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Heal 2 Thrive Counselling & Therapies, Rayleigh, Southend-on-Sea (2025)

03/12/2025

Healing Isn’t Linear

I said to a client this week that healing is a lot like the old game of snakes and ladders — and it’s true of grief and life in general.

Some days you climb a ladder.
You feel a shift, a moment of clarity, a breath of strength you didn’t know you had.

And other days… you land on a snake.
You slip back into old fears, old triggers, patterns and feelings you thought you’d moved past.

But here’s the thing:

The snake doesn’t take you back to the beginning. It just takes you to an earlier point on the same path.

You’re still further along than you were.
You still carry every insight, every piece of courage, every moment of growth you’ve earned.

Healing isn’t a straight line — it’s a journey of ups and downs, climbs and slides, expansions and contractions.
But every step counts.
Every moment teaches.
Every return is still movement.

💛 If you feel like you’ve slipped today, it doesn’t mean you’ve failed. It simply means you’re human — and still on your way.

02/12/2025

🎄 If You’re Not Feeling Jolly This Season…

This time of year can be beautiful — lights, warmth, gatherings —
but it can also feel heavy.

Everywhere we look, we’re shown perfect families, perfect friendships, perfect moments.

The adverts tell us how magical it’s meant to be.And online, it’s matching-pyjama photos, big family breakfasts, groups of friends at festive nights out — smiling, glowing, together.

And quietly, inside, the questions appear:

“Why isn’t my family like that?”

“Why don’t I have a group of friends like that?”

“Why don’t I feel the way everyone else seems to feel?”

“Is something wrong with me?”

It’s a season that makes comparison louder than usual.

❤️ Here’s the truth: There is nothing wrong with you.

Those images are moments — curated, arranged, often repeated every year for the camera.

They’re not the full story.
They don’t show the arguments, the loneliness within the group, the grief, the overwhelm, the pressure to perform “joy.”

Not everyone feels jolly in December.
For many, this season brings complicated family dynamics, longing for connection, or the ache of friendships that haven’t formed the way we hoped.

For others, it’s simply exhaustion — the weight of trying to keep up with a season that demands so much.

❤️ You are not behind.
❤️ You are not broken.
❤️ You are not missing something everyone else magically has.

You’re human.
You’re healing.
You’re doing your best.

If this time of year feels complicated for you, take it gently.
Create your own small pockets of comfort — the ones that feel true for you, not the ones the world tells you to create.

There is space for you here — exactly as you are.

# bereavement # grief #
Lifechangingevents # support

30/11/2025

Something I experienced this week…

I was reminded of the strange little shift that happens after we do something brave.

You know the moment —
you let yourself be seen just a little more.
you share something honest,
you take a step that matters…

And then comes the afterglow —
not the golden kind you see in the sky, but the kind that flickers inside the chest.

The kind where your system whispers:
“Was that okay? Did I say too much? Did I get it wrong?”

I had that wobble this week.
And maybe you’ve had it too.

What I’m learning is this:
the wobble doesn’t mean the step was wrong.It means a softer part of us is just catching up with the courage that led the way.

It’s not a warning —
it’s an adjustment.
A settling.
An integration.

So if you’ve done something brave lately and now you’re second-guessing yourself…you are not alone.

It’s normal to shake a little after you rise.

You’re growing.
You’re expanding.
You’re doing beautifully.Even — and especially — in the wobble.

The wobble doesn’t erase your courage — it’s simply the body remembering how to feel safe again.”

CounsellingRayleighEssex #

28/11/2025

Your Nervous System’s Deal of the Day
- A Deep Breath

Black Friday can make everything feel urgent —the countdowns, the constant notifications and emails, the pressure to grab things before they’re gone.

But your nervous system doesn’t know the difference between “last chance” marketing and any other kind of stress signal.It just hears hurry, don’t miss out, act now —and your body responds.

Also be mindful that spending can give a quick hit of dopamine —
a tiny boost of “feel-good” chemistry that fades just as quickly as it arrives.
It’s not weakness. It’s biology.
And days like today are literally designed to pull on that wiring.

So if you’re feeling overwhelmed, edgy, tired, tempted, or just “off,”
it’s not a personal failing.
It’s your body doing what bodies do.

Here’s your permission to step away from the frenzy & remember:

You don’t need to buy anything to be enough.

Your value isn’t added by what you buy.

You don’t need anything new to be worthy.

Rest, slowness, and presence are not missing out — they are medicine.

Take a breath.
Unclench your jaw.
Let your shoulders soften.

Remind yourself gently:
There is no rush. I’m safe. I can choose what’s right for me.

Your mental health matters far more than any discount.

Counsellingrayleighessex

27/11/2025

I love this picture in my therapy room It holds a truth about healing:

We don’t always grow by working harder, pushing through, or trying to be “better.”

Sometimes we grow by being met.

By feeling safe in the presence of another nervous system.

By being seen without being judged.
By being heard without having to perform or explain.

It shows how we grow when we feel seen,how something new forms between two nervous systems,how healing is often silent, slow, like a leaf opening in spring.

Healing is not a solo effort.
It happens in the space between us—
the sacred space where being met with kindness becomes its own medicine.

Like leaves forming in spring, change can be subtle.Sometimes slow.Sometimes almost invisible… until one day, it’s undeniable.

💛 Therapy isn’t about fixing who you are.
It’s about allowing who you are to be witnessed—
so something new can grow, gently, in its own time.

Two trees.
Two lives.
Roots that are separate.
Growth that is shared.

🌱 What do you see ?

# bereavement # grief #
Lifechangingevents # support

24/11/2025

🕊️ The Healing Power of a Goodbye Letter

When someone we love dies, we don’t just lose a person — we lose conversations, possibilities, moments that never got to happen.

Grief often leaves us holding unfinished words: questions, regrets, thank yous, apologies, love that didn’t get spoken.

Writing a goodbye letter gives those words a home.

Not to “move on.”
Not to “let go.”
But to honour what was left unsaid.

💛 it’s something I often encourage clients to do because:

1. It offers completion for unfinished conversations.We may never get answers, but we can speak our side of the story.

2. It allows the nervous system to release what it’s been holding.
Unspoken emotions can stay stuck. Writing helps them move through.

3. It makes space for both love and pain. Grief isn’t only loss — it’s also the deep love we continue to feel.

4. It supports healthy mourning rather than bottling things up.Expression is part of healing; silence can become heavy.

5. It honours the relationship as it really was.Messy, complicated, beautiful, imperfect — and meaningful.

💌 You might write:
• what you cherished
• what you’re grateful for
• what you wish you’d said
• the love that remains
• the ache that has nowhere else to go
• the thank yous, the I’m sorrys, the “I miss you”

💌 A goodbye letter isn’t about closure.
Closure implies something ends.
Grief doesn’t end — it changes shape.

There is no right way to write it.No perfect words.Just truth, written gently.

Sometimes that’s enough for the heart to exhale.

Grief #
Counsellingessex

21/11/2025

❤️When a Client Says, “I’ve Been Dying to Tell You…”

There’s a line I hear sometimes at the start of a session:

“I’ve been dying to tell you…”

It lands with such quiet power.

Because in that moment, I can feel it:
you remembered this space outside of here.

Something happened in your life, and this room,this relationship,
became the place you wanted to bring it to.

Not because you needed advice.
Not because you couldn’t manage alone.

But because it mattered enough to share.

💛 That sentence carries trust.
It carries belonging.
It says:

“I feel safe with you.”

“I want you to be part of this moment.”

“This part of my life needs to be witnessed.”

And honestly?
That will never, ever feel ordinary to me.

❤️Therapy isn’t just what happens in the hour.

It’s knowing someone is holding you in mind even when they’re not in the room.

So when you walk in with a story waiting at the edge of your heart —dying to be told — I don’t take it lightly.

Thank you for letting me be someone you can bring your life to.

That is the real work.
That is the real healing.
That is the real relationship.

19/11/2025

The Space Between Sessions

What happens in therapy isn’t just what unfolds in the room.

So much of the real work lives quietly in the space between sessions.

It’s in the moments when something we explored lingers,when a sentence lands deeper hours later, when an insight arrives while you’re cooking, walking, or lying awake at night.

It’s in the days where you notice yourself responding differently —
a softer tone with yourself,
a pause before an old pattern,
a breath you didn’t used to take.

And sometimes it’s not ease you notice —
but the stirrings, the discomfort, the emotional “noise” that rises after a session.

That is part of the work too.

Your system processing, integrating, reshaping.

Even when it feels still…
even when you think “nothing’s happening”…
your inner world is quietly shifting.

And in those in-between spaces —

There’s a whole world that happens in the space between sessions —
a quieter, more invisible part of the therapeutic process that clients rarely see.

I think about you.
I reflect on what you shared.
I sit with the themes that are emerging.
I plan, consider, and feel into what might support you next.

Not in a heavy or intrusive way —
but in the gentle, steady way a therapist holds the threads of your story with care.

Healing doesn’t only happen in the session.

It unfolds in the gentle days around it.
And you are never walking that part alone.

# Counselling # online counselling # counsellingrayleigh Essex #

18/11/2025

A Hand on Your Heart ❤️🏡🫶😮‍💨

If today feels a little much,
pause for a moment.

Place your hand on your heart.
Feel the warmth.
Feel your breath drop a little lower.
Feel your feet resting on the ground beneath you.

Nothing to fix.
Nothing to figure out.
Just a quiet return to yourself.

Hand on heart.
Feet on earth.
One soft breath.

Come home to yourself

❤️🏡🫶😮‍💨

Heal2thrive #
Grounding #

12/11/2025

The Mental Health Benefits of Being Authentic

So many of us learn, somewhere along the way, to hide parts of ourselves —
to keep the peace, to fit in, to stay “acceptable.”

But over time, pretending can quietly wear us down.

It takes energy to hold back your truth, to smile when you’re hurting, to play roles that don’t feel real anymore.

And sometimes, we do have to wear masks —the work mask, the brave face, the “I’m fine” smile.
That is part of being human.
Authenticity isn’t about never wearing them —
it’s about knowing when they’re needed, and remembering who you are beneath them.

it’s about being honest with yourself.
It’s allowing your inner world and outer world to slowly line up.

When you start living more authentically — even in small ways —
something shifts.

❤️ Your nervous system relaxes.

❤️ You feel safer in your own skin.

❤️ You stop bracing for rejection and start finding the people and spaces where you can breathe.

💛 The mental health benefits of authenticity include:

Less inner conflict and self-doubt

Lower anxiety and tension

Stronger, more genuine relationships

Greater self-esteem and emotional resilience

A deeper sense of peace and belonging

Every time you choose truth over approval, your nervous system learns what freedom feels like”

authenticity #
Counselling #
Onlinecounselling

10/11/2025

Sometimes therapy just needs to feel a little more human.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard someone say,
“I tried counselling — it wasn’t for me.”
And every time, my heart sinks a little 💔

Because there are so many different types of counselling, and so many different kinds of counsellors.

Just like in life — we all connect differently.

Sometimes the most important part isn’t the method at all, it’s the relationship — that feeling of being seen, heard, and understood.
That quiet “click” with the person sitting across from you.

A friend once told me they’d tried counselling after a loss and it didn’t help them at all. It turned out they’d been offered CBT —a brilliant approach in many situations,but not the gentlest fit for someone deep in grief.

That experience left them believing therapy wasn’t for them —
when really, they just hadn’t yet found their therapist,or the kind of therapy that could walk beside them in their grief and honour their pain with gentleness.”

💛 If you’ve ever felt that way — please know, the right space & person can feel completely different. Warm. Real. Like a place you can finally exhale.”

Sometimes it’s simply about finding the right person,the right approach,
and the right moment in your journey.

If you ever feel ready to try again,
there’s a calm space here —
with a comfortable sofa and someone who will meet you gently, exactly where you are.

Therapist #

06/11/2025

🙏🫶 For those who thought they’d be somewhere else by now —
maybe this, right here, is where the magic begins.

Maybe it’s not too late.

Maybe it’s just beginning.

Maybe this detour is the path.

Maybe you’re not behind — just being gently rerouted.

Maybe this pause was part of the plan.

Maybe the timing you thought was wrong was actually protecting something tender that needed more time to bloom.

Maybe you didn’t miss your path, you were just gathering wisdom.

Maybe the things that fell apart
were never meant to hold the next version of you.

Maybe everything is quietly rearranging itself to support the life you’re meant to live —even if you can’t see it yet.

❤️ Maybe the story isn’t ending —
it’s opening in a way you couldn’t have imagined.

Counselling # online counselling # counsellingrayleigh Essex # inner critic rayleigh # limitingbeliefs -pleasing self esteem

Heal 2 Thrive Counselling & Therapies

03/12/2025

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30/11/2025

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27/11/2025

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06/11/2025

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Monday	10am - 6pm
Tuesday	10am - 6pm
Wednesday	10am - 6pm
Thursday	10am - 7pm