Surveys repeatedly find that many people report feeling stress as a result of their work.

I have written before about the fact that stress is not something that simply happens to you. You can take steps to deal with the emotional impact of problematic situations.

However, the best way to reduce stress is often to tackle the particular problem that is bothering you such as an individual colleague, a … Read more

Whenever I run a workshop (or give a lecture on Zoom) about stress, I usually start off by explaining that stress is not something that has to happen to you. Yes, certain events such as redundancy, relationship break-ups and illness tend to be difficult for many people. But some people help themselves to cope better.

In stressful circumstances, I’m sure you have heard that some people engage in a coping … Read more

Ask people what they want in life and they often say that they want to “be happy”. But why does happiness matter? And how can you achieve happiness?

1. Being happy may help you to be better at your job
Some people dismiss happiness as inconsequential. For example, I’ve heard a few managers say that they don’t really care whether their employees are happy so long as they are performing … Read more

How are you doing during the pandemic? A few months ago, I wrote about some behaviours that I have personally found useful in terms of maintaining my productivity and psychological well-being.

Here are some other things that I am personally finding helpful in terms of maintaining my mental well-being:

Work while standing up
Prior to the pandemic, I used to spend about an hour or couple of hours travelling – … Read more

How cynical are you? Let’s try to estimate your level of cynicism by considering the extent to which you agree with three statements:

• Generally speaking, you can’t be too careful when dealing with other people.
• Most people would try to take advantage of you if they got the chance.
• People are mostly just looking out for themselves.

The more you agree with those statements, the higher your level of cynicism. … Read more

The UK – like many other countries around the world – is currently in lockdown. As a psychologist, I’m used to working mainly face-to-face with people – coaching people one-on-one, running workshops for a dozen or so people, or giving conference presentations to hundreds of people at a time. Clearly, none of that is possible.

Here are some personal methods that I have found useful for staying productive and managing … Read more

Do you ever feel anxious, moody or depressed? Well, a growing body of evidence suggests that what we eat may have very real effects on our mental health.

A group of scientists recently published the results of a major study in which they monitored the physical and mental health of 15,546 adults over a 10-year period. A team led by Almudena Sanchez-Villegas found that higher levels of added sugars and … Read more

What makes you angry? Perhaps it’s rude or disorganised behaviour by your colleagues at work. Maybe you get angry about bad drivers or friends and family members who repeatedly let you down.

Anger can sometimes be a useful emotion. It can motivate us to speak up or act about injustices and wrongdoing. However, talking and behaving in a very angry fashion can be harmful to us – one study led … Read more