Michail Angelos Kouroupakis, Psychologist- Psychotherapist MSc

01/11/2021

It's time to break the circle!
Book your appointment with your Psychotherapist now.

09/01/2021

Happy New Year!
This year was the epitome of ambiguity and uncertainty. I want to congratulate all of you who managed to keep your mental health at a good level. I also want to congratulate the ones that didn't quite managed to cope with the challenges of 2020. You are still here, you may be wounded, tired or frustrated. Times like this prove that you can push through difficult situations. However, overcoming challenges must be followed by regular reflection. What did you learn about yourself during 2020?

24/12/2020

Wishing you a joyous holiday season with peace & cheer in the New Year.
This year has been increasingly challenging for everybody. Take time to reflect on the challenges you faced. Remember to celebrate your achievements. Be mindful of what you learned from your failures.
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However, this time of the year can be very challenging for some people.
Therefore, I will be available throughout the holiday season for appointments.
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20/12/2020

In our stressful, modern lives it’s easy to react passively to our environment and fracture opportunities to connect. Possessing emotional intelligence and regulating our emotions should be one of the most valued skills; self-awareness is the cornerstone of that intelligence.
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There are a few ways to increase self-awareness.
You can start by keeping a thought diary. This is a foundational place to begin increasing self-awareness.
Keep track of thoughts that pop up in the form of an automatic reaction.
Also, you can start practicing Mindfulness. When mindfulness is practiced, behavior becomes more intentional, and increased self-awareness develops.
Furthermore, you should find time to reflect.
Reflecting can be done in multiple ways (including journaling). This is customised to the person reflecting, but the important thing is to go over your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors to see where you met your standards, where you failed them, and where you could improve.
Lastly, asking for professional help should be considered if you cannot quite perform the above tasks or you became overwhelmed by them.

14/12/2020

A clear distinction is often made between 'mind' and 'body'. But when considering mental health and physical health, the two should not be thought of as separate.
Poor physical health can lead to an increased risk of developing mental health problems. Similarly, poor mental health can negatively impact on physical health, leading to an increased risk of some conditions. To be more specific, people with the highest levels of self-rated distress (compared to lowest rates of distress) were 32% more likely to have died from cancer. Also, depression has been found to be associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease. Furthermore, schizophrenia is associated with double the risk of death from heart disease and three times the risk of death from respiratory disease.
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In simple terms, your body keeps the score! The link between physical and mental health is often overlooked due to overly treating the mind of a patient without treating the person behind the mental health diagnosis.
Look after your self, exercise more, adjust your diet, practice mindfulness, create a sleep hygiene regime, quit smoking and drinking and visit your therapist should you need help to alter your lifestyle.

11/12/2020

Not a very famous quote but a very accurate metaphor regarding self fulfilled prophecies, self loathing, guilt and demotivation.
Of course it is really important that these chains are not forged, but it is more important to find their breaking point if they were already forged. The way a chain is forged is by connecting a lot of different pieces together. If you pull hard on the entire chain you are only going to hurt yourself, but if you want to destroy the chain then you have to focus on the individual links. By focusing on the consistency of your chain, what material its made of, and how strong it is you can indeed destroy it. It only takes one link!
Remember, the chain that currently holds you might not fit you properly, and you might be able to just pull yourself out without breaking it, but have you tried it?

08/12/2020

Your mental well-being heavily relies on your ability to achieve your dreams, hopes and aspirations.
However, this journey is going to be a difficult one, for most people. Staying motivated is of paramount importance.
As with every journey there are going to be times when you feel tired, you are entitled to a break. Remember to look after yourself, but under no circumstances you should give up on your goal.
At the end of this journey you are going to feel relieved, confident, strong and look back at your achievements, no matter how small, with gratitude.
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Be mindful! A great goal and subsequently a great achievement for you, might be to get out of bed, cook something for yourself or meet a friend. Don't forget that you are unique and so are your achievements!

06/12/2020

Low levels of motivation and low confidence is one of the most common complaints I hear from clients. Sometimes hearing others saying "well done" is important but if your mind is not ready to "hear" affirmations from others it is not going to make much of a difference in the long run. It all starts with you, your self awareness, identifying the reasons you are not confident or unmotivated. You have to remember that when you fail, there was a genuine learning need which needed to be addressed.
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There are 6 tips to begin the journey of change:
1. Be realistic about your goals.
2. Acknowledge all accomplishments (this depends on your own skills and capabilities).
3. Take care of yourself, you are important!
4. Don't be afraid to fail (master your mind before it masters you).
5. Eliminate words like "can't", "never", and "impossible".
6. Surround yourself with people who believe in you and empower you to achieve the impossible.

02/12/2020

Exactly! You cannot expect to have it all figured it out and age has nothing to do with this.
You have to be realistic and identify what can be achieved with the tools you have at any given time. If there is a weak area you should try and get the tools you need, ask for help if it's difficult and demanding. If you still cannot achieve it maybe now its not the right time for it.
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Imagine your life as a jigsaw puzzle, you are constantly trying to imagine the bigger picture in order to find which pieces go where. Now, it is very difficult if you don't have a reference of the puzzle to see the bigger picture. Not to worry!
Before you begin to solve the puzzle you have to decide what is the bigger picture, create a reference picture of the final stage.
You have all the pieces, you decide which ones and how many of them are required to complete the final image.
You are the designer of the puzzle, it can be as "strange" and complicated as you like, people might not understand what they see, but you cannot begin the journey of self-discovery if you have the same views, with the rest of the world.

29/11/2020

The mind moves restlessly. It is always on the move like a pendulum. It is not so much concerned with what is right and wrong while it swings back and forth between fantasy and reality.
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However, the mind can be unruly when its not biased by our core beliefs.
It is not easy to tame the mind and disregard what we are taught to be good and bad. It runs back and forth from pleasure to pain, love and hate, anger and peace, regardless of how right or wrong these feelings may be deemed to be by society.
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Although we all have certain core beliefs about right and wrong, focusing on what makes sense for us is key. By focusing on our own beliefs, no matter how maladaptive, we can truly achieve higher levels of self-awareness and walk the rewarding path of change.
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28/11/2020

Isn’t it obvious? Children are the purest human beings on the planet.
We all have that part of us which has retained the qualities of our innocent years.
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Children embrace imagination as adults pursue maturity. It isn't that children have more imagination than adults, it's that they are not embarrassed about it (yet).
Children don't make assumptions, and they live fun, simple lives.
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So adults... embrace your inner child and rethink "maturity".

25/11/2020

Although Self-Actualization is more complicated than it sounds this article offers a very good breakdown on how to work towards it.
Remember that self-actualization might look and feel different in different people! It all depends on your personal values, experiences and your individual levels of self-awareness.

Self-actualization sounds like a daunting task, but it doesn't have to be. Learn how simple changes in your day-to-day life can put you on the path toward living your best life.