Spinfish Wellbeing

05/09/2026

https://static.wixstatic.com/mp3/ff1fd0_2a70d9ab5f954fe0a7cbf3c9417f3269.mp3
A New Beginning 🍂 - The Woodland Path - a free guided meditation...
I posted earlier this week about Autumn and a season of change…
Change can feel exciting, but it can also feel uncomfortable, emotional and a little scary.
Whether you’re heading off to university or college, starting a new school, moving into a new chapter of life, or watching someone you love begin theirs, this guided meditation is a gentle invitation to pause, breathe and acknowledge all that you might be feeling.
Using the beautiful metaphor of an Autumn woodland, we’ll explore letting go, embracing change and making space for new beginnings. 🌿🍁

You don’t have to leave the past behind completely.
You can carry the love, memories and lessons with you as you step into whatever comes next.
So, find somewhere quiet, make yourself comfortable, and give yourself half an hour to simply be.
For those beginning… and those learning to let go. ❤️
With all good wishes, Steph ###

04/09/2026

Is it too early to mention the C word? 😅. Come and be creative, relaxed and eat far too much mince pie shortbread…though that surely counts as loads towards your 5 a day…🤔x

Be quick if you want the afternoon session of our Christmas Baubles Workshop on Saturday 7th November as we ONLY HAVE 1 SPACE LEFT!!

We still have some capacity for the morning session...🥰..so please book in asap ###

02/09/2026

📚✨ Every day is a school day! ✨📚

Those who know me well will know that I love a new notebook.

There’s something lovely about opening a fresh notebook and writing in it for the first time — especially when accompanied by a brand-new pen..

It takes me straight back to that September feeling of going back to school with all your new stationery. There was something so exciting about it… although perhaps not the randomly covering your schoolbooks with wallpaper part! 😂

Anyone else remember doing that?!

Well, this September I’m getting that back-to-school feeling again — although thankfully, there will be no wallpaper involved! 😂

I’m continuing my EFT Practitioner Training and will also be attending The Transform Trauma Conference in Oxford, where I’ll have the privilege of learning from some incredibly eminent voices in the field, including Bessel van der Kolk, Dan Siegel, Gabor Maté and Kate Truitt.

I’m a firm believer that learning never really stops. There is always something new to discover, explore and bring into our work — and I love being able to continue developing my knowledge and skills so I can offer the best possible support to my clients. 🌿

📅 I’ll therefore be out of the office from Monday 14th September until Sunday 20th September.

And then, in a couple of months, I’ll be looking for EFT case studies as part of my practitioner training.

If you’d be interested in becoming a case study, there will be no cost involved, so keep an eye on my page for more information nearer the time. 💛

In the meantime, I’ll be happily filling my new notebook with notes, ideas and probably far too many things to remember!

Because every day really is a school day. 📚✨

01/09/2026

🍂 Change, new beginnings… and a little bit of washing! 🍂

The leaves are starting to change colour, we’ve even had some rain, and although the temperatures are still rather warm, there’s definitely a feeling that Autumn is on its way.
September feels like such a natural time for new beginnings. Schools, colleges and universities start again, people move on to new chapters, and routines change.
And I think Autumn gives us a beautiful metaphor for this.
🍁 The trees let go of their leaves.
🍁 They don’t cling to what has been.
🍁 They make space for what comes next.
But letting go isn’t always easy.
Change can feel scary because our brains are wired to seek familiarity. What we know feels safe, even when we know that something different might ultimately be good for us.
And new beginnings can bring a sense of loss too.
We can feel excited about what lies ahead and sad about what we are leaving behind.
Sometimes that sadness can even bring guilt.
“I should be happier.” “I should be excited.”
“Why am I feeling sad when this is such a wonderful opportunity?”

But here’s the thing…
You can feel more than one thing at once.
I remember feeling this very strongly when our eldest went off to university six years ago.
I was incredibly excited for her and proud of this new adventure she was beginning. But she was moving hundreds of miles away, and this was also during COVID, which made an already huge transition even harder.
I felt sadness.
I felt grief.
And, if I’m honest, I felt guilty for feeling those things when I was supposed to be celebrating her new beginning.
But those feelings were valid.
They didn’t mean I wasn’t happy for her.
They simply meant that something was changing, and I loved her deeply. ❤️
And now, six years on, I can see just how much that new chapter has brought.
Look at how she has grown.
Look at what she has achieved.
Look at the life she has created.
Our relationship is still strong. She still calls home for catch-ups, advice and the occasional chat about life. And when we see each other, it’s magical.

And she STILL brings her washing home…
All the way from Edinburgh. 😂

Because whilst some things change, some things stay the same.
And the love remains.
So if you’re heading off to university, college, school or another new beginning this September — or if you’re the one standing at the door waving someone you love goodbye — remember:
You don’t have to feel just one emotion.
You can be excited and scared.
Proud and sad.
Hopeful and grieving what’s changing.
There is space for all of it. 🌿

And just like the trees in Autumn, sometimes letting go is not an ending…
It’s making space for something new to grow. 🍂

Later this week I’ll be sharing a guided meditation around new beginnings and change, so keep an eye out if you’d like to take a few quiet moments for yourself.
Whether you’re the one beginning a new chapter, or the one waving them off… this one is for you. ❤️

24/08/2026

If you’re looking for a space to relax, be and join with a small group of like-minded people please join us for this day….only a few spaces left…

02/08/2026

Burnout - How Hypnotherapy, NLP & Coaching Can Help

Over the last week, I've shared that it was 3 years ago I burned out and some of the lessons I learned from that experience.

One of the biggest lessons was this:
Burnout isn't a sign that you're broken.
It's often a sign that something in your life needs attention, support, or change.

When we're overwhelmed for too long, we can get stuck in patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving that keep us running on empty. We tell ourselves to push harder, work longer, and keep everyone else happy, often at the expense of our own wellbeing.

For me, recovery wasn't about becoming someone different.
It was about understanding those patterns, learning from them, and creating healthier ways to move forward.

That's one of the reasons I'm so passionate about hypnotherapy, Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) and coaching.

These approaches can help people:
✅ Better manage stress and overwhelm
✅ Develop healthier boundaries
✅ Shift unhelpful thoughts, beliefs and habits
✅ Build confidence and resilience
✅ Gain clarity and perspective
✅ Create positive, lasting change

And they aren't only helpful when someone has already reached burnout.
They can also be incredibly effective preventative tools, helping people recognise the warning signs earlier and make changes before they reach breaking point.

Three years on, I can honestly say that burnout taught me some difficult but valuable lessons.

Perhaps the most important is this:

❤️ Asking for help isn't the end of the story.
Often, it's where the healing begins and the new journey starts.

If you've followed this series and found any part of it helpful, thank you for reading and engaging with such an important conversation.

If you've been recognising yourself in any part of this series, please know that support is available and you don't have to navigate it all on your own.

And if you'd like an informal chat about hypnotherapy, NLP or coaching, feel free to drop me a message. No pressure, no obligation—just a conversation.

What's one thing you do to protect your own wellbeing and recharge when life gets busy?

02/08/2026

30/07/2026

Burnout - Why So Many People Don't Ask for Help

A few days ago I shared that it was 3 years ago I burned out.

The thing is, people don't always struggle because help isn't available...

Often, they struggle because they don't feel able to ask for it.

We tell ourselves:

"I'll be fine."
"I just need to push through."
"I'm a strong person, I should be able to cope"
"Other people have it worse."
"I don't want to burden anyone."
"If I ask for help, people will think I'm failing."

So we keep going.

We keep smiling.
We keep performing.
And we convince ourselves that needing support somehow means we're weak.

The truth is the opposite.

Asking for help isn't weakness.

It's self-awareness.

It's courage.

It's recognising that you're human.

If you're carrying more than you can manage right now, please know you don't have to do it alone.
What if asking for help is actually a sign of strength?
The strongest people I know aren't the ones who never need support.

They're the ones who are willing to reach for it when they do.

❤️ Who in your life could you reach out to today?

28/07/2026

This photo was taken during the week I burned out. I look happy, relaxed and completely fine. I wasn't. That's the thing about burnout – and many mental health struggles – they often hide behind a smile.......

Three years ago, I burned out.

Not the "I'm a bit tired and need a holiday" kind of burnout.

The kind where your mind and body simply say, "Stop it!! - no more."

Looking back, it didn't happen overnight. The signs had been there for months, but like many people, I ignored them. I kept telling myself to push through, work harder, and that things would get better once I'd got through the next busy period.

What's interesting is that the photo I'm sharing was taken during that exact week.

Looking at it, you'd probably think I looked happy, relaxed, and perfectly fine.

I was smiling.

I looked well.

I appeared to be coping.

But appearances can be incredibly misleading.

One of the biggest myths about burnout is that you'll be able to spot it easily in other people. The reality is that many people become experts at hiding how they're really feeling. They keep showing up, keep performing, keep smiling, and keep telling everyone they're okay.

Meanwhile, they're running on empty.

Some of the early signs I experienced were:

🔹 Feeling exhausted no matter how much I rested
🔹 Struggling to switch off and relax
🔹 Becoming more irritable than usual
🔹 Feeling overwhelmed by things I'd normally cope with
🔹 Finding it harder to concentrate and make decisions
🔹 Losing enthusiasm for things I genuinely cared about

The problem is that many of us have become very good at carrying on.

We wear busyness as a badge of honour and convince ourselves that asking for help is weakness. So we ignore the warning signs and keep going until our minds and bodies force us to stop.

One of the biggest lessons I've learned is that burnout isn't a sign of weakness.

Often, it's a sign you've been strong for too long without enough support.

If you're feeling some of these signs yourself, please don't wait until you're at breaking point before doing something about it.

Listen to the whispers before they become screams.

❤️ You are allowed to rest.
❤️ You are allowed to ask for help.
❤️ You don't have to carry everything alone.

And perhaps most importantly, if someone looks okay on the outside, don't assume they are okay on the inside.

Looking back, what was the first sign that told you something wasn't quite right?

26/07/2026

Exactly 3 years ago to the hour, I finally burned out and broke down.

In hindsight (you know, that very useful thing), it was so obvious it was coming – the sleepless nights, the racing mind at 3 am, the heart racing when emails pinged in, the complete overwhelm, the never knowing when the work day stopped and my outside life began, the sense of responsibility, the feeling of drowning, the deep and dark intrusive thoughts that led me down some scary paths, the feeling of never being enough, never being good enough even though there was nothing left to give…

Yet I survived. I made it through. And I am so grateful.

I am not saying it was easy. I’d always been known as ‘strong’ and ‘capable’, yet sometimes those words which people seem to use as compliments merely pile more pressure on you when you feel exactly the opposite. Fear of letting people down can be massive.

So now I am even more deeply committed to helping people avoid that sink hole or helping them climb back out. It’s not easy, it’s often not pretty but you can get through.

Sending massive love to those that resonate – please don’t wait until you’ve fallen into that pit of despair before you acknowledge that you cannot do it all (nor do you need to) and reach out for support.