PFV Counselling

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PFV Counselling

Hello, My name is Paula Fox-Valsler and I am an Outdoor Holistic Counsellor and Empowerment Coach.

07/03/2026

Anxiety: Your Brain’s Overprotective Bodyguard

Have you ever noticed how anxiety shows up like a security guard who drank way too much coffee?

Anxiety's job is to keep you safe.

Thousands of years ago, anxiety helped humans avoid real dangers like predators or unsafe environments. Your brain learned to scan for threats and react quickly.

The problem?

Your brain can’t always tell the difference between a tiger in the bushes and an unread email.

So what does anxiety do?

• Speeds up your heart

• Sends your thoughts racing

• Makes you want to avoid the situation

• Tries to prepare you for the “worst case scenario”

In small doses, anxiety can actually help you focus and prepare. But when it becomes constant or overwhelming, it can make everyday situations feel much bigger than they are.

A few gentle reminders:

- Anxiety is a normal human response

- Having anxiety doesn’t mean you’re weak

- Your brain is trying to protect you, even if it’s a bit overenthusiastic.

Sometimes, the most helpful step is simply learning to notice it, name it, and respond with curiosity rather than criticism.

Your brain isn’t broken, it’s just trying a little too hard to keep you safe.

And sometimes, you realise that the tiger in the bush is actually a playful little kitten.

PFV Counselling

📷 Hasbi Kurnia

18/02/2026

✨ Emotionally regulated (mostly)
🧠 Deeply empathetic
💬 Zero tolerance for nonsense
⚖️ Professionally regulated
🔥 Internally on fire

Peri-menopause is wild… but so is the wisdom that comes with it.

If you’re crying at dog food adverts, forgetting why you walked into a room, or considering a new life in a cottage in Wales at 3am, welcome. You’re in good company.

Hormonal. Healing. Slightly heated.

You’re riding the hormonal roller coaster.

You’re not losing it.

You’re transitioning.

And you don’t have to do it alone.

From one peri menopausal woman to another, I get it. 💛

PFV Counselling

14/02/2026

Many women I work with don't look like they're struggling. They're capable, reliable, and the one everyone depends on.
But underneath, they feel exhausted from always being the strong one.

• Understand where the good girl pattern began
• Recognise how it shows up in your current life
• Identify the cost of it
• Begin building a more secure, more trusting adult voice

Therapy offers a space to explore and understand where the "good girl" narrative began. Together, we can gently build a more confident and compassionate way of relating without the guilt.

👉🏽 Which one lands the most with you, A, B, C or D? 👇🏼

PFV Counselling

10/02/2026

Not all healing happens through words.
Sometimes, it flows through colour, creativity, and expression 🎨✨

Art can be a safe space to feel, release, and reconnect. It can also be a really fun and empowering way of connecting to your inner child.

Healing doesn’t always happen through talking. Sometimes, it happens through creating.

Your expression matters.
Your story matters.
And healing can be creative. 💛

PFV Counselling

12/01/2026

Monday Musings and the first of the year.

PFV Counselling

09/01/2026

✨ Creating a Vision Board for 2026 ✨

As we begin to think about 2026, it can be helpful to pause and gently reflect on what you want more of in your life. Not just what you want to do, but how you want to feel.

A vision board isn’t about pressure or perfection. It’s a supportive tool for clarity and intention. You might include images or words that represent:

▪︎ Peace and balance

▪︎ Personal growth

▪︎ Health and rest

▪︎ Meaningful relationships

▪︎ Work that feels aligned

When creating your board, ask yourself:
What do I want to move toward this year?
What feels important for my wellbeing?

Place your vision board somewhere you’ll see it often, and allow it to be a reminder, without judgment, of the life you’re gently building.

Set aside some time over the weekend to get creative and have some fun.

Or,

If you’d like support exploring your goals, values, or direction for 2026, counselling can offer a safe space to do that.

PFV Counselling

31/12/2025

See you in 2026 💫

21/12/2025

Honouring the Winter Solstice ✨

The Winter Solstice invites us to pause at the darkest point of the year and honour what has been heavy, quiet, or unseen within us. This is a natural time for rest, reflection, and compassion toward yourself.

You might honour this season by:

💫 Creating space for stillness. Lighting a candle and sitting in silence for a few moments

💫 Reflecting on what you are ready to release and what you hope to gently nurture as the light returns

💫 Allowing rest without guilt, remembering that slowing down is not failure, but wisdom

💫 Offering yourself kindness, especially toward parts of you that feel tired or tender.

The Solstice reminds us that even in darkness, change is already beginning. You do not need to rush your healing.
Light returns in its own time.

PFV Counselling

11/12/2025

It's December, and everyone's feeling tired. That's because in nature, it's the season for slowing down. There's nothing wrong with you. Your body is just telling you what it needs.

The sun is at its lowest point, and the days are often dull and darkness dominant.
Some animals have gone into hibernation mode. The trees have lost their leaves, and all the magic is happening internally. The seeds and any signs of new life are waiting in frozen ground. Everything in nature has slowed right down.

And yet, we are now officially in Christmas season with expectations to be sociable, festive, generous, joyous. Shopping till you drop, meeting end of year deadlines, Xmas parties.

No wonder you're feeling exhausted.

Our Ancestors knew how to honour the winter. How to retreat and go inwards . They got quiet, rested more, ate hearty meals and early nights.

Your body is trying to communicate with you.

This is the time to go slow.

Stop fighting nature.

PFV Counselling

29/11/2025

Here are a variety of meaningful, cosy, and creative ways to honour winter, spiritually, emotionally, environmentally, and practically:

🌟Quiet + Reflective Ways

Practice stillness or meditation to mirror winter’s natural pause.

Journal about the past year. What you learned, what you’re releasing, and what you’re inviting.

Create a seasonal altar with winter elements: pine, stones, candles, snow water, and dried berries.

Observe the winter sky. Moon phases, early sunsets, constellations.

🌟Light + Warmth Traditions

Light candles or a fire as a symbol of warmth during the dark season.

Host a Solstice or midwinter gathering. Storytelling, songs, intentional food.

Practice a daily “light ritual” (lantern walks, candle meditation, twinkling lights in your home).

🌟Nature-Based Ways

Take mindful winter walks. Listen to the quiet, notice tracks, admire bare branches.

Collect winter items like pinecones, cedar, holly, or frost-kissed leaves for decoration or craft.

Feed winter birds or set up a wildlife-friendly space.

Harvest snow or ice with intention (for art, rituals, or symbolic cleansing).

🌟Nourishment & Home

Cook warming, grounding foods: stews, root vegetables, teas, mulled cider.

Practice “seasonal nesting” . Clean a corner of your home, add soft textures, make a cosy reading space.

Start a winter craft: knitting, candle-making, mending, herbal remedies, scrapbooks.

Cultural + Spiritual Perspectives

Celebrate winter holidays (Solstice, Yule, Lunar New Year, etc.) with meaning.

Offer gratitude for the season. For
For rest, for clarity, for the renewal it leads to.

Study winter myths and folklore from various cultures (snow spirits, winter goddesses, sun-return stories).

Inner Work + Emotional Honour

Give yourself permission to rest more.

Embrace slower rhythm. longer sleeps, fewer obligations.

Do a “winter reset”. Organise your digital space, calendar, or goals gently.

🌟 Take time to sink in and really enjoy this winter period. Find the magic in the small things.

PFV Counselling

13/11/2025

💫When You’re Wondering What It All Means…💫

Have you ever had those moments where you stop and think;

“What’s the point of all this?”

As if life suddenly zooms out and everything feels kind of meaningless or just not right? Yup..? Well, that people is the dreaded existential crisis.

Don’t worry, it’s not as dramatic as it sounds. It’s something most of us go through at some point in our lives. It’s that period where you start questioning things like: Who am I really? What do I actually want? Why does everything feel so… empty?

These feelings usually show up when life is shifting... Maybe you’ve lost something important, started something new, or maybe you've hit a point where the “old” version of your life doesn’t fit anymore. It’s uncomfortable, but it’s also your mind’s way of saying, “Hey, let’s pause and figure out what really matters.”

💬 Here are a few gentle things to keep in mind:

You’re not crazy for feeling lost, it’s part of being human.

Meaning isn’t something you find once and keep forever. It changes as you do.

You don’t have to have all the answers right now. Small steps, like doing something kind, talking to someone, or just sitting outside for a bit, can sometimes help.

Talking with a counsellor or a good friend can make a big difference. Sometimes saying things out loud helps them make more sense.

💫 Just remember, you haven’t lost your path, you’re just rewriting it. 💫

📷

PFV Counselling

11/11/2025

What did the world teach you about pleasure when you were growing up?

As adults, pleasure can be complicated.

We go through life with so many beliefs around pleasure. But pleasure is natural and its available to you in almost every moment of every day if you allow yourself to open up to it.

We are all born with an inherent understanding and desire for pleasure. As children we would seek out touch, new textures, new sensations and new experiences without apology. But as we grow into adults, our relationship with pleasure changes. It almost becomes conditional.

So have a think, what's your relationship like with pleasure?

▪️What beliefs do you hold around personal pleasure?
▪️Is it conditional?
▪️Does it feel luxurious?
▪️Is it attached to guilt or shame?
▪️Does it leave you feeling uncomfortable?
▪️Would you like to feel more pleasure? If yes, how?

Allow yourself to get curious here. When was the last time you experienced real pleasure?

PFV Counselling

📷 Yuri Krupenin

**Scenes like this bring me pleasure**

Address

Knutsford

Website

https://www.counselling-directory.org.uk/counsellors/paula-fox-valsler

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