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The Problem with Perfectionism
Kicking off a new series, I am going to explore some of the key challenges that clients often bring to coaching: topics like procrastination, imposter syndrome, dealing with rejection, and experiencing anger at work. I’m starting with perfectionism, and in particular its impacts on our ability to produce creative work, because this is something I…
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How to Grieve
In my last few blog posts I have explored the ways in which grief is often present but unacknowledged in our working life. I’ve mentioned the unexamined costs of pursuing an academic career, as well as a too common lack of compassion for other life losses such as bereavement, and I have also discussed the…
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Trauma, Dissonance, & Disenfranchised Grief in Academia
TRIGGER WARNING: this post contains references to potential trauma triggers In my recent blog posts I have been exploring grief in academia and the need to acknowledge how many losses can characterise our progress in the sector. In today’s post I want to take a closer look at the griefs that emerge from the embedded…
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Traumatic History, Traumatised Researchers
I was recently invited to give a seminar to research postgraduates of history at the University of Edinburgh on the subject of trauma. As a trauma researcher and historian, I was delighted to have this opportunity to bring some mental health awareness into the research space. I’m very pleased that they have allowed me to…
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The Grief of Disappointment
In my previous two posts I introduced the importance of fully processing grief and loss, the time that takes, and the consequences of not taking or not being given sufficient space to grieve. In this post I want to look at a very specific and frequently overlooked manifestation of grief. Often referred to as a…
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Grief and the brain
In my last post I introduced the theme of grief in academia, a pervasive experience that remains largely unacknowledged but which has profound effects on our ability to process, plan, and move forward. In this post, I am going to take a closer look at why grief affects us so acutely, specifically the brain fog…
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Grief in the Academic Process
Welcome back. In the first of a new series for 2023 I am going to explore grief, and how it might affect the academic journey. I realise this topic may sound out of synch with popular New Year culture, when everything around us is about goal setting and fresh starts (and on that subject, for…
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Understanding Procrastination…and finding compassion
Procrastination is something that we all struggle with, but in the creative life it can feel and become profoundly disabling. For academics, the discourse around procrastination is typically quite unhealthy – you are ‘lazy’, or ‘not doing well enough’, or just ‘not cut out for academia’. These kinds of comments have the unfortunate effect of…
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Five boring ways to protect your body from burnout
In my previous post, here, I introduced polyvagal theory and the role that our autonomic nervous system plays in stress and burnout. Burnout and stress have profound physical, emotional, and mental effects because our nervous system is constantly sending information up to the brain to affect the signals being sent to the rest of the…
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Breathe and relax
Our breath is one of the most powerful tools we have to manage our stress response and calm our nervous system. In times of high stress we are less likely to prioritise the activities that really help us maintain our wellbeing, such as being outside and eating healthily, so I wanted to film a short…
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Beatha Coaching 