Published Articles

Alongside presenting the podcast Underground Confidence Recovery Shelley regularly writes for counselling publications, and gives expert opinion in the media. She specialises in content around overcoming comfort eating, finding engaged love, managing stress, and building self-confidence with core conviction.

If you would like Shelley to write or speak for your publication, please get in touch – email shelley_treacher@hotmail.com

 

Stylist

“As an eldest daughter, perfectionism has ruled my life. Here’s how I’m breaking free”

Shelley talks about parental expectations in this helpful article about eldest daughter syndrome.

 

 

 

How to accept not getting an apology

Shelley takes the opening quote in this article. Like Prince Harry, you might never get an apology from your family – how can you heal anyway?

 

 

Happiful

New Counselling & Psychotherapy Report

Shelley contributes to this report, highlighting our biggest worries,who ares seeking help, and how they’re accessing it.

 

 

Is it just me? Confronting thoughts and behaviours that might feel taboo…

Shelley speaks to Happiful about whether the thoughts we have are normal.

 

 

 

Mindsum

“I don’t want to pass my childhood experiences on to my children”

One of the main reasons people often present for seeking therapy is wanting their children to feel better about themselves than they did, growing up. Here Shelley explains how learning to look after ourselves can help.

 

 

Being A Single Parent Is Not Only Exhausting, but It’s Also Lonely

– Six Ways To Recover From Single-Parent Burnout

Here, Shelley offers you six ways to think differently about your situation if you’re struggling as a single parent. There is a way through this that can help you to feel better.

 

The Independent

Why A September Reset Might Be Just What You Need

If those back-to-school vibes are calling but your energy and confidence are low, don’t worry. You’re in good company.

The idea of a September reset is nothing new: tapping into that back-to-school mindset with a routine revamp and tidy up – whether that’s your desk, sleep, fitness regime or all three. But this year, things feel a little different.

That reboot button is in our sights.

 

Mentally Yours Podcast

How should we deal with our anxieties as the pandemic moves onto the next stage?

Yvette and Ellen chat with Shelley Treacher, a Counsellor who helps individuals and runs groups on overcoming loneliness, comfort eating, and finding engaged love. They talk about fact-checking, risk-taking, and how to take things slowly as lockdown eases.

British GQ

How to detox from news anxiety after a day of doom-scrolling

Keeping track of all the traumatic events happening around the world can be triggering so know your limits and be sure to prioritise your mental health too. Shelley encourages you to be kind to yourself in this article.

 

Patient

How peer support can help boost your mental health 

Talking about our problems isn’t always easy. Sometimes, emotions can feel so overwhelming that it’s difficult to find the motivation to talk them out, or we may worry about being ignored or judged. However, talking to someone you trust – and being listened to in an empathic environment such as a peer support group – can have a powerful psychological benefit.

 

Four Nine

 

 

Refinery 29

Separation Anxiety Is Normal, Even Now. Here’s How To Manage It

If you’ve heard the phrase ‘separation anxiety before, it’s probably been about parents and their children or pets and their owners, not necessarily people in relationships. But after three lockdowns in a global pandemic, and a lacklustre summer, more and more people are recognising separation anxiety in themselves. On top of that, they’re feeling ashamed of it.

Shelley Treacher opens up the discussion in this article.

High Life North

How to make friends after your 20s

Why do we find it so difficult to make friends once we’ve hit the quarter-life stage? Shelley contributes a piece about self-criticism, in this considered article.

 

 

 

SW Londoner

The Rise of Lockdown Anxiety

Why are people feeling anxious about the lifting of lockdown and what can they do about it?

Shelley Treacher gives her expert opinion in this article.

 

Huffington Post

If You See Red When Faced With Rudeness, This Might Be Why

 

 

 

 

The ‘Will We, Won’t We?’ Narrative Of June 21 Is Exhausting

Will all restrictions ease on June 21? Won’t they? There’s a tug-of-war going on – and it’s leaving us mentally exhausted.

Shelley Treacher opens up the discussion in this article.

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9 Therapist-Approved Tips To Tackle Nighttime Anxiety

This is a lovely article about calming nighttime worries. Shelley Treacher made a sizeable contribution to this article.

 

 

 

Do you have a FODO?

Dubbed fear of dining out, or FODO, it’s pretty normal to feel worried about returning to restaurants. Shelley Treacher made a significant contribution to this article as she discussed how to cope with FODO.

 

 

Metro

What is ‘love bombing’ and how can you spot it?

Ever felt uncomfortable when someone showered you with too much affection? Shelley is the consultant in this republished article about love bombing.

 

 

 

‘Their pleasure has been systematically underrepresented’: Why 71% of women are stressed about sex

It’s normal to feel worried about something to do with your sex life now and again – it’s a very big topic after all, and nothing can sail smoothly all the time.

However, when nearly three-quarters of the respondents in a 20,000-strong survey of women reported feeling stressed about their sex lives, we should probably be a bit concerned.

                                          Shelley Treacher made a significant contribution to this article. 

 

 

Co-parenting 101: The dos and don’ts of starting to blend your family

No matter how easy some celebs might make it look, co-parenting is a tricky thing to navigate.

Shelley Treacher provided her best input to this article.

 

 

Why it’s a bad sign if your partner talks about themselves in the third person

People who refer to themselves in the third person do so because they find it hard to take responsibility for what they are saying,

Shelley Treacher’s comment on this article has a significant impact on the reader.

 

Yahoo Finance

How to deal with the ‘deer in the headlights’ feeling of being overwhelmed

Whether it’s a heavy workload, a difficult boss, or working from home with kids, feeling frazzled at work is normal. However, feeling overwhelmed every day can cause havoc with your well-being and can lead to burnout.

Shelley Treacher made a significant contribution to this article. 

“Overwhelm occurs when we have too much to think about, or too many feelings happening, all at once”.

 

Why more empathy among employers is key for post-pandemic recovery

With the end of the current lockdown insight, workers will have to navigate new personal and professional challenges. And with so many people struggling with the after-effects of COVID-19, empathy among employers is key.

Shelley Treacher provided her best input to this article.

 

 

Vocal India

The science behind why volunteering to help others makes you happier

You don’t need to be an angel of altruism to get into volunteer work. It’s fine if you’re helping others in part for selfish reasons – you’re still doing some good.

And a major reason to help others – as selfish as it may seem – is that doing so is proven to make you happier.

Shelley Treacher made a significant contribution to this article. 

 

Better after 50

A story about mood swings. It’s not you, it’s the menopause

It wasn’t until I was having an anxiety attack in Asda, over a box of Ferrero Rocher, that I realised something was wrong.

If you get sudden unexplained bursts of emotion; anxiety, fear, worry, grief, sadness, tears, irritability or anger, this article might help.

 

 

Mr Porter

33 Ways To Be Your Authentic Self (And Live More Happily)

“There is so much pressure to be what others require us to be,” says Prof Stephen Joseph, coaching and counselling psychologist and author of Authentic: How To Be Yourself And Why It Matters. “Under such pressure, it makes sense to put on a mask.”

 

 

 

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Counselling Directory

-Articles written by Shelley Treacher

10 strategies to bounce back from feeling dismissed or undermined

Are you tired of feeling like your emotions are constantly dismissed or undermined? In this latest article, we dive into the topic of emotional invalidation and its impact on our well-being and relationships.

 

 

 

Learn exactly how to reduce anxiety – 10 different ways

We all worry; we all have things to worry about. Some worry is even necessary for addressing what matters to us. It helps us to avert danger or discomfort. But, we aren’t usually taught how to cope with this lack of ease. So, here Shelley guides you through 10 ways to reduce anxiety.

 

 

 

Reclaim confidence and self-worth: Stop working too hardOverproductivityy can be a way to manage anxiety,and  feelings of low self-worth, and it may be a survival instinct. It can also become a dependency, frequently going hand in hand with stress eating or other harmful habits.

 

 

 

 

Feel like you don’t fit in? 10 ways to access self-confidence

Your self-worth is such an important thing to understand because it’s how you feel about yourself that determines whether you treat yourself well or give up on yourself.

And, whether you succeed in anything in life depends on what you believe you deserve and are capable of. Many of us liveinm a place of believing we are unloveable or unworthy.

 

 

What is self-worth?

I’m stupid,” “They don’t like me,” or “I’m bad at this”. We all have these kinds of thoughts.

Self-worth is the most common thing talked about in therapy. We all grapple with it. Often, what you’re dealing with here is the core belief: “I’m not good enough” or “I don’t belong.” We all have these beliefs and thoughts.

 

 

 

Embodiment: The surprising tool to help you stop comfort eating

Bessel van der Kolk said, “You can be fully in charge of your life, only if you can acknowledge the reality of your body, in all its visceral dimensions.” – The Body Keeps The Score

Here, I’m going to introduce you to how to quit emotional eating, by becoming more aware of your internal body experience.

In my work, you’ll hear me guide you to how something feels in your body. Because, I witness over and over again that it’s a powerful route to healing, on a deeper level. Getting in touch with your instincts, drives and needs leads you to treat yourself with more care, and to experience more satisfaction.

 

 

Children and overeating: 5 ways to help them stop

The latest data from The UK Parliament Post, from 2019-20, reported that at the end of primary school, 35% of children aged 10-11 years were living with overweight or obesity, and 21% were living with obesity. The Post goes on to explain:

“The Government’s obesity strategy seeks to halve the prevalence of childhood obesity by 2030, with a focus on encouraging individual behaviour change, product reformulation and restricting unhealthy food marketing.”

 

Lockdown overeating: How can mindful eating help?

If lockdown has encouraged you to eat more, there is a technique that might help you to address it. Mindful eating is the practice of mindfulness around food and may lead to a greater appreciation of life.

How stressed, distracted or busy are you in life? This may be one of your reasons for overeating.

 

Turn childhood feelings of low self-worth into healing

Love makes your soul crawl out from its hiding place” – Zora Neale Hurston
It’s often the case that when we start talking about how bad we feel about ourselves, sooner or later, we’re going to remember that this started a long time ago. Here, I will show you how to start to address your self-worth on a deeper level.

 

Conflict and anger: Sick of the sight of your lockdown mate?

Frequently, the underlying voice of anger is, “You can’t do this to me”.

Conflict and anger have certainly been an issue during the pandemic. So, here, I’ll start to explain what anger is, and how to begin to understand conflict.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wondering how to stop COVID-19 binge eating/drinking/shopping?

“First I just started picking when I was bored. Now I can’t go 20 minutes without getting something from the fridge or cupboard!” – This is something a client said recently.

When the news of the pandemic dawned, we locked ourselves at home and turned to all of our traditional comforts; food, television, booze, net surfing, and online shopping, to name the big ones.

 

 

Feeling wobbly about leaving lockdown?

“I’m starting to get anxious about being around lots of people, going back to the office and having to use public transport.”

When I posted my TikTok about being nervous about coming out of lockdown, there were lots of likes for this comment. It was a popular subject.

 

 

Coping with Valentine’s Day: loneliness in COVID-19 lockdown

How to feel less lonely and more empowered on Valentine’s Day duringthe  Covid-19 lockdown. This article is about ‘loving too much, and how to find love for yourself.

“Some people care too much. I think it’s called love.”

– A.A. Milne ‘The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh’

 

 

Are you a comfort eater?

Some questions that will help you start to answer what binge-eating, overeating or comfort eating is for you.

 

 

 

 

Blame. Binge. Shame. Repeat. Part 1- The self-critic

In my work with overeating, what I see the most, is people who are hard on themselves. This is one of the main reasons that people overeat. So in this article, I’m going to talk about how self-criticism goes hand in hand with comfort eating and binge eating. I’ll show you ways to understand this for yourself, and to begin the journey of stopping giving yourself such a hard time. Because that is what’s needed to stop overeating.

 

 

Blame. Binge. Shame. Repeat. Part 2: The Inner Child

In this part of the series, we will travel deeper into understanding more about what’s behind your overeating.

 

 

 

 

Blame. Binge. Shame. Repeat. Part 3: Self-nurture

In this section of the series, I talk about a part of you that needs to be learned, practised and developed, to manage the feelings of the ‘inner child.

 

 

 

Blame. Binge. Shame. Repeat. Part-3. COVID-19 Fatigue and stopping eating

In this final part of this four-part series, I’ll pull together some things from the rest of the series to address how we all might be feeling at the momen, and ways to stop overeating.

 

 

 

Coping with Covid-19 comfort eating

Since the lockdown began I’ve seen posts every single day about how we’re eating too much.

Most people are saying this with humour; people are still trying to make
jokes out of it. But for a section of the population, the posts are not that funny. There’s a huge amount of shame involved in overeating if you’re in the habit of it. So, it’s for those people that I’m writing this article…

 

10 ways to cope with anger

In this article, I’ll be sharing 10 ways to help you cope with anger.

 

 

 

 

Listen to my Binge Eating and Recovery podcast –https://www.bristolcounselling.co.uk/read-listen/recovery-from-podcast/