The Healing Nest

03/09/2026

Finding the right therapist isn’t just about qualifications, experience or what’s written on their website.

It’s about how you feel when you’re with them.

Do you feel safe?
Do you feel heard rather than judged?
Can you be honest without worrying about saying the “wrong” thing?
Do you feel like they genuinely get you?

Sometimes you’ll know quite quickly. Sometimes it takes a few sessions. And sometimes a perfectly good therapist simply isn’t your therapist.

Therapy is a relationship — and the relationship matters. 🤎

You’re allowed to find the person who feels right for you.

Andrea x
The Healing Nest

02/09/2026

Healing doesn’t always look like feeling better. 🤎

Sometimes it looks like noticing the pattern before you repeat it.
Feeling uncomfortable with things you once tolerated.
Saying no and then sitting with the guilt.
Feeling emotions you used to push away.
Or finally questioning that voice that tells you you’re not enough.

It can feel messy, uncomfortable and even lonely at times — because you’re learning a completely different way of relating to yourself.

You don’t have to feel healed to be healing

01/09/2026

01/09/2026

First day of September and look what’s made its way back into the therapy room…
The slippers are out!
That’s it. We’re officially entering cosy therapy season.

01/09/2026

As we head into autumn…

There’s so much to love about this time of year — cosy evenings, changing leaves, warm food and slower days. 🤎

But the change in season can also affect how we feel.

Less daylight, darker evenings and colder weather can sometimes leave us feeling more tired, flat, withdrawn or lacking in motivation.

So as autumn arrives, check in with yourself too.

Get outside in the daylight
Keep moving, even if it’s just a short walk
Stay connected with people
Give yourself little things to look forward to
Rest when you need to
And reach out if things are starting to feel heavy

You don’t have to wait until you’re struggling to start taking care of your mental health.

Your needs can change with the seasons too.

Save this for a darker day, or send it to someone who might need the reminder. 🤎

Andrea x
The Healing Nest
www.thehealingnest.co.uk

31/08/2026

I have just had a massage. I try to have one a month.

This is one bit of self-care I really try to prioritise.

As a therapist, I spend a lot of my working day sitting down, holding space for some really difficult stories and hearing about trauma, loss, relationships and everything that comes with being human.

I absolutely love what I do, but I’ve learned that I need to look after myself too.

For me, massage is one of the ways I switch off, release some of the tension I carry (apparently my back was VERY tight today! 😂) and give myself permission to just stop for an hour.

I often talk to my clients about self-care, boundaries and making space for themselves and it’s important that I practise it too.

And it definitely helps when the place looks this beautiful… For my local clients, this is Organika Spa in Upminster and it’s heaven!

31/08/2026

Sometimes what looks like impulsivity is actually an attempt to regulate an uncomfortable feeling.

We shop. We drink. We reach for people. We jump into relationships. We say yes when we mean no. We do something—anything—to change how we feel in that moment.

The relief can be immediate. But temporary.

And afterwards? The guilt, regret, shame or anxiety can leave us feeling even worse than before.

Healing isn’t about never being impulsive again. It’s about learning to recognise what’s happening underneath the urge and finding safer ways to sit with what we’re feeling.

Before asking, “Why did I do that?” try asking:

“What was I trying not to feel?” 🤎

www.thehealingnest.co.uk

27/08/2026

Sometimes what you call your personality was actually something you learned to do to feel safe. 🤎

Being the easy one.
The independent one.
The peacemaker.
The one who never asks for much.
The one who can sense everyone else’s mood the second they walk into a room.

These patterns can begin when, as a child, you learn that connection feels easier when you’re helpful, quiet, capable or undemanding.

And then you grow up… but the pattern comes with you.

You people-please.
You struggle to ask for help.
You feel guilty setting boundaries.
You worry about disappointing people.
You take responsibility for emotions that were never yours to carry.

Healing isn’t about blaming your childhood or your family.

It’s about gently understanding where you learned to abandon yourself in order to stay connected — and realising you don’t have to keep doing it.

You’re allowed to have needs.
You’re allowed to take up space.
You’re allowed to disappoint people.
And you’re allowed to discover who you are underneath all those old survival patterns. 🤎

Save this if it resonated, or share it with someone who needs to hear it.

26/08/2026

Sometimes the hardest thing isn’t the feeling itself — it’s the urge to get rid of it as quickly as possible.

We distract ourselves, overthink it, push it down, tell ourselves we shouldn’t feel this way… or try to work out how to fix it.

But feelings don’t always need fixing. Sometimes they need space.

Try noticing what’s there with curiosity rather than judgement.

Where do you feel it in your body?
What might be underneath it?
What do you need right now?

You can feel something without letting it take over.
You can make room for an emotion without becoming the emotion.

You don’t have to fix it. You just have to be with it.

The Healing Nest
www.thehealingnest.co.uk

26/08/2026

So much of what we call our “personality” was actually learned in childhood.

People-pleasing may have kept the peace.
Hyper-independence may have stopped you being disappointed.
Staying quiet may have kept you out of trouble.
Overthinking may have helped you anticipate what was coming next.

And then you grew up… but those strategies came with you.

Healing isn’t about blaming your childhood or your parents for everything. It’s about becoming curious about why you are the way you are — and recognising that what once protected you might now be holding you back.

You’re allowed to learn a different way.