triggers out and you

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Tips for better Sleep

Tips for better Sleep

Sleep problems are a common and a disruptive symptom of mental illnesses that are often overlooked. Sleep deprivation can contribute to moodiness, high blood pressure, poor concentration, the prolongation of mental illness, work difficulties, auto accidents, and more. Meaning it impacts every element of your wellness spectrum which is why we cover it in so

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8 Wise Ways to Relaxation

8 Wise Ways to Relaxation

Practicing ‘relaxation’ is paramount to managing stress and anxiety. It helps us to have a calmer and clearer mind which aids positive thinking, concentration, memory and decision making. Relaxation slows our heart rate, reduces our blood pressure and relieves tension, making it essential component to the 8Wise™ Wellness Programme. Here are our 8 Wise Ways

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Understanding Stress Symptoms

Understanding Stress Symptoms

What is Stress? Stress is a feeling of being tense, overwhelmed, worn out, or exhausted. A small amount of stress can be motivating, but too much stress makes even small tasks seem daunting. Symptoms can range from mild (e.g., headaches and stomach aches) to severe (e.g., anxiety and depression). Acute vs. Chronic Stress Acute stress

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8 Wise Ways to Managing Stress

8 Wise Ways to Managing Stress

These days it’s hard not to get overwhelmed occasionally. Between juggling work, family, and other commitments, you can become too stressed out and busy. But you need to set time aside to unwind or your mental and physical health can suffer. Learning how to manage your stress takes practice, but you can — and need

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Differences Between Worry and Anxiety

Differences Between Worry and Anxiety

Anxiety is a mental and physical reaction to perceived threats. In small doses, anxiety is helpful. It protects us from danger, and focuses our attention on problems. But when anxiety is too severe, or occurs too frequently, it can become debilitating. 10 Differences between Worry and Anxiety We tend to experience worry in our heads

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8 Wise Ways to Managing Anxiety: Grounding Techniques Part 4

8 Wise Ways to Managing Anxiety: Grounding Techniques Part 4

These grounding techniques are tools we share in the 8Wise™ Wellness Programme and can be used in the moment that anxiety strikes to manage the symptoms and calm yourself within the situation. Give them a go and start living the 8 Wise Way for optimal mental health and wellbeing and an improved quality of life.

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Unhelpful Thinking Styles

Unhelpful Thinking Styles

Cognitive distortions are irrational thoughts and unhelpful thinking styles that can influence your emotions and trigger anxiety. Everyone experiences cognitive distortions to some degree, but in their more extreme forms they can be harmful. Below is a list of the most common cognitive distortions.  Use the list to identify which ones you may be prone

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8 Wise Ways to Managing Anxiety: Grounding Techniques Part 3

8 Wise Ways to Managing Anxiety: Grounding Techniques Part 3

These grounding techniques are tools we share in the 8Wise™ Wellness Programme and can be used in the moment that anxiety strikes to manage the symptoms and calm yourself within the situation. Give them a go and start living the 8 Wise Way for optimal mental health and wellbeing and an improved quality of life. 

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8 Wise Ways to understanding your Anxiety triggers

8 Wise Ways to understanding your Anxiety triggers

Anxiety is a mental health condition that can cause feelings of worry, fear, or tension and for some it can escalate into panic attacks and distressing physical symptoms. What causes anxiety and anxiety disorders can be complicated because it’s likely to be a combination of factors, such as genetics, environmental reasons, and conditioned mind responses.

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8 Wise Ways to Managing Anxiety: Grounding Techniques Part 2

8 Wise Ways to Managing Anxiety: Grounding Techniques Part 2

These grounding techniques are tools we share in the 8Wise™ Wellness Programme and can be used in the moment that anxiety strikes to manage the symptoms and calm yourself within the situation. Give them a go and start living the 8 Wise Way for optimal mental health and wellbeing and an improved quality of life. 

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What is Anxiety?

What is Anxiety?

Many people experiencing the symptoms of anxiety can begin to wonder if there is something wrong with them. One typical fear is that they might be going crazy. Unfortunately, the reactions and comments from other people such as, ‘just get yourself together’ are not very helpful. Although you might feel alone in your struggle against

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8 Wise Ways to Managing Anxiety: Grounding Techniques Part 1

8 Wise Ways to Managing Anxiety: Grounding Techniques Part 1

These grounding techniques are tools we share in the 8Wise™ Wellness Programme and can be used in the moment that anxiety strikes to manage the symptoms and calm yourself within the situation. Give them a go and start living the 8 Wise Way for optimal mental health and wellbeing and an improved quality of life.

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8 WISE™ – Everything You Need To Know

8 WISE™ – Everything You Need To Know

You might have heard us talking about our unique 8 Wise™ Approach – a programme that has been developed by psychotherapist and author Kim Rutherford (you can read her recent interview here). We’ve run workshops about it, spoken about it at events and referenced it a lot in our social media posts. In case you’re

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Interview with Kim Rutherford

Interview with Kim Rutherford

An Interview with Kim Rutherford – Psychotherapist, Author and Founder of 8Wise™ – the blueprint for optimal menta health and wellbeing Kim Rutherford set up Dalton Wise back in 2017 in response to her own journey with mental health. In this week’s blog post, she shares some of that journey with us, and how it

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Stress Eating

Stress Eating

In this amazing article by Rob Suhozahe he provides an excellent overview of Stress Eating and some tips to manage it. If you often find yourself munching on chips, cookies, or other high-calorie, low-nutrition snacks when you’re stressed, you’re not alone. One study found that 38% of adults had eaten unhealthy foods or overeaten to

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Ways to calm stress in 5 minutes or less

Ways to calm stress in 5 minutes or less

From minor challenges to major crises, stress is part of life. And while you can’t always control your circumstances, you can control how you respond to them. When stress becomes overwhelming or chronic, it can affect your well-being. That’s why it’s essential to have effective stress relievers that can calm your mind and body. I

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Goodbye Part 1 – Take Care of Your Foundation Dimension

Goodbye Part 1 – Take Care of Your Foundation Dimension

This is the transcript of Live the 8Wise™ Way Podcast. Episode Thirty-Six: Goodbye Part 1 – Take Care of Your Foundation Dimension Listen now View all podcasts Welcome everybody to the Live the 8WiseTM Way podcast with me, Kim Rutherford, Psychotherapist, author and creator of the 8WiseTM methodology for better mental health and wellbeing. I

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Goodbye Part 2 – Take Care of Your Internal Dimension

: Goodbye Part 2 – Take Care of Your Internal Dimension

This is the transcript of Live the 8Wise™ Way Podcast. Episode Thirty-Seven: Goodbye Part 2 – Take Care of Your Internal Dimension Listen now View all podcasts Hi everybody, and welcome to the Live the 8WiseTM Way podcast with me Kim Rutherford, Psychotherapist, author, and creator of the 8WiseTM method for better mental health and

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Developing Healthy Coping Mechanisms Part 2 – Mindfulness & Meditation

Developing Healthy Coping Mechanisms Part 2 – Mindfulness & Meditation

This is the transcript of Live the 8Wise™ Way Podcast. Episode Thirty-Four: Developing Healthy Coping Mechanisms Part 2 – Mindfulness & Meditation Listen now View all podcasts Hello everybody and welcome to the Live the 8WiseTM Way podcast with me, Kim Rutherford, Psychotherapist, author, and creator of the 8WiseTM method for better mental health and

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Developing Healthy Coping Mechanisms Part 3 – Debunking Stress Myths

Developing Healthy Coping Mechanisms Part 3 – Debunking Stress Myths

This is the transcript of Live the 8Wise™ Way Podcast. Episode Thirty-Five: Developing Healthy Coping Mechanisms Part 3 – Debunking Stress Myths Listen now View all podcasts Welcome everybody to the Live the 8WiseTM Way podcast with me, Kim Rutherford, Psychotherapist, author and creator of the 8WiseTM methodology for better mental health and also wellbeing,

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ENDING THE YEAR THE WISE WAY

This is the transcript of Live the 8Wise™ Way Podcast. Episode Thirty-One: Ending the Year the Wise Way Listen now View all podcasts Hello everybody. Welcome to the Live The 8WiseTM Way podcast with me, Kim Rutherford, Psychotherapist, author and creator of the 8WiseTM methodology for better mental health and wellbeing. How are you doing?

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Hello 2023

HELLO 2023

This is the transcript of Live the 8Wise™ Way Podcast. Episode Thirty-Two: Hello 2023 Listen now View all podcasts Hello everybody. Welcome to 2023 and welcome to the Live the 8WiseTM Way podcast with me, Kim Rutherford, Psychotherapist, author and creator of the 8WiseTM methodology for better mental health and wellbeing. We did it. We

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