A Positive Start CIC

03/09/2026

⚠️ PLEASE CHECK YOUR CANDLES — THIS ONE IS FOR OUTDOOR USE ONLY ⚠️

I’m sharing this so that nobody else unknowingly makes the same mistake.

Around three months ago, I bought this Yankee Candle Ocean Hibiscus candle from Home Bargains in Hawick. Yesterday evening, I lit it for the first time in our sitting room, believing it was an ordinary indoor Yankee Candle.

I unintentionally fell asleep while watching a film. Approximately an hour later, Andy woke me after entering the room and finding it filled with a blue-grey haze. He immediately extinguished the candle, and we opened the window and left the room to ventilate it.

I awoke with a headache and blocked nose. When I blew my nose, it contained black soot. Thankfully, the symptoms eased after getting fresh air.

Only after searching the product code did I discover that this is an outdoor citronella candle. It has a higher-melting-point wax and two larger wicks designed to remain alight outside.

Nothing prominent on the lid says “outdoor candle” or “outdoor use only.” The only indication on mine is a very small pictogram on the underside—which I hadn’t looked at and wouldn’t have known how to interpret. Two wicks aren’t an obvious warning either; plenty of indoor candles have two or three.

I fully appreciate that candles should never be left unattended. But safety information also needs to be prominent, clear and written in language people can immediately understand:

OUTDOOR USE ONLY — DO NOT BURN INDOORS

The exact product is:

Yankee Candle Outdoor Collection – Ocean Hibiscus
283g
Product code: 1685995E
Barcode: 5038581115238

This is my personal experience, not an official recall notice. I have reported the incident to Home Bargains and asked for it to be formally investigated.

If you have this candle—or anything similar—please check the underside and packaging carefully before lighting it. Please feel free to share this warning.

03/09/2026

What we repeatedly look for, we become skilled at finding.

The Reticular Activating System (RAS) is part of the brain’s network for alertness and attention. It helps filter the enormous amount of information around us, bringing what appears important into conscious awareness.

After trauma, the nervous system may decide that detecting danger is especially important.

The RAS can become remarkably skilled at noticing:

• changes in someone’s tone
• facial expressions
• possible rejection
• signs of conflict
• what might go wrong
• anything that resembles an earlier threat

This is hypervigilance.

It is not weakness, negativity or attention-seeking. It is a protective system using what it has learned to try to keep us safe.

But when attention is repeatedly drawn towards danger, the world can begin to look as though it contains only danger. From a dorsal place of shutdown or hopelessness, choices and possibilities may become difficult to see.

Energy flows where attention goes — but this does not mean we can simply “think positively” and override trauma.

It means that, with safety, compassion and practice, we can gently help the brain notice more of what is also present.

This is the purpose of an exercise I created called Mia Vita — My Life.

Using a shoebox, we begin with the words:

“Everything in this box is…”

Inside, we place images, words and reminders of what matters to us: the needs we want to meet, the experiences we hope to have, the relationships we want to nurture and the life we would like to move towards.

The box is not about pretending that fear, pain or difficulty do not exist.

It is about widening the lens.

Instead of attention being automatically captured by threat, we give the mind something meaningful to seek: possibilities, resources, connection and opportunities to fulfil our needs.

We are not denying what happened.

We are helping the nervous system discover that the future may contain something different.

And where there was once only survival, a little hope can begin to appear.

02/09/2026

02/09/2026

I’m very happy to recommend Mitch Gainey’s Evidence-Based EFT training.

Having recently completed the training myself, I found Mitch’s approach thoughtful, supportive and particularly helpful for practitioners working with trauma and emotional regulation. The training is delivered across two Fridays and Saturdays, making it more manageable than three consecutive days on Zoom.

Mitch has kindly offered my network a 15% discount — approximately £82 off — using the code:

DEB15

You can find out more and book here:

https://evidencebasedeft.netlify.app/

If you’re interested in developing a safe, evidence-informed approach to EFT, this is well worth exploring.

31/08/2026

Another piece of learning completed — Advanced Training in Evidence Based EFT for Trauma.

I’m really pleased to have completed these 2 days of advanced training.

For me, professional development isn’t simply about collecting certificates or adding another technique to a toolkit. It’s about remaining curious, being willing to be challenged, reflecting on what fits with my existing practice and, importantly, continuing to understand the people I work alongside more deeply.

This training stretched me at times — and I think some of our most valuable learning does.

It gave me an opportunity to explore EFT specifically through a trauma-informed lens, deepening my understanding of how we can work gently with the body, nervous system, emotional responses and the experiences that can remain with us long after an event has passed.

I already use stress reduction techniques within my work, but this learning has given me greater depth, greater confidence and more to reflect upon as I continue integrating bottom-up approaches alongside person-centred relational practice.

I’m particularly interested in approaches that recognise that distress often makes sense when we understand what has happened to someone and how their mind and body learned to respond.

There is always more to learn — and I hope there always will be.

Learning doesn’t replace experience. It helps us understand it more deeply.