Relationships

It was 1987 and Catherine had broken up with me for the third time. The storm had ripped trees from the ground and roofs from the houses and garages. I spent all morning cutting up a fallen tree in her front garden in a selfless act of selfishness. If only she would catch sight of me from her … [Read more...] about Why It’s Best To Accept A Break Up

My brother must have been in his late teens when he first spent a week volunteering on the North Yorkshire Moors railway. Obsessed with steam from childhood I can only imagine his excitement and awe at working with the huge locomotive beasts and meeting the men and women that worked so hard to … [Read more...] about How To Stay Safe With Emotional Boundaries

Walking to see my own therapist I wonder what I’m going to talk about. I know many people in therapy feel like this and that it marks an interesting point between an absence of crisis and an urge to look deeper at things which might otherwise have been missed or misunderstood. Out of the blue I … [Read more...] about How To Use The Past Even When Its Painful

Once I dated a girl who would habitually let me down at the last minute leaving me feeling undervalued and unloved. I would respond like a child because it triggered feelings from childhood in me. I wanted more certainty that she was willing or able to give. Every moment I spent in that relationship … [Read more...] about Why A Relationship Is Too Much & Not Enough

Toby arrived soon after I moved into my first house. A six month old rescue dog he was like a shadow, following me wherever I went with a worried expression permanently fixed on his handsome face. Night after night I would hear him pacing about in the house never settling and, when I went downstairs … [Read more...] about What A Dog Taught Me About Empathy