Are you one of those people who goes through life doing your own thing without a second thought to the opinion of others or do you stress and ruminate over the thoughts you believe other people are having about you?

If you fall into the second category, there will be several reasons for your behaviour. Often, worrying about what others think stems from a deep-rooted desire to be validated and accepted by those around you. If you believe your self-worth is tied to the opinions of others, then you will seek their approval and could also be constantly comparing yourself to them.

This behaviour can create a cycle of self-doubt and anxiety that can be incredibly damaging to the relationship you have not only with other people but also with yourself.

If you have experienced rejection or judgement, this can also make you overly concerned with the need to fit in. This can stifle your true, authentic self and leave you at odds with your core values and beliefs, making your world unaligned.

There can be many times when you feel lost in life. This is not a situation that is restricted to age or social circumstances.

Anyone can feel lost whether in a loving committed relationship or single, whether they have their dream job and lifestyle or are just starting in life.

There are many reasons for feeling lost in life.

Bereavement or divorce can be a factor, leaving home or University, starting a new job or moving to a new location or just lacking in self-confidence.

The one thing most people would agree on is when you are feeling lost in life, it can be overwhelming and disorienting.

The first step to finding yourself is to slow down and permit yourself to explore your thoughts and emotions.

Spend time working on your inner thoughts to understand the reasons for your feelings.

Menopause can be a challenging time of life for some women. There are many symptoms that can begin to rear around their mid-forties that can cause problems day to day. Changes to your hormone levels can play an important role in your mental health as well as physical health.

Fortunately, we are now living in a time when discussing menopause is no longer taboo and there is much more help and advice available to women than at any other time and yet many women still find that they are at a loss when it comes to recognising and dealing with the symptoms of menopause.

There are many emotional traumas in life and along with bereavement, divorce is no doubt the biggest. Learning how to deal with divorce as a woman can be crucial to moving on with your life afterwards.

Nobody goes into a marriage expecting to get a divorce but unfortunately, it happens and it can be a very sad, stressful and difficult time for all involved in the separation.

Men and women will handle divorce differently, for women it can often be a far more visceral experience, deep feelings can come to the surface and they can experience a roller coaster of emotions, from anger and denial to guilt and sadness.

The emotional side of divorce can have a big impact on women's physical health as well, with diet, sleep, stress and substance abuse all causing health issues.

Having a support network of friends and family can be an enormous help both practically and emotionally and knowing what to expect and setting up ways to cope can aid in getting through this difficult period.

Are you feeling lost in your 60s? Have you just turned 60 and are feeling depressed? Do you feel that you have lost your mojo and are wondering how to get it back? Or do you feel that at 60 that’s it, you feel too old and there’s no way that you can start over?

It is surprisingly easy to fall into the trap of catastrophizing no matter how level-headed we are. Jumping straight away to the worst-case scenario and imagining all sorts of terrible things until you are in a state of anxiety and stress.

We can all be prone to thinking the worst at times, it is a part of what it is to be human. The odd irrational thoughts we have that life is always going to be awful, and that the situation that we find ourselves in is never going to change.

Most of us will snap out of this way of thinking after we have examined the irrational thoughts that we are having and have replaced them with new, positive ones.

Other people though will tend to catastrophize about a situation and will begin to see it as being far worse than it is or will imagine that there will never be a change in their circumstances. These are people who are prone to catastrophize thinking.

Is it possible to trick your brain? If so how can you trick your brain into positive thinking? The brain is a complex organ in the body that controls our thoughts and our behaviours. This amazingly intricate organ gives us the power to speak, think, imagine, create and solve problems. As well as all of the cognitive power that we have, it also controls the temperature of our body, our heart function and our breathing. It controls all of our movement, every action that our bodies perform. Simply put, without our brains working properly we would not be able to function on a cognitive or physical level.