Notebook Archives - Karen Toms Counselling

Saltwater in the Blood

Book Recommendations, How We Live, Notebook36 minutes ago250Views 0Likes 0Comments

Found during my MSc Psychology dissertation research on coastal wellbeing, Saltwater in the Blood is one of those books that stays with you. Easkey Britton weaves memoir, academic insight and a deeply personal relationship with the sea into something lyrical, honest and a page turner. You don’t need a personal connection to the coast to…

Soft shadows of leaves on a muted green textured wall in natural light, illustrating a post about childhood messaging and eating patterns

How Childhood Messaging Sets Your Eating Blueprint

Body & Self, NotebookJuly 14, 202640Views 0Likes 0Comments

If you’ve lived with eating issues for any length of time, you’ll know how all-consuming and exhausting it can be. In this post I’m exploring the childhood messaging and early experiences that often underpin a difficult relationship with food and why improving that relationship is rarely about food at all.

Close-up of pink and red peonies in warm raking light against a plain wall, illustrating a post about small acts of self-nourishment

Small Unglamorous Acts of Self-Nourishment

How We Live, NotebookJuly 10, 202637Views 0Likes 0Comments

When the weather’s good, we should feel good, right? Unfortunately life doesn’t work like that. This post is about the small, unglamorous, intentional acts that can offer a quiet lift on a blue day. Nothing fancy, nothing expensive. Just simple treats chosen for yourself, in person, because you matter.

woman viewed from behind with arms open in a summer landscape, illustrating a post about body connection and the body's wisdom

When Did You Last Feel Good in Your Body?

Body & Self, NotebookJuly 8, 202652Views 0Likes 0Comments

I sometimes wonder if our ancestors were more comfortable in their bodies than we are. Their bodies were tools for living, not objects to be assessed or filtered through anyone else’s lens. In this post I’m exploring what disconnection from our bodies really looks like in the modern world and what it means to start…

The Absence of Praise

Notebook, Roots & PatternsJuly 2, 202666Views 0Likes 0Comments

Not being praised as a child doesn’t always leave an obvious mark. There’s no clear wound to point to – just a quiet absence, and the patterns it quietly shapes. In this post I’m exploring what balanced praise actually does for a child’s developing sense of self, and the two adult patterns I regularly…

A vintage leather suitcase resting at the foot of an unmade bed on a wooden floor, in warm diagonal light, illustrating the threshold moment of leaving for travel.

Think You Can Leave Your Issues at Home?

Crossroads, NotebookJune 30, 202668Views 0Likes 0Comments

A holiday is something to look forward to – a change of scenery, a break from everyday life and sometimes the hope that time away will fix how we feel. But the issues we’ve been dealing with rarely stay behind. A reflection on what travels with us, what holidays can reveal, and how to enjoy…

A hand with gold rings reaching toward a rail of patterned silk and printed clothing in jewel tones, against a warm brown background, illustrating the quiet act of choosing clothes that express who you are.

Why Your Clothes Don’t Showcase Your Individuality

Body & Self, NotebookJune 25, 202675Views 0Likes 0Comments

A wardrobe of camouflage. Clothes that don’t represent how you want to feel. The quiet sense that what you’re wearing isn’t really you. This final post in my style series is about why personal style begins inside — and what changes when you do the inner work.

A woman in a cream knitted cardigan and white socks sitting on a bed in a window seat, holding a small mug, with warm natural light coming through the window — illustrating the quiet pause of burnout recovery.

Why Rest Alone Doesn’t Fix Burnout

Crossroads, NotebookJune 24, 202683Views 0Likes 0Comments

You’ve removed the catalyst. You’re trying to rest. But you don’t feel any better, and you’re not back to your old self yet. A reflection on why rest alone doesn’t fix burnout, the patterns it can’t touch, and what makes recovery hold.

A woman in a cream cardigan and tan top reflected in a round mirror, appraising herself, illustrating the inner critic at work in the moment of getting dressed.

How the Inner Critic Tells You to Dress

Body & Self, NotebookJune 19, 202690Views 0Likes 0Comments

Most style writing tells you how to find your style. Few touch the running commentary that turns getting dressed into a daily self-attack. A reflection on how the inner critic shapes what we wear, what we say about ourselves, and the cost of dressing from a place of self-criticism.

conference name badge for the Appearance Matters 11 Conference resting on a green notebook with a black pen, in warm natural light on a wooden surface, illustrating a personal reflection on the conference.

The Invisible Burden of a Visible Burden

Body & Self, NotebookJune 18, 202677Views 0Likes 0Comments

A personal response to attending the Appearance Matters 11 Conference at UWE Bristol, the phrase that stayed with me, the body image research that landed, and what I’m bringing back to my counselling practice.

A view through a window with soft curtain detail, illustrating the suspended state of burnout recovery

Burnout Recovery – Why It Takes Longer Than You Think

Crossroads, NotebookJune 11, 2026108Views 0Likes 0Comments

You’ve identified that you have burnout. You’ve taken yourself out of the situation that caused it. So why aren’t you feeling better? A reflection on why burnout recovery takes far longer than most people expect and what’s happening in the suspended time.

Clothes as Disguise

Body & Self, NotebookJune 9, 2026116Views 0Likes 0Comments

From the woman in head-to-toe black to the wardrobe of gorgeous clothes you no longer wear, clothes can disguise us in ways we don’t always notice. A reflection on what we wear when we want to hide and what it might be telling us.

Saltwater in the Blood

How Childhood Messaging Sets Your Eating Blueprint

Small Unglamorous Acts of Self-Nourishment

When Did You Last Feel Good in Your Body?

The Absence of Praise

Think You Can Leave Your Issues at Home?

Why Your Clothes Don’t Showcase Your Individuality

Why Rest Alone Doesn’t Fix Burnout

How the Inner Critic Tells You to Dress

The Invisible Burden of a Visible Burden

Burnout Recovery – Why It Takes Longer Than You Think

Clothes as Disguise

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