A Positive Start CIC

24/04/2026

Did you know… being near water can help your brain switch into calm mode?

Researchers describe something called the Blue Mind state — a deeply relaxed neurological response that happens when we spend time beside rivers, lakes, or the sea. Marine biologist Dr Wallace J. Nichols found that simply seeing or hearing water can activate the parasympathetic nervous system — the part of us responsible for rest, recovery, and feeling safe again.

Studies suggest that spending just 20 minutes near water can:
- lower cortisol (the stress hormone)
- increase serotonin, dopamine, and oxytocin
- support clearer thinking and emotional balance
- help the body settle out of survival mode

It’s one of the reasons we feel different when we pause beside a river.

Our holiday home at Riverside Caravan Park, sits right on the beautiful River Teviot, offering a quiet space to rest, reset, and reconnect with yourself or with the people who matter most.

Sometimes a change of place — especially somewhere close to flowing water — can make all the difference.

If you’d like to experience it for yourself, we’d love to welcome you.

airbnb.com/h/delightful-riverside-setting

23/04/2026

Posted by Chrissy Sykes My Body Is My Body Foundation - Keeping Children safe 👇

This is Kimberley’s story… and why every child must be heard.
Kimberley was just 4 years old when she lost her life as a result of abuse.
Her story has never been forgotten.

In fact, it was Kimberley’s song that became the inspiration behind the My Body Is My Body Programme, which began 38 years ago — with a simple but powerful aim: to help children understand their bodies, find their voice, and know who to turn to if something doesn’t feel right.

Today, that message has reached over 3 million children in more than 60 countries worldwide.
We have re-created this song in Kimberley’s memory — to honour her life, and to help protect other children.
🎶 Please take a moment to watch:👇

3 likes, 1 comment. "Kimberley's Story - and why every child must be heard"

23/04/2026

A Positive Start CIC will be at Kelso High School this Friday for the Kelso Family Support Fair.

We’ll be sharing information about:

* our Counselling & Therapy Services
* The River Room & My Body Is My Body (MBIMB) tour
* our 8-week Reconnect & Regulate programme (starting again this June from our new base at Harestanes Tower)
* STAND – Parents as Protectors, our grooming-prevention course supported by our partners

If you’re attending the fair, please do come and say hello — we’d be genuinely delighted to see you there.

23/04/2026

A huge shout out to these three wonderful young humans who we met this evening
- Rihannon, Luke & Jill 🫶🏼
We got chatting to the 3 as they were grabbing fresh supplies in Jedburgh
- founder of Workington charity - and her team Luke & Jill are walking St Cuthberts Way to raise much needed funds for their charity - supporting children & families experiencing poverty.
Amazing cause, Fantastic achievement, beautiful energy - please check out their page and show them some love 👏👏👏💪🫶🏼

23/04/2026

22/04/2026

The most important person to keep your promises to, is yourself.

22/04/2026

I’m reading ‘Healing the Shame That Binds You’ by John Bradshaw -

He writes about blushing as a natural human response to exposure — not something to hide or correct, but something deeply meaningful.

Blushing, he says - reminds us of our human limits.
It signals that we are visible. Imperfect. Relational. Alive in the presence of others.

And perhaps most importantly, it reminds us that we were never meant to move through life without making mistakes.

If we were, why would we have the capacity to blush at all?

Yet so many people carry harsh inner criticism for getting things wrong.
And just as often, we see the same criticism directed outward — toward colleagues, children, partners, or ourselves when we fall short of expectations.

From a trauma-informed perspective, shame rarely teaches.
It silences. Contracts. Disconnects.

Healthy exposure, on the other hand, invites growth.

Blushing can be understood as the body’s gentle signal that something matters — that we care about belonging, about connection, about being seen and understood.

What if instead of treating mistakes as evidence of failure, we recognised them as evidence of participation in being human?

In the communities I work with, I often see how quickly self-criticism softens when people realise this:

Making mistakes is not the problem.
Losing compassion for ourselves when we do is.

Perhaps blushing is not something to overcome at all.
Perhaps it is a reminder of our shared humanity.

And perhaps the question for us now — as adults, parents, colleagues, educators, and practitioners — is this:

When someone shows their vulnerability through embarrassment, do they experience understanding… or judgement?

22/04/2026

If you're reading this, you likely ARE more sensitive than average. That's probably a combination of your genes & what you've been through. Survivors are VERY often highly sensitive people— before AND atter trauma.

No shame— just something we need to account for in recovery.