text: We live in interesting times. It seems that the world has been shaken like a snow globe and nobody is quite sure where it’s going to settle. There’s a sense that the world is recalibrating, forcing us to address issues and reconsider our priorities. In some ways, the politicians have proved what intrinsically we have always known, when it comes to what is truly important only communities can help themselves.
  Stress and anxiety are the same. I often use a snow globe metaphor to explain life before and after therapy. Often, even before the main issues are resolved there’s a shift, an imperceptible change, a resettling of the ground on which we stand. Human beings are not all great fans of change. It unsettles us and makes us fearful of the future. What we often forget though is that change happens with or without our acquiescence. Look in a mirror and see the changes in your skin tone, your hair, your body shape; none of us are as we were when we first came into the world.
  Therapy isn’t about imposing a new environment on the existing backdrop of your life it’s about subtly changing the status quo, so that over time a new healthier world opens up for you. Each time we shake the globe the pieces settle, but never exactly as before and over time, as we continue to shake the globe the improvements in our landscape appear.
  Carol Hickson – Therapist, Life Coach and Trainer www.carolhickson.co.uk June 2020