There are many aspects of South Africa that are undoubtedly outstanding. One of the first that always comes to mind is its abundant year-round sunshine. That warmth on the skin just seems to ease any physical aches away. As well, it's known to be beneficial to any emotional healing. It's not just the warmth of it either, it's the beautiful light it gives. We kn...

It happens to most of us at some point in our lives - we say or do something that we regret in the heat of the moment, and it's not long before we begin to experience an overwhelming sense of guilt. Perhaps we even go as far as assessing the situation over and over in our minds, antagonizing ourselves with a series of 'what if's' and 'if onlys'. As unpleasant a...

Addiction takes many devastating forms. It can be defined as any habitual behaviour that you cannot seem to stop doing even though it is detrimental to yourself and/or others. While most people associate addiction with drugs or alcohol, it can also be what is known as a behavioural addiction. These are compulsive behaviour patterns when someone repeatedly indu...

Everyone knows about the dangers of stress. This is especially true for executives who frequently work longer hours than anyone else – and under greater pressure. If stress like this persists, it can lead to "executive burnout". This is such a serious condition being experienced by an increasing number around the world it's now officially recognised by WHO (...

Toxic shame is a deep emotion that causes an intense feeling of inadequacy. If not healed, it can lead to addiction, depression, anxiety, eating disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder and uncontrollable anger.  Someone suffering from toxic shame will have such low self-esteem that it will negatively impact on every area of their life. That includes the...

Group therapy is a popular form of treatment. It involves at least one therapist engaging with a number of people in therapy at the same time. It has been seen that this type of therapy helps a person to talk about issues with the support of other people who are going through similar problems. It helps with connection to others. This therapy has been shown to b...

Anxiety is a feeling of worry and nervousness about something with an uncertain outcome. In mental health terms, it's a serious nervous disorder marked by excessive uneasiness and apprehension – typically with compulsive behaviour or panic attacks. If someone is experiencing anxiety over a period of time, they may have an anxiety disorder such as GAD (generalize...

An "enabler" is a person who encourages or allows self-destructive behaviour in another. That means any habit that's detrimental to the person and usually those around them too. It's most often used around someone addicted to alcohol or drugs. By enabling the addict it means the addiction is more likely to continue. For instance, it's when an alcoholic's partne...

Addiction recovery doesn’t end when a person finishes at rehab. Recovery is a lifelong pursuit of positive habit building, maintaining mental wellbeing and avoiding negative triggers that may lead to relapse. Executives who leave rehab and enter back into their fast-paced, overwhelming and stress-induced work environments, though, may have a hard time avoiding r...

Stress is a state of mental and emotional tension that comes when we are facing or in a challenging situation. To a certain extent, it can be useful to help motivate and focus us. But all too frequently it becomes a debilitating condition. This is because it is not meant to be a state of being that is with us for too long. For some people, stress becomes their ...

Not everyone who takes drugs is an addict. Many users are able to control their substance intake and live a fairly normal life. Although in the long long-term, any level of substance abuse does affect our lives. If you are frequently using drugs, and are worried about the level of intake, how do you know if your drug or alcohol use has crossed the line to substanc...

Children smile around 400 times per day, but as adults, we only smile about 20 times a day. That's not healthy for adults as it's been proven that smiling is good for us. Not only that, it's good for the world around us. "Smile and the world smiles with you." (The often unheard part of that is: "Cry, and you cry alone.") So we can learn a lot from children....