andrealawton

Friday marked the busiest day of the year on our UK roads.  (I hope you managed to avoid them). Why?  Well, it was the last day of term for many UK schools. In fact, The Mirror newspaper, referred to it as ‘Frantic Friday’.  Millions of motorists hit the roads and airports.  Summer holidays began. As […]

Life can feel hard, can’t it? Sometimes this is due to difficulties we experience in our own lives: work stresses relationship or family difficulties difficult memories from the past our own health concerns Or it can feel hard when we look at suffering in the world around us: wars poverty natural disasters politics we don’t agree with

Just a short article to say ‘Happy Father’s Day’ to all the dads and father figures doing such a great job out there. On a day when we are encouraged to remember and say ‘thank you’ to our father’s, it is also worth remembering, however, that for many, the day may not be about producing

How do I speak to myself when I make a mistake? Ok, so I might not beat myself up when things are going smoothly, but what do I do when I accidentally forget to check the cakes I put in the oven? Or miss my appointment because I forgot to write it in my diary?

Who is affected by ‘Friendship Struggles’ You may be reading this because something in the title resonated with something going on in you own life. Perhaps you are a young person at university finding it difficult to find friends. Or perhaps the friends you have, seem to feel threatened or jealous about you. Or maybe

I am certain we have all been there; agreeing to something we are not certain about, only to regret it later: At work do you take on extra responsibilities even though you are swamped? At home, do you volunteer to help a friend even though you you are exhausted? Or perhaps you find yourself agreeing

Parenting is a minefield generally, but our children hitting those adolescent years can add a whole new dimension to the meaning of extreme confusion!  I can remember wondering why the successful guidebook to that phase didn’t exist. The truth is, and my bookshelves will testify to this, there are zillions of helpful guides out there;

Since April is National Stress Awareness Month, it feels like an appropriate time to take a look at how we are all susceptible to getting caught up in the stress trap, and have a look at some ways we might stop this happening before it’s too late. And if you’re reading this thinking, ‘it’s already

‘God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, And wisdom to know the difference’ (Reinhold Niebuhr) As a child, I remember believing if I could somehow manage to walk the road to school without stepping on the cracks in the paving stones, the day