What are the opening hours?

Monday 9am - 7:30pm Tuesday 9am - 7:30pm Wednesday 9am - 7:30pm Thursday 9am - 7:30pm Friday 9am - 5pm Saturday 10am - 3pm

http://www.hannahmcounselling.co.uk/

Hannah M Counselling, Blackpool (2025)

12/11/2025

The "shoulds" aren't neutral advice 👀

They're shame scripts on autopilot. Every single one translates to, the way you are right now isn't good enough. 💔

I see this constantly, women who've spent decades following rules they can't even name. Who apologise for taking up space. Who feel guilty for having standards. Who shame themselves for not being "better" at life.

And when we dig into it? The shoulds always come from somewhere external

✨ Family expectations they absorbed as gospel
✨ Cultural messaging about what "good women" do
✨ Childhood experiences where love felt conditional
✨ Relationships where their needs were too much

Here's what happens when you start questioning the shoulds ...

You realise how much energy you've burned trying to meet standards you never agreed to. You see how shame's been masquerading as self-improvement. You understand why rest feels impossible, because you "should" always be doing more.

The strategy I teach, ask "Who says?" every time a should appears.

💙 Should cook from scratch tonight? Who says?
💙 Should reply to that guilt-tripping message? Who says?
💙 Should visit even though you're exhausted? Who says?
💙 Should keep the peace at your own expense? Who says?

Usually, the answer isn't you. It's conditioning. It's people-pleasing. It's the good girl script you learned before you knew you had a choice.

In our work together, we don't just identify the shoulds, we dismantle them. We look at where shame lives in your body. We practice tolerating the discomfort of disappointing people. We rebuild your decision-making from values, not fear.

Because you deserve to live from choice, not shame. From authenticity, not compliance. 🫶

I work with women who are exhausted from performing and ready to just exist as themselves, no editing required.

If that's you, DM me or book a discovery call through the link in my bio. I look forward to chatting to you X

11/11/2025

The exhaustion you feel isn't a flaw in your character 💜

Those invisible rules dictating how you should act, what you should tolerate, how much space you're allowed to take up? They're so deeply embedded you've mistaken them for who you are.

But you weren't born believing your worth depended on being agreeable. You learned it. Probably before you even started school. 🏫

And here's what these invisible rules actually do. They cost you everything while convincing you they're protecting you from being "too much." They promise belonging if you just stay small enough, quiet enough, easy enough.

But belonging built on abandoning yourself isn't belonging at all. 🫂

In our work together, we will unpack these conditions of worth that were never yours to carry. We'll look at where good girl conditioning lives ... in your body, your relationships, your everyday choices. And we practice choosing yourself without the guilt spiral that usually follows.

Because you deserve to exist as the fullest wholest version of yourself, not the edited one designed to keep everyone else comfortable. 🗣️

💜 I work with women who are exhausted from following rules they never actually agreed to, who want their authentic voice back.
If that's you, DM me or book a discovery call through the link in my bio. 💜

03/11/2025

Right. So I haven't posted in two months.

And I'm not going to say sorry for it 🫶

Life got heavy. My gran needed more support, my kids needed me through big transitions, and my therapy clients needed my full presence.

And Instagram had to wait ⌚

Old me would've forced myself to post anyway, would've felt crushing guilt about 'letting people down,' would've over-explained every detail of why I was struggling. I would've made disappearing another thing to beat myself up about.

But that version of me was exhausting. And she wasn't helping anyone 😵‍💫

So instead, I chose my capacity over consistency. I chose my actual life over performing it online. I chose what mattered most and let everything else wait.

And I'm not sorry about it.

Because this is what boundaries actually look like in real life:
Not explaining yourself to people who don't need an explanation.
Not apologizing for protecting your energy when you have nothing left.
Not performing 'consistency' when you're barely holding it together.

Just... doing what needs doing. And letting the rest wait.

This is the work I do with clients, by the way. Learning that your worth isn't tied to being constantly available, always productive, never letting anyone down. Understanding that choosing your capacity isn't selfish. Trusting that you're still 'good' even when you can't do everything ✨

Real self-care during hard times isn't finding better ways to do it all. It's doing what matters most. And letting everything else wait ❤️‍🩹

So here I am. Back when I'm ready. Not before ✨

Welcome to anyone who's still here. And if you've been carrying heavy things while trying to keep up with everything else, you're not alone. You don't have to do it all. And you don't owe anyone an explanation for protecting your capacity.

If you need support with boundaries, capacity, or just... getting through hard seasons without falling apart? I have therapy spaces opening. DM me or book a free intro call using the link in bio 🫶

21/08/2025

Swipe if you're tired of living like everyone's watching and judging your every move 👀👩‍⚖️

You're experiencing the spotlight effect, the psychological phenomenon where we massively overestimate how much others notice our behaviour. Your brain zooms in on tiny social moments like a detective examining evidence, replaying them in high definition and presenting them as proof you're failing at being human. 🔦

But that stumble over your words? They were thinking about their own to-do list. The joke that fell flat? They'd moved on before you finished cringing. The outfit you're convinced everyone judged? Most people genuinely didn't notice.

Learning to step out of that imaginary spotlight and redirect your attention to what's actually happening is exactly what we'll work on together.

Picture this: Walking into a room and focusing on who you want to connect with, not who might be judging you. Making decisions based on what feels right to you, not what you think will get approval. Going to bed thinking about tomorrow's possibilities, not tonight's social 'faux pas.'

This is the freedom that comes when you realise you're not the main character in everyone else's internal narrative ... and that's actually the most liberating discovery you'll ever make.

Through mindfulness work in therapy, you learn to notice when your mind has wandered into that imaginary spotlight and gently guide your attention back to your actual present-moment experience. Instead of being hijacked by 'what are they thinking about me?', you can choose to focus on what you're actually feeling, seeing, and experiencing right now.

Because authentic confidence to you means moving through the world without constantly scanning for disapproval. It means speaking up in meetings without replaying every word later. It means wearing what makes you feel good without worrying if others think it's 'too much.' It means having conversations that flow naturally because you're present, not performing.

Ready to stop living like you're being watched 24/7? DM to explore how therapy can help you step out of the glare and into authentic presence and follow along for more tips on overthinking 🫶

20/08/2025

Your mind thinks if it runs fast enough on that mental hamster wheel, it'll break through to clarity and peace. 🐹

But here's what I've learned from helping women break free from overthinking: you can't think your way to emotional freedom.

I spent years believing my endless mental loops were deep self-reflection. That if I could just analyse every angle, replay every conversation, and prepare for every possible outcome, I'd finally feel safe and in control. Instead, I felt exhausted, confused, and more anxious than ever. 🌪️

What you're really craving isn't more thinking, it's mental quiet.

You want to trust your decisions without second-guessing them for hours. You want to have conversations without replaying them all evening. You want your mind to feel like a peaceful place to live, not a chaotic storm you're always trying to weather.

Imagine waking up without immediately looking for problems to solve. Picture making choices from a place of calm knowing rather than frantic analysis. Envision conversations flowing naturally without your brain cataloguing every micro-expression for later review.

This isn't about becoming careless or unthoughtful, it's about learning the difference between wisdom and worry, between reflection and rumination. The women I work with discover that their best decisions come from stillness, not spinning. Their most authentic connections happen when they're present, not planning.

In our work together, you'll learn to recognise when you're on the mental hamster wheel and develop practical tools to step off. You'll discover that the clarity you've been seeking doesn't come from more thinking, it comes from creating space between you and your thoughts.

Your overthinking isn't a character flaw, it's a nervous system response trying to keep you safe. But you deserve to feel safe in stillness, not just in the constant motion.

Ready to step off the wheel and find the peace you've been seeking? Follow along for tools that actually work, or DM me to explore how therapy can help you reclaim your mental space 🫶

30/07/2025

Swipe if you're an eldest daughter who feels guilty for resting 👉

Let me guess what your internal dialogue sounds like when you try to relax: "I should be doing something productive. There's washing to be folded. Emails to answer. Someone might need me. I'm being lazy. Other people are working harder than me. I don't deserve to rest until everything's perfect."
Sound familiar? 🥴

You're not lazy for wanting downtime. You're not selfish for needing space. You're not weak for being tired.

You're a woman who was taught that her worth comes from constant motion, endless availability, and perpetual productivity. No wonder rest feels foreign.

Here's what happened, as the eldest daughter, you learned that love was earned through usefulness. You discovered that the way to stay valuable in your family was to always be doing something for someone else. Rest became selfish. Needs became inconvenient. Your worth became tied to your productivity.

I help eldest daughters unlearn the belief that they only matter when they're useful ... because you matter simply because you exist.

Ready to rest without the guilt spiral? I have availability for eldest daughters who are ready to unlearn the conditioning that keeps them running on empty. 🫶

DM to enquire or book a discovery call via the link in my bio.

24/07/2025

Are you your go-to Prime Suspect the minute something goes sideways? 🕵️‍♀️

Something I see a lot of is women who are so terrified of being "the bad guy" that they make themselves the bad guy in every situation ..... Just to be safe.

Someone's quiet? Must be something you said.
Plans get cancelled? Obviously because of you.
Group conversation goes awkward? Definitely your fault.

You think this protects you from actually causing harm.

But here's what it's really doing:

✨Making you exhausting to be around (because you need constant reassurance)
✨Preventing genuine connection (because you're too busy managing your "impact")
✨Stealing your peace (because you're living in a constant state of defensive guilt)
✨Teaching others that you'll take responsibility for their feelings (unhealthy for everyone)

Want to know what the cruelest part of this is? You're probably one of the most considerate people in any room.

The ones who should worry about their impact usually don't, and the ones who don't need to worry are consumed by it.

You're not protecting anyone by making yourself the automatic explanation for every bad mood, awkward moment, or disappointing outcome. You're just teaching your nervous system that you're inherently problematic.

In therapy with me, we will work on helping you distinguish between actual responsibility and inherited guilt. Between genuine repair and preemptive self-attack.

Because the woman who stops making everything about her paradoxically becomes someone people actually want to be around.

For women ready to exist without constantly auditing their impact, I have space for new clients. DM or link in bio to book a discovery call 🫶

23/07/2025

Tell me if this sounds familiar: You can analyse a situation from every possible angle, but when it comes to actually making a choice, you freeze 🥶

It's not about lacking information. You've probably done more research than a PhD student. It's not about lacking options. You can see multiple paths forward.

It's about fear. The terror that you'll get it wrong, mess it up, choose badly, and have to live with the consequences forever.

But here's what that fear is really about: Somewhere along the way, you learned that mistakes weren't just mistakes - they were evidence you weren't good enough, smart enough, worthy enough.

So now your brain treats every decision like a life-or-death choice. Because in your nervous system's memory, getting things wrong WAS life or death, it meant losing love, approval, belonging.

Your indecision isn't a flaw. It's a protection mechanism. Your brain is trying to keep you safe from a danger that doesn't actually exist anymore.

The problem isn't that you can't make decisions. The problem is you learned that making the "wrong" one wasn't safe.

In my therapy room, we don't work on decision-making strategies. We will work on healing the wounds that made choosing feel so scary in the first place.

For women ready to trust themselves with their own lives, I have space for new clients. DM or use the link in my bio to book a discovery call. 🫶

21/07/2025

Breaking good girl rules isn't just rebellion ... it's recovery 🫶

Every "good girl rule" you learned was designed to keep you small, compliant, and focused on everyone else's needs instead of your own.

But here's what I know after helping hundreds of women break these rules: you weren't born to follow them. You were conditioned into them.

The guilt you feel when you choose yourself? That's not your conscience, that's your conditioning. And conditioning can be changed.

My UNLEARN & RECLAIM method doesn't just help you cope with the guilt, it helps you understand where it came from and why it doesn't serve you anymore.

Together, we will work with your nervous system to help it understand that joy is safe. We'll identify the parts of you that learned to suppress your natural enthusiasm. We will trace the origins of your conditioning with curiosity, not judgment.
Then we practice. Small acts of choosing yourself. Tiny rebellions against the voice that says you're being selfish. Moments of pure want without justification.

Because the woman you become when you stop following good girl rules? She changes everything. Not just for you, but for every woman watching you choose yourself. For your children who learn their mother's happiness matters. For your friends who get permission to do the same.

This work isn't about becoming selfish ... it's about becoming human. It's about remembering that your joy matters, your rest is necessary, and your pleasure is valid.

Ready to break the rules that keep you small? I'm currently taking new clients for 1:1 therapy. DM me or book a discovery call via link in bio. Because love, it's time to stop performing and start living. 💜

18/07/2025

The things that bring you joy don't need to be cool or respectable to be valid 🫶

Who decided that your pleasure needs approval? Who made the rules about what's acceptable to enjoy?

The policing of our joy is just another way to keep us focused on everyone else's opinions instead of our own experience.

In my therapy room I've seen countless women apologising for liking things. Actually apologising for their own preferences.

"I know it's silly, but I love trashy TV." "I feel bad for buying myself flowers." "I shouldn't enjoy this so much."

STOP 🛑

Your reality TV marathons are valid. Your love of pop music is valid. Your choice to prioritise comfort over achievement sometimes is valid. Your "basic" pleasures are fu***ng revolutionary because they're YOURS.

The good girl in your head will try to convince you that your joy needs to be justified. She's been trained well by a system that benefits from your self-doubt.

But here's what that voice doesn't want you to know .... When you stop apologising for what brings you joy, you stop seeking permission and validation from others ✨

Ready to unapologetically embrace what brings you joy? DM me or complete a contact form via my website if you're done performing sophistication and ready to live authentically ✌️

Hannah M Counselling

12/11/2025

11/11/2025

03/11/2025

21/08/2025

20/08/2025

30/07/2025

24/07/2025

23/07/2025

21/07/2025

18/07/2025

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Monday	9am - 7:30pm
Tuesday	9am - 7:30pm
Wednesday	9am - 7:30pm
Thursday	9am - 7:30pm
Friday	9am - 5pm
Saturday	10am - 3pm