So here we are – we say goodbye to the arbitrary line in the sand of one year and embrace the unclear beginning of a new one. For many, they are pleased to see the back of a difficult year that is historically likely to be referred to as unprecedented.

My day job involves a relatively repetitive task in some respects. Going through a first appointment with a new client generally involves the same process and questions, although the answers are always distinctly unique to the individual and their life context.

I had the pleasure of putting together some words for the last Ancestral Health Society newsletter for 2019. Here are some thoughts from me on reviving after another full year - it’s not always what we do for ourselves that helps, sometimes it is what we do for others.

Let’s talk about scurvy, shall we? Trust me, I promise it’s relevant.  Scurvy is extremely rare these days, but back in the 1700s it was a huge issue facing men and women at sea. We now know that scurvy is caused by a deficiency in Vitamin C – but we didn’t know that back then.

Here is the “rethinking mental health” section of a collaborative mental health venture - a talk titled “Rethink/Recharge” - which was given for the 2018 Australasian Turf Grass Growers Association Conference in Wellington.

While I covered off the “rethinking mental health” portion of our presentation, this section was tackled by my friend and Ancestral Health Colleague Jamie Scott (Nutritionist with several other strings to his bow).

Are you Living your Life how you Want to be Living it?
This is a question I often check with myself and encourage anyone I ever sit with for a consultation to consider. While there is no wrong time to be reflecting on life, the end of a year - and decade - marks a uniquely poignant time for doing so; hence the well-known term New Years resolution.

While our basic human physiology is largely unchanged, never in history have we collectively contended with as many unremitting and insidious insults to our wellbeing and vibrancy as we do today. 

This post follows on from Part 1 - On 21st Century Excesses & Deficiencies. You'll hear my thoughts on how to restore yourself to your most optimal level of wellbeing after physical and mental health difficulties, using a range of nutritional and lifestyle interventions. 

The age-old "how did you sleep last night" question is one we commonly ask each other, but do we ever ask each other: "how have you lived your day to optimise your sleep tonight?"

In the same week that I was speaking at the Australasian Turf-grass Growers Conference on rethinking mental health, with my nutrition colleague Jamie Scott, we happened to be interviewed by Press writer John McCrone.

I am a clinical psychologist in private practice in Wellington where I work with adult clients using a nutritional and lifestyle approach