Wishing You Well

23/03/2026

Overthinking isn’t a personality flaw - it’s a nervous system doing its best to protect you. Overthinking happens when the mind tries to solve an emotional or bodily sense of “unsafety” with logic. Your system senses uncertainty, and the mind steps in with analysis, replaying, predicting, scanning for danger.

It’s protection - not failure.

Overthinking is the mental “busywork” your brain creates when your body feels unsettled. It’s fast, looping, future‑focused, and often feels urgent. It might sound like “What if…?” or “Maybe I should have…”. It's an attempt to create safety.

Beneath the noise, there’s usually a quieter truth:
“I’m overwhelmed.”
“I’m bracing.”
“I don’t feel grounded.”
“I need support.”
When the body settles, the mind naturally softens. A slower exhale, a moment of presence.

Counselling doesn’t just teach you to “stop overthinking”, it helps you understand why your system goes into overdrive in the first place. It's a safe place to explore what your nervous system is trying to protect you from, how to create internal cues of safety and how to soothe the body so the mind doesn’t have to work so hard.

Overthinking is not a flaw - it’s a signal. And with the right support, it becomes something you can listen to - not something you have to fear.

See www.wishing-you-well.co.uk or https://www.bacp.co.uk/therapists/406729/sabrina-evans/ for more information.

16/03/2026

Many of us move through life holding feelings we never quite had the space, safety, or language to express. These feelings become like unopened envelopes tucked quietly inside us - sealed for protection, stored away for later, and carried for far longer than we realise.

Sometimes the envelope holds love we never voiced. Sometimes it holds anger we learned to swallow. Sometimes it holds hurt, fear, loneliness, disappointment, or grief that felt too heavy or too vulnerable to name.

Even when we don’t open them, these emotions still shape us. They show up in the body as tension or tiredness, in our relationships as overthinking or withdrawal, and in our inner world as a quiet ache we can’t quite explain. Unexpressed feelings don’t disappear - they wait, whisper and ask to be acknowledged in their own time.

Counselling offers a gentle, grounded space to sit with these envelopes without pressure or fear. We don’t force them open, we simply meet them with curiosity, compassion, and a pace that honours your nervous system. And often, the moment a feeling is finally named - even softly - something inside begins to exhale.

You don’t have to carry these letters alone. Every feeling you’ve tucked away deserves to be met with understanding, not judgement.

See www.wishing-you-well.co.uk or https://www.bacp.co.uk/therapists/406729/sabrina-evans/ for more information.

14/03/2026

Some people move through the world with a nervous system that listens more closely. They take in more - more detail, more emotion, more nuance - and they process it more deeply. This isn’t a flaw or fragility - it’s a temperament, a way of being wired. A sensitive system is simply a finely tuned one.

Many sensitive people describe feeling “different” long before they had language for it. They notice subtleties others miss, feel emotions intensely, and are deeply affected by their surroundings - for better and for worse. Sensitivity is not a diagnosis, not a disorder, and not something to fix - it’s a biological trait that shapes how you experience the world.

Counselling can offer a steady, attuned space for this depth. A place where your inner world is met with warmth rather than overwhelm, where your pace is honoured, and where your sensitivity is understood as something meaningful rather than “too much.” In a therapeutic relationship that feels safe and grounded, sensitive people often find room to breathe, to regulate, and to make sense of their experiences. It becomes a space to explore your patterns gently, strengthen boundaries, and learn how to live in a way that supports - rather than exhausts - your finely tuned nervous system.

See www.wishing-you-well.co.uk or https://www.bacp.co.uk/therapists/406729/sabrina-evans/ for more information.

09/03/2026

Sensitive nervous systems respond more strongly to the world around them. Not because they’re fragile, but because they’re wired to take in more and feel more.

Research calls this differential susceptibility: the idea that sensitive people are more shaped by their environment than the average person. Harsh or chaotic surroundings can lead to overwhelm or depletion. Calm, supportive, or meaningful environments can lead to thriving more deeply than others.

This is the same science behind the orchid and dandelion metaphor; dandelions can grow almost anywhere. Orchids need the right conditions - but when those conditions are present, they flourish with extraordinary beauty. Sensitive people are the orchids: deeply responsive to both stress and support.

This is also where vantage sensitivity comes in. Sensitive people don’t just feel stress more - they also benefit more from positive experiences. Encouragement, therapy, creativity, rest, and nourishing relationships can have a profound impact on wellbeing.

Sensitivity isn’t vulnerability - it’s responsiveness. And in the right environment, responsiveness becomes strength.

See www.wishing-you-well.co.uk or https://www.bacp.co.uk/therapists/406729/sabrina-evans/ for more information.

07/03/2026

Values act like an inner compass, shaping how we show up in the world and what we choose to move toward. They’re not rules or expectations, but qualities that help life feel aligned, meaningful, and true to who we are.

Counselling offers a gentle space to explore those values - what you’ve inherited, what you want to keep, and what no longer fits - so your choices begin to reflect the life you actually want to live.

Courage is one of those anchoring values. It’s the quiet strength of mind and spirit that helps you meet difficulty with steadiness rather than avoidance. Courage doesn’t ask you to be fearless; it asks you to take a meaningful step even while fear walks beside you. And sometimes the bravest step of all is choosing to begin counselling - showing up for yourself, even when it feels tender or uncertain.

See www.wishing-you-well.co.uk or https://www.bacp.co.uk/therapists/406729/sabrina-evans/ for more information.

02/03/2026

Letting go isn’t a single moment of bravery - it’s a slow, tender process. A loosening, a softening and a quiet decision to stop carrying what has grown too heavy.

We don’t let go all at once - we let go in layers, in pauses and in the small moments where something inside us whispers: you can release this now. Letting go doesn’t mean forgetting or that the past didn’t matter. It simply means you’re making space for what’s next - at your own pace, in your own time.

If you’re in a season of change, be gentle with yourself: You’re not behind, you’re not failing - you’re unfolding.

This month I’ve written about the slow, human work of letting go - you can read it here:

A counsellor’s reflection on change, release, and the quiet courage of softening

28/02/2026

When something triggers us, it can feel as though our whole system reacts in one fast, tangled moment. But inside that moment is a sequence - a cycle - and when we can see the steps, we can begin to soften them.
- A triggering event sparks a familiar pattern.
- Automatic thoughts rush in, often shaped by old stories or fears.
- Emotional reactions follow, powerful and immediate.

Noticing this cycle isn’t about blaming ourselves for reacting - it’s about understanding the path our mind and body take so we can gently interrupt it. With awareness comes choice: a breath, a pause, a kinder thought, a different response.

This is the beginning of emotional awareness: learning the language of our inner world so we can meet ourselves with compassion rather than criticism.

If this cycle feels familiar, you’re not alone. Counselling can help by slowing the reaction cycle down so you can understand what’s happening inside rather than being swept along by it, learning to notice triggers, soften automatic thoughts, and respond from a steadier, more compassionate place.

See www.wishing-you-well.co.uk or https://www.bacp.co.uk/therapists/406729/sabrina-evans/ for more information.

23/02/2026

Many of us don’t realise how often we walk through the world wearing two versions of ourselves and carrying two parallel stories.
There’s the one that shows up: calm, capable, composed - the one who smiles politely and says “I’m fine”.

And then there’s the one inside: the one holding the overwhelm, the ache, the questions, the quiet panic, the exhaustion that doesn’t show on the surface.

Both are real and both are doing their best. Both deserve compassion.

Counselling is often the first place where the inner experience is allowed to speak without being rushed, judged, or tidied away. A place where the façade can soften, even just a little, and the truth underneath can breathe. Where you can be met with warmth, curiosity, and compassion - not judgement.

Counselling can support you if you’re:
- navigating stress, burnout, or emotional overload
- masking anxiety behind competence
- feeling disconnected from yourself or others
- carrying old patterns that no longer fit
- longing for a space where you don’t have to hold it all together
- moving through change, loss, or uncertainty
- simply wanting to understand yourself more deeply

It's a place where the inner experience doesn’t have to hide. If the gap between your inner and outer world feels wide or heavy, you’re not alone and you deserve support that honours both parts of you.

See www.wishing-you-well.co.uk or https://www.bacp.co.uk/therapists/406729/sabrina-evans/ for more information.

21/02/2026

Letting go isn’t losing - it’s opening. So often we hold on because it feels safer than the unknown. We grip old stories, familiar patterns, relationships that once fit, versions of ourselves we’ve outgrown.

Letting go isn’t a failure - it’s an act of deep self-trust. It’s the moment you loosen your shoulders, soften your breath, and whisper to yourself: “I deserve to move forward without carrying what weighs me down.”

In counselling, letting go doesn’t happen all at once, it happens in small, compassionate moments - a new boundary, a clearer truth, a gentler inner voice. Counselling can help you let go by offering a safe, steady space to explore what you’re carrying, understand the patterns that keep you holding on, and gently separate your own truth from old expectations or emotional responsibilities. With compassionate support through the discomfort of change, it helps you release what no longer serves you and reconnect with a future that feels lighter, clearer, and more aligned with who you’re becoming

If you’re in a season of release, you’re not alone, and space is already forming for what’s meant to grow next.

See www.wishing-you-well.co.uk or https://www.bacp.co.uk/therapists/406729/sabrina-evans/ more information.

17/02/2026

Sometimes the most powerful shift in our emotional world isn’t a breakthrough or a big decision - it’s the quiet moment where we pause. The pause before reacting, before saying yes when your body whispers no and where you notice your breath again. The pause that lets you choose differently.

In counselling, these small pauses become doorways - to clarity, to self-compassion, to boundaries that feel like relief rather than resistance.

If you’re craving space to slow down, listen inward, and reconnect with yourself, you’re not alone, and you don’t have to do it by yourself. What kind of pause would feel nourishing for you today?

See www.wishing-you-well.co.uk or https://www.bacp.co.uk/therapists/406729/sabrina-evans/ for more information.

14/02/2026

Many people come to counselling believing they need to be “fixed” - as if their struggles are personal failures rather than very human responses to a life that has asked too much of them.

But I see something different. I see how people soften when they feel genuinely met, how their breath deepens when they realise they don’t have to perform, how their shoulders drop when they sense they’re no longer alone with it all.

Connection is not a luxury. It’s not something reserved for when we’ve finally “sorted ourselves out” - it’s the ground we heal on. We’re shaped in relationship - and we’re repaired in relationship too, through the small, steady moments of being seen, heard, and understood.

In counselling this looks like:
- place where you don’t have to be the strong one
- a conversation where nothing is too much
- a relationship where your inner world is allowed to exist without judgement
- a gentle reminder that you’re human, and humans are allowed to need support

If you’ve been carrying things quietly, or feeling disconnected from yourself or others, you’re not failing. You’re longing for something deeply natural: to be held in connection rather than held together by sheer effort.

You don’t have to do it all alone and you’re allowed to reach out. Connection heals - one honest moment at a time.

See www.wishing-you-well.co.uk or https://www.bacp.co.uk/therapists/406729/sabrina-evans/ for more information.

09/02/2026

For those who feel deeply and notice everything, here are 10 signs you might be a a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) from Highly Sensitive Humans