MSG Counselling

11/03/2026

A painful childhood may shape who someone is, but it doesn't have the final say in who they will become. Research has found that change can happen fairly quickly with therapy and/or medication.

28/01/2026

Loss of a dream needs to grieved too...

"The loss of potential, of an unlived life, is just such an ambiguous loss. It doesn’t have a funeral. It has no rituals. But it shapes us deeply."💯 https://elejrnl.com/?p=4169684 Don't just scroll + get the fumes. Read the full article supporting a writer + supporting independent media when it's most needed.

23/01/2026

Entrepreneur and TED Fellow Jane Marie Chen started a company that created a low-cost, portable incubator for premature babies in underserved communities, with the goal of saving more than one million babies around the world. After a decade of relentless challenges, the company shut down — pushing...

04/11/2025

Finally someone is speaking out ! Having worked with marginalised people or communities, I know what she is saying makes so much sense. Most of the mental health challenges are direct responses to the environment people are forced to live in, not a brain disorder or chemical imbalances. Poverty, discrimination, trauma, isolation - they are not side notes, they are the root causes. Until we address the root causes, we are treating the symptoms, not the source.

The final guest editor in our current series on why the drugs don't work, plus new cultural projects for Camden Town & loads to do this week

21/09/2025

Fascinating concept of ' Freedom of masks'

On Maskenfreiheit.

The German word Maskenfreiheit is a fascinating concept. Literally translated it means “the freedom of the mask,” though it is sometimes interpreted more loosely as the “helpful mask.” The term suggests that when we wear a mask, whether literal or symbolic, we can, paradoxically, become more ourselves. The mask can offer protection, a boundary, or a persona that enables us to step more freely into roles, situations, or truths that might otherwise feel too vulnerable. In Jungian thought, this resonates deeply with the persona or the the mask each of us wears to meet the demands of the outer world. Far from being mere pretence, the persona is an archetypal necessity: it mediates between our inner life and society, allowing us to take part in the collective drama of existence.

In everyday life, we all wear masks. We may present the “professional” self at work, the “nurturing” self with children, the “confident” self in social gatherings. These masks are not necessarily falsehoods; they are facets of our larger identity, shaped to meet particular contexts. In this sense, the mask can be immensely helpful. It allows us to navigate complex worlds with adaptability, to hold aspects of ourselves in reserve until the right time, and to avoid the exposure that can come with unfiltered honesty.

Yet, masks can also hinder us. When a mask hardens into a permanent disguise, we risk forgetting what lies beneath. The professional mask can become a prison of overachievement, the social mask a shield against intimacy, the confident mask a wall that hides our doubts and pain. Over time, such masks can create distance between our lived self and our true inner life. We cannot allow the mask to be mistaken for the whole self as it can estrange us from the depths of the psyche. Jung warned that an over-identification with the persona leaves the shadow disowned and the soul impoverished. What was once a helpful mask becomes a suffocating disguise.

Maskenfreiheit invites us to consider how wearing a mask can offer both liberation and limitation. The key lies in awareness: to use masks as conscious tools rather than unconscious armour. When chosen intentionally, masks can reveal more than they conceal, giving us the freedom to express, explore, and protect. When clung to rigidly, they can stifle growth. True freedom comes in knowing when to wear the mask, and when to set it aside.

Maskenfreiheit invites us to consider that our masks are not the totality of who we are.

Lx

Image via Emily Mack Art

21/09/2025

People-pleasing tendencies have been linked to an elevated risk of developing an autoimmune disease, with several studies highlighting the impact of chronic stress and emotion repression on immune function.

An autoimmune condition can affect almost any organ, tissue or system in the body, as the immune system mistakenly attacks the body’s healthy cells instead of the unhealthy ones as it is designed to do. Common areas affected include connective tissues, joints, muscles, endocrine glands (like the thyroid or pancreas), the skin and blood vessels — and people pleasing can activate this chaos in you.

People-pleasing involves saying yes when you mean no and neglecting your own needs, which creates persistent psychological pressure. The behavior often requires individuals to suppress their true feelings, such as anger, to avoid conflict or rejection. This chronic stress and emotional repression lead to the release of stress hormones.

Stress hormones disrupt the normal balance of the immune system, making it more susceptible to autoimmune responses. Hormonal changes associated with stress can promote inflammation, a known factor in the development and progression of autoimmune diseases. A dysregulated and inflamed immune system is more likely to mistakenly attacks the body’s own tissues, a characteristic of autoimmune conditions.

One study found that a high proportion of people with autoimmune diseases reported significant emotional stress before their condition developed. The stress associated with having an autoimmune disease can also contribute to immune dysregulation, creating a detrimental cycle where the illness and the stress exacerbate each other.

PMID: 33767739, 21304144

23/08/2025

Loving yourself is not easy. It comes from working on your inner self and inner child.

That phrase is usually a confusing and shaming letdown.⁠
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P**f, just love yourself and stop:⁠
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*dating beneath you⁠
*feeling suicidal⁠
*being codependent⁠
*struggling with addiction⁠
*submitting to others⁠
*being so stuck⁠
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Does the phrase make us feel better?⁠
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I know it's meant well, but it's one thing that leaves us with an overwhelming "how?" ⁠
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How do I go and love myself? ⁠
Do you have some steps? ⁠
Do you have any exercises? ⁠
A book even...?⁠
⁠
When I started my childhood trauma recovery in my early 20s, I was blessed to have a therapist who had a plan. I had someone who knew the specifics and had a therapy model.⁠
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She knew I needed to get my adult in place to get myself together and start caring for an abused child instead of having that child seek attachment and rescue from others, which doesn't work.⁠
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It changed my life and wasn't just a platitude.

01/04/2025