If someone says, “Imagine a beach,” what happens for you?

Some people instantly see waves, colours, and movement in their mind. But others don’t see anything at all. If that’s you, you might have something called aphantasia.

Aphantasia simply means you don’t have a visual “mind’s eye.” You can think about things, remember people, and imagine ideas—but you don’t actually see pictures in your head.

Many people have different ideas about what they consider to be most important. Some may be drawn to power, some to money and some to peace and happiness.

I suggest that any craving for money or power, although encouraged by capitalism is in fact based in insecurity. Perhaps the root of the desire for money and power stems from the very human existential fear of death. Accruing money and power may act as a distraction, but will do nothing to alter the fact that we die.

Most people imagine abusive relationships as involving shouting, violence, or obvious intimidation. But many abusive relationships do not look like that at all. They unfold slowly, quietly, and subtly. Over time one person begins to control the other’s world — their choices, their independence, their confidence, and sometimes even their sense of reality.

This pattern is known as coercive control.

Coercive control is not about a single argument or a bad moment. It is a pattern of behaviour designed to dominate, restrict, and gradually erode another person’s autonomy.

Often the person experiencing it does not realise what is happening until they are already deeply entangled.

Emotional regulation isn’t about suppressing feelings or “calming down.”
It’s about increasing your capacity to stay present while experiencing emotion.

When people struggle, it’s usually because they’re trying to regulate at the wrong level — using thinking to manage something that’s physiological, or trying to calm shutdown with more calming.

Here’s what actually works.

Most people think of smell as a background sense — something pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral. But for some, smell is not neutral at all. It can be overwhelming, nauseating, emotionally disturbing, or even physically painful. This experience is called osmophobia.

Osmophobia is not simply disliking certain smells. It is a genuine sensory intolerance, often linked to nervous system sensitivity.

EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing. It is a form of psychotherapy designed to help people recover from trauma, distressing experiences, and emotional wounds that continue to affect them in the present.

Many people come to EMDR because they feel stuck. They may understand what happened to them logically, but their body and emotions still react as if the past is happening now. EMDR works by helping the brain and nervous system fully process these experiences so they no longer carry the same emotional charge.

EMDR does not involve analysing problems endlessly or trying to force yourself to think differently. Instead, it helps the brain do what it was naturally designed to do — heal.

Fibromyalgia is a complex and often misunderstood condition. It is typically defined by widespread pain, fatigue, sleep disturbance, and cognitive difficulties sometimes described as “fibro fog.” Medical tests often show no clear structural damage, yet the suffering is very real.

For many people, the lack of clear medical answers can feel invalidating or confusing. They may be told that nothing is wrong — while their body continues to hurt.

We often speak about memory as if it were one single system — something you either remember or forget. In reality, memory is made up of several different processes. Some are conscious and verbal. Others are bodily, emotional, and wordless. Some can be recalled deliberately. Others show themselves through reactions, habits, and relational patterns.

Understanding the different kinds of memory is especially useful in therapy, trauma work, and relational practice, because not all memories are stored — or healed — in the same way.

Gaslighting is a form of psychological manipulation that can leave people doubting their own perceptions, memories, and sense of reality. Over time, it erodes confidence, self-trust, and emotional safety. Many people who experience gaslighting don’t recognise it at first — they just know they feel confused, anxious, or as though something is wrong with them.

Understanding gaslighting is an important step in reclaiming clarity and agency.

Many adults question whether lifelong difficulties stem from autism, emotional neglect, or both. The similarities can be confusing: social overwhelm, shutdowns, sensitivity, rigid routines, and trouble reading others. Yet the underlying causes differ, and understanding those differences can dramatically change the path forward.

This guide breaks things down clearly and simply.

Most people drift into daydreams from time to time. A pleasant fantasy on a long commute or before sleep can be harmless — even soothing.
But for some, daydreaming becomes an all-consuming inner world, one that feels more vivid and rewarding than real life.
This experience is known as maladaptive daydreaming — a pattern of immersive, compulsive fantasy that can interfere with daily functioning, relationships, and emotional presence.

For most people, sounds like chewing, tapping, or breathing fade into the background.
But for others, those same sounds trigger intense irritation, anxiety, or even rage.
This condition is known as misophonia — literally, “hatred of sound.”

It’s not just about being sensitive or easily annoyed. Misophonia can feel visceral — as if your whole body is being invaded or hijacked by the sound.
It can make daily life, relationships, and social situations deeply challenging.

Quite often the transpersonal is explained in spiritual or religious language. Which means that if we don’t understand that language then we don’t understand what is being said.

Even if you read secular texts such as those of  transpersonal psychology is it any  easier to understand what is being said?

Is there a simple way of explaining it?

This is a perspective.

Many people in therapy speak of the void — a sense of emptiness, hollowness, or disconnection that can feel unbearable. It might show up as emotional numbness, a loss of motivation, or the sense that life is happening behind glass. The mind says, “I should feel something,” but the body feels far away.

This void isn’t a flaw or failure of willpower. More often, it’s a form of protection — the nervous system’s way of keeping us safe when feeling once meant danger.

There are moments on the path of healing and awakening that feel like falling into an abyss. The ground disappears, meaning collapses, and everything once familiar dissolves. Some describe this as nihilism, despair, or depression. Others call it ego death, awakening, or the void.
Though these experiences can look and feel similar, they are not the same — one arises from disconnection, the other from dissolution. One is a wound, the other a doorway.

Reality is subjective. When we have an experience outside of the frame of what we believe is possible we can choose to deny it. However, if we choose to accept it then our sphere of what is possible grows to incorporate it.

In this way two people may hold vastly different experiences of reality. Sharing experiences to those who are unable to accept them may trigger fear and result in anger as a threatened ego tries to defend itself.

Conspiracy theories can seem strange from the outside — but for those drawn to them, they can feel like clarity in a confusing world. Beneath the surface, both conspiracy thinking and paranoia often come from the same human place: a nervous system trying to make sense of threat, mistrust, and powerlessness.

This isn’t about madness or gullibility. It’s about how the mind protects itself when the world feels unsafe.

Most people familiar with Karpman’s (1968) Drama Triangle know the three classic roles: Victim, Persecutor, and Rescuer. Together, they describe the repeating patterns of conflict and emotional entanglement that can play out in relationships, families, and groups.

But some people don’t quite fit into any of these three. Instead, they find themselves watching from the sidelines — not directly involved, yet deeply affected. This is the Bystander position: the quiet observer who sees what’s happening but feels powerless, conflicted, or frozen.

We live in a culture that worships productivity. From an early age, we’re praised for achievement — for what we do, not who we are. “Keep busy,” “make progress,” “don’t waste time.” The rhythm of modern life often leaves little room for rest, reflection, or stillness.

Yet somewhere beneath all that activity, many people sense a quiet question rising:
If I stop doing… will there be anything left of me?

Paranoia can make the world feel unsafe. It often shows up as suspicion, mistrust, or the sense that others are judging or talking about us. While everyone feels wary at times, paranoia becomes distressing when it shapes how we see people, affects relationships, and makes life feel threatening.