sarah barr

Weekend Depression: It can start to sneak up on you without you knowing it. During the week you’re busy with work, children, schedules and activities. Yet when Friday or Saturday …
Read More

So yesterday was ‘Blue Monday’ supposedly the most depressing day of the year.

We look forward to winter, the cosy nights and the lead up to Christmas. The parties, the …
Read More

• What are worries?

Worries are just thoughts and thoughts are not fact. They have no reality. Worries begin when we ask, “What if…” then the mental …
Read More

As we all know from experience, making a New Year’s resolution is easy. Sticking with it and actually achieving your goal is not so easy.

New Year’s resolutions is …
Read More

With Christmas getting closer, many of us will feel a mixture of excitement and worry. However, for those of you who live with social anxiety, Christmas can be a very …
Read More

How many times a day do you allow yourself to stop, take stock and breathe?

Or do you carry on, listening to all those ‘mustabations’ (I should be doing this, …
Read More

“There once was a girl whose happiness was tied to the sun. As it rose, so did she, and her smile was like beams of light. As it set, so …
Read More

“Fear is nothing more than an obstacle that stands in the way of progress. In overcoming our fears we can move forward, stronger and wiser within ourselves.”

…
Read More

How are you?

“I’m grand, yeah fine, I’m good”.

How many times a day do we tell ourselves this, do we tell other people this?

Have you perfected your mask?

…
Read More

“Mindfulness, being present in each moment, without judgement”

So mindfulness is quite the buzz word at the minute, but what exactly is mindfulness?

It is defined as being …
Read More

Today is World Mental Health Day. The 10th of October each year is dedicated to raising awareness of mental health issues around the world and bringing together efforts which support …
Read More

Positive thinking focuses on the positive side of life.

To use positive thinking in your life, it is more than being aware of it, it is about adopting it …
Read More

We live in a social media frenzied world.

So creating and maintaining an online presence is now a priority for many of us, whether it is for social or …
Read More

In last week’s article I focused on students moving to university and dealing with homesickness.

This week my focus is on the parents/guardians who are left behind. As a mother …
Read More

Moving away for university is a big transition, whether you’ve come from the other side of the world or down the road.

If you’re suffering from homesickness, just remember you’re not the …
Read More

 “Dreams are the royal road to the unconscious.”- Sigmund Freud.

Through analysing our dreams, we can get a “glimpse” into the inner workings of our subconscious.

Dreams can …
Read More

Today mums feel enormous pressure to be the ‘perfect mum’. It can feel at times like a competitive sport. This coupled with social media and the pressure intensifies, as social …
Read More

“I am not boring or shy. I am an introvert. an artist. a lover. a dreamer. a fighter. a seeker”.

Introverted people tend to be more focused …
Read More

Mental health describes how we think and feel about ourselves. Which impacts on how we cope with stress, face challenges, build relationships and move on from difficult experiences.Our mental well-being …
Read More

“Take pride in how far you have come & have faith in how far you can go”.

Sometimes it can be difficult to judge how well we’re doing …
Read More

“Comparison is the thief of joy” – Theodore Roosevelt

Whether it is keeping up with the Kardashians, Joneses or Facebook ‘friends’ we are always looking at that …
Read More

Minding Mammy will be a 5 week programme aimed at helping Donegal mums cope with the mental health pressures that arise in the transition to motherhood.

It all began when Maria …
Read More

“Depression is the most unpleasant thing I have ever experienced…it’s that absence of being able to envisage that you will ever be cheerful again. The absence of hope. …
Read More

 “When you are a caregiver, you know that everyday you will touch a life or a life will touch yours”

Carers in Ireland play an invaluable role …
Read More

“My nights are for overthinking, my mornings are for oversleeping”

It’s 3am.

You’re wide awake, just laying there in the stillness of night.

Read More

“Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.” – Dalai Lama

In today’s article I will look at what strategies we can use to …
Read More

In today’s article I’m writing about how to identify your thinking patterns. These patterns are your type of thoughts that you have everyday. Therefore how we think contributes to how we …
Read More

Have you ever felt it difficult to be your true self? Find it easier to fit in with what is deemed ‘normal and not to stand out? Worried about being …
Read More

This weekend I am so proud to be from Donegal. We have come together in our hundreds to take part in the Darkness Into Light walk throughout our county. Whether …
Read More

It is estimated that one in five women in Ireland will suffer from antenatal or post-natal depression. Post-natal depression can develop up to 12 months post delivery.

World Maternal Mental Health …
Read More

Anxiety is unpredictable, confusing and frightening. It is tough not just for the person who has it but for those who love them. If you are one of …
Read More

Conversation is necessary as it introduces us to people. These people include friends, partners and employers. Without an initial conversation, the foundation of these relationships may not be built.

Yet it …
Read More

We often worry about what other people think about us. We try to read their minds and guess what they are thinking. The truth is, it is impossible to know …
Read More

“When I’m alone, I think. When I think, I remember. When I remember, I feel pain. When I feel pain, I cry. When I cry, I can’t stop. Please …
Read More

“Sticks and Stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me”

Remember this poem from your school days?

I think it should read more along the lines …
Read More

“A healing space is your own place of peace created through what you see, feel, smell and hear.”

What we see, smell and feel can all help us …
Read More

“Be gentle first with yourself if you wish to be gentle with others.” ~Lama Yeshe

Forgiving yourself can be more challenging than forgiving someone else. The reason being you …
Read More

“Forgiving is not forgetting. It’s letting go of the hurt.”

Sometimes it can feel almost impossible to forgive someone who has hurt you. We all make mistakes, …
Read More

“Love does not consist of gazing at each other, but in looking together in the same direction”- Antoine de Saint-Expupery.

A starry-eyed, swept of your feet romance is what we …
Read More

 “Be with someone who makes you happy!”

It is believed Valentine’s Day began as an early Christian celebration, of a saint named Valentinus. So it had absolutely nothing to …
Read More

“Coping with anxiety can be overwhelming. It may trigger your fight or flight response, while using all of your physical and mental energy”.

Living with anxiety every day …
Read More

We are given so much advice from other mums, nurses, doctors, books the internet and so on about what to expect when we are pregnant. But what about after your baby …
Read More

Life can be tough at times, and we usually feel when one thing goes wrong, everything goes wrong! Or we might say, ‘I am having one of those days’ or …
Read More

“Can you remember who you were, before the world told you who should be?”- Danielle LaPorte

This week I have been thinking about identity, how it changes, evolves …
Read More

 “Listening to the voice of the child and developing healthy relationships with peers and teachers are essential in creating a positive experience of school as well as their cognitive and emotional development” …
Read More

” The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams” – Eleanor Roosevelt

On New Year’s eve, I sit down with my daughter …
Read More

Christmas can be a stressful time for many of us. With expectations and even perceived expectations of how we should celebrate Christmas. In today’s article I will focus on what …
Read More

“Christmas, we are told, is the most wonderful time of the year. Yet for many it is a time of loneliness, isolation and sadness”.

Our society paints a picture of …
Read More

Are you a Lost Girl? Escaping to Neverland and running from Captain Hook?

At certain times in our lives we may find ourselves lost. Lost in ourselves, …
Read More

I am a woman, in a changing and ever-evolving society. I set up my own practice New Beginnings, to help raise awareness about issues surrounding women and mental health.

This is a real illness, and …
Read More