mindfulness – Emma Palmer-Cooper

mental wellbeing, mental-health, self-reflection

How to build a better relationship with social media

As featured in Woman and Home, 19.08.2025

If you’ve ever promised yourself you’d “just have a quick scroll” and found yourself still glued to your phone an hour later, you’re not alone. Social media is designed to keep us engaged,but with some thoughtful steps, you can create a healthier, more intentional relationship with it. Change isn’t about willpower alone; it’s about knowing why you want to change, using your strengths, and aligning new habits with your values.

1. Know Your Why
Before making changes, pause and ask yourself: Why do I want a different relationship with social media? Is it because it’s eating into time with loved ones, affecting my mood, or replacing activities I value? The clearer you are, the easier it will be to build meaningful habits you can maintain.

Try pairing a long-term aim, such as “I want to spend less time scrolling”, with a practical short-term step, like limiting social media use to a 10-minute window in the morning and evening. Tools like app timers can help you stick to these boundaries and remind you when it’s time to move on to something more fulfilling.

2. Chase the Joy of Missing Out
Goals are easier to stick to when they’re framed around what you’re moving towards rather than what you’re avoiding. If you’re cutting down on social media, think about what you’re gaining, like peace of mind, more time for hobbies, deeper face-to-face conversations. This is sometimes called the “Joy of Missing Out” (JOMO): the satisfaction of saying “no” to the scroll and “yes” to something more rewarding.

If that feels unfamiliar, think back to a time you put your phone aside. What did you do instead? How did you feel afterwards? Remembering those wins can reinforce your motivation when temptation strikes.

3. Make Your Goals Crystal Clear
Vague intentions like “spend less time on Instagram” are harder to follow than concrete ones. Instead, try: “Check notifications once in the afternoon, then log off.” This way, you can track your progress and feel a genuine sense of achievement. Over time, you can extend your phone-free periods or reduce the number of apps you check.

4. Celebrate Your Success
When you stick to your new habit, reward yourself. This doesn’t have to mean spending money,it could be making a favourite cup of tea, enjoying a walk, or spending time on a creative project you love. The key is to pause and notice the satisfaction that comes from following through. That positive reinforcement strengthens the habit and makes it more likely to last.

Remember: Forming a new habit takes patience and self-compassion. If you slip up, treat it as an opportunity to learn rather than a failure. With a clear purpose, realistic steps, and a focus on what you gain, social media can shift from a drain on your attention to a tool you use on your own terms.

British Psychological Society, Psychology students, science communication

What does creativity mean to me

The 2025 Voices in Psychology prompt for The Psychologist was ‘what does creativity mean to me?’Here are my thoughts:

Creativity is most traditionally associated with artistic expression, especially when it results in something that is striking in a tangible or obvious way. But from a scientific perspective, creativity is this and more, and it is this broader understanding that I find truly exciting.

To me, creativity represents a mental and emotional space where we are free to explore, to experiment, to fail, and to grow. Creativity is strongly linked to wellbeing, but this is not because artistic individuals are inherently happier. An ability to think creatively helps us to navigate difficult situations more adaptively. It supports emotional regulation, tolerance of ambiguity, and intrinsic motivation. It helps us remain open and flexible when facing uncertainty, and offers outlets for processing negative emotions, which in itself is a form of problem-solving. It reflects resilience, our capacity to try, to persevere, and to approach challenges in novel ways. While outwardly creativity may appear as a perceptible output or innovation, inwardly, it is more about how we think, how we process complexity, and how we respond to uncertainty.

In our own research on creativity, we used questionnaires asking participants to rate themselves on traditional forms such as painting, music, and the culinary arts. However, what proved most interesting to me was a final open-ended question that invited people to describe any other ways in which they saw themselves as creative. Every response was different. Participants shared examples from fields as varied as carpentry, sports, farming, accountancy, and broadcasting. In other studies, asking students to engage with simple creative activities led to significant reductions in stress and how they perceived stressful situations. What has emerged is a strong sense that creativity is, at its core, our unique ability to approach and solve problems in a positive way.

This is why I encourage students to reflect on their own personal expressions of creativity. Recognising and engaging with it can reveal a lot more about your strengths and abilities than you may see on the surface.

In my own work, writing and creating content about my teaching and research has helped me think about what I do in different ways. I’ve since found that it’s become a very useful tool, finding new angles for my teaching, new research ideas, and new ways of doing work. This freedom to engage with my work in different and creative ways helps me overcome problems and enjoy the process.

My personal creative practice of yarn craft has also led to new and exciting opportunities. From developing research ideas, innovating my teaching methods, and delivering science communication events, creativity in one area of my life has influenced my ability to deliver ideas in the other.

As Psychologists, creativity is not limited to what we produce in research, education or practice. Creativity is a dynamic, internal process that shapes how we experience and respond to the world, and how we approach our diverse and vibrant field.

Psychology students, self-reflection

Reflective Practice: A Vital Skill for Every Aspiring Psychologist

Reflective practice is a core skill for any psychologist. Whether you’re aiming to become a therapist, clinical psychologist, or working in research, educational, occupational or forensic settings, it’s a good skill to learn. At its heart, reflective practice involves actively thinking about an experience, particularly one you want to learn from, in order to improve your professional approach.

This means taking the time to pause and examine what happened, your role in it, and how you felt and thought during the experience. It includes evaluating your behaviour, noticing your emotional responses, and analysing your decisions. Through this process, you can identify what went well, what could have been different, and, importantly, what you might change in future similar situations.

Reflection is a structured process of analysing, questioning, and reframing. It enables you to grow not only in self-awareness but also in skill, confidence, and effectiveness. This is known as reflective learning, and it supports continual development across all areas of psychological practice.

Why Reflective Practice Matters in Psychology

While reflective practice is often associated with therapeutic training, it is used across all branches of psychology. Whether you’re working with clients, managing a research team, designing behaviour change interventions, or consulting in organisations, being reflective supports:

Improved decision-making
Greater empathy and self-awareness
Ethical sensitivity and professionalism
Ongoing learning and adaptability

Learning to be a reflective practitioner is, therefore, not just a course requirement, it’s a core skill for growth throughout your career as a psychologist.

How Students Can Practise Reflective Thinking

Psychology students are already developing the habits of critical thinking and evidence-based analysis. Reflective practice builds on this by encouraging you to apply that critical lens to your own experiences, whether in academic work, placements, personal interactions, or your own emotional responses to what you’re studying.

Here are some practical ways to start:

Keep a Reflective Journal

Journaling helps you ‘get your thoughts out of your head’ and onto the page. This can reduce cognitive and emotional overload and often leads to greater clarity. Whether you use a traditional notebook, a digital diary, or record voice notes, the format doesn’t matter, what’s important is that you create a space for reflection.

Create a Reflective Portfolio

Over time, build a portfolio that documents your reflections, learning, and professional growth. This might include reflections on lectures, placement experiences, feedback from tutors, or challenges you’ve overcome. It becomes a tangible record of your development, useful for job applications, supervision, or future training.

I made a downloadable PDF Reflection guides for clinical placements and study skills to get you started.

Ask Reflective Questions

Try using prompts such as (adapted from Bennett-Levy et al., 2009):

What happened? How did I feel? What did I notice?
What did I learn from this? Was it helpful or unhelpful?
What would I do differently next time?
How did this affect my understanding of myself, others, or psychology more broadly?

These kinds of questions can be used in written reflections, discussions with peers, or in supervision. They are also useful in therapeutic work for practitioners and clients to enhance insight and effectiveness.

Looking Ahead: Applying Reflective Practice to Your Career

In later stages of your training, you’ll begin applying these reflective skills more formally, whether through writing about your research, presenting casework, or preparing for publication. Regardless of your specific career path, the ability to reflect critically and compassionately on your work is what will set you apart as an ethical and thoughtful practitioner.

Being reflective isn’t about being overly self-critical or dwelling on mistakes. It’s about staying open, learning continuously, and improving your practice, not just for your benefit, but for the people and communities you aim to support.

Whether you’re heading into clinical training, research, or any other psychological field, reflective practice is a key skill for professional development. Start now, and let it grow with you throughout your career.

Reflective practice starter pack:

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Comfy pens https://amzn.to/4mZTPdY

Flash cards for prompts https://amzn.to/3TjHy6N

Reflective journal for placement https://amzn.to/3ZF2fNY

Reflective journal for research https://amzn.to/3I4YPxO

Reflective practice guide https://amzn.to/40faUH1

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Reflecting on my research goals

emotional-wellbeing, mental wellbeing, mental-health, science communication, stress

Coping Creatively: Resilience Building Workshops

On Thursday 12th July, we hosted our very first Coping Creatively workshop at Newbury Cancer Care.

The event involved a brief introduction to wellbeing, resilience, and why creativity and creative activities can support our wellbeing, even during difficult times. We then got stuck into crafting.

Whatever their experience, everyone who attended left having tried something new, or renewing skills they already had! Whether it was knitting, colouring or mosaic gem art, creativity flowed, and moods were improved.

These workshops aren’t just a nice idea, there’s plenty of evidence to support the benefits of creative activity, especially for those navigating unexpected challenges. Particularly for our attendees who were navigating chemotherapy, studies have shown that engaging with creative activities can help reduce feelings of anxiety, depression, stress and anger during cancer treatment (Archer et al., 2014). These activities give us something many of us are missing in a fast-paced world: time and space to breathe.

In fact, research has shown that even something as simple as colouring can make a real difference. During chemotherapy, participants who took part in art classes reported feeling more relaxed, describing the sessions as ‘breathing spaces’ in an otherwise difficult time (Bar-Sela et al., 2007). In another study, people who coloured during hospital visits reported less stress, with many saying they would do it again (Barnes et al., 2019). In other medical contexts adult colouring books have been linked with reduced anxiety, such as in emergency hospital settings (Rajendran et al., 2020).

These benefits are not limited to one age group. While we often associate creative play with childhood, adults of all ages can benefit just as much from reconnecting with their creativity. Creative activities have been shown to support mental health and wellbeing across the lifespan, helping to reduce loneliness and depression, while improving physical and emotional health (Gorny-Wegrzyn & Perry, 2022). For children and young people, arts activities have been linked to increased self-esteem, better social connection, and improved resilience (Zarobe & Bungay, 2017). Our work on colouring found students experienced less stress after 2 weeks of colouring regularly (3 time per week; Palmer-Cooper et al, 2024)

Resilience is something we can all build, at any age, and not just during hard times. Creative practices help us express ourselves, regulate our emotions, and connect with others, all essential ingredients for building resilience. When we engage in creative activity regularly, we’re building habits that support our wellbeing. These habits become resources we can draw on when things feel overwhelming or uncertain.

This growing body of evidence points supports what many people already feel instinctively: creative activity is good for us. So whether you’re facing a specific challenge or looking to improve your wellbeing, creative activities might be for you! You don’t need to be an artist or have expensive materials. Just a bit of paper, some colours, and a willingness to begin.

We’ll be running more Coping Creatively workshops soon, and we’d love for you to join us.

Getting started: simple craft supplies for wellbeing

(Paid links)

Felt Tips and Crayons

These are (in my opinion) the best felt tips ever:

Adult Colouring Books

Dot colouring books

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

digital boundaries, emotional-wellbeing, mental wellbeing, mental-health

Creating digital boundaries for your mental health

As featured in Women’s Health; 13th May 2025

While technology has improved access to information and made life easier in many ways, it requires finding a balance. Smartphones have created both benefits and challenges in daily life.

After having my daughter, during a baby first-aid course, I was told my smartphone was the most powerful tool I could have on me if she suddenly fell poorly – you can ring someone for help immediately and search what to do while waiting. However ease of access to online spending has increased challenges faced by people experiencing gambling addiction and impulsive spending.

The pandemic drastically changed smartphone usage patterns, leading to increased reliance on digital communication to stay in touch with friends and family, and also adapt to working at home. But many people also experienced an increase in screen fatigue.

This can be addresed at work by doing things like blocking out time in your calendar so you know you won’t be called into a zoom meeting, or making space to move, breathe, or just take a break from your screen.

Research has shown associations between problematic phone use and conditions like anxiety and depression, though the causality remains unclear. There are suggestions that this relationship becomes cyclical, where anxiety leads to increased phone use, as with doom scrolling, which in turn fuels more anxiety. Other research shows that doomscrolling can enhance feelings of anxiety.

Identifying problematic use is about understanding how and why you’re using your phone. Are you picking it up out of necessity or habit? If you’ve set aside time to reply to messages, do you put your phone down afterwards or do you start scrolling mindlessly?

Setting boundaries with smartphone use is really important. Knowing if you have a tendency to use your phone in ways that don’t benefit you, such as spending money or losing time when scrolling, means you can start to set boundaries with a timer or “buy later” list.

There are some simple practical strategies you can use to start enforcing these boundaries, like blocking out specific times in your calendar for scrolling, messages or checking up on news.

Try turning off notification for everything, except emergency contacts, during working hours and when you go to sleep to avoid getting distracted. Carve out a specific time to respond, such as at lunchtime.

If you find yourself picking up your phone out of habit, try swapping it for another activity. The required conscious decision-making about when and how to use smartphones, but can lead to huge improvements in your wellbeing and provide more balance in your life.

Try the Happy Habits box to learn news ways to build resilience and wellbeing.

emotional-wellbeing, happy habits box, mental wellbeing, mental-health, positive postcards, self-reflection, stress

A Recipe for Moving and Coping

Lately, I’ve been asked a lot about movement and how it helps us cope. So, I’ve gathered up the key ingredients and put together a recipe of sorts. Like any good recipe, it’s flexible: you can mix and match to create your own personalised blend for mental wellbeing.

Move Your Body and Mind

It is clear that physical activity supports heart, joint and respiratory health, but it’s also an excellent way to improve mental wellbeing. Regular movement helps build resilience, our ability to adapt and cope with life’s challenges. Movement doesn’t need to be high-intensity workouts. Gardening, stretching, dancing in your kitchen, it all counts. What matters is getting your body involved in something different.

Find Your Joy

Joy is essential. Research consistently shows that regularly doing things we enjoy enhances and protects our mental wellbeing. Not only does it promote positive emotions like feelings of happiness, but it builds resilience. Choosing movement you actually like is one of the most effective ways to stay motivated and build a happy habit.

Connect to Feel Grounded

Connection is another mental wellbeing must-have. Feeling supported, emotionally and practically, helps us cope with stress more effectively. Doing something active with others combines the benefits of movement and social connection. Whatever you do, spending time with people we enjoy fosters our sense of belonging and reduces loneliness.

Step Into Greenspace

Simply being outside can benefit everyone, and pairing this with movement can enhance our wellbeing further. In our own research with university students, and, found that spending time outside had significant this benefit to mental wellbeing, and this was still clear when we accounted for other well-known positive influences like social connection, exercise, and mental health status.

But quality of greenspace matters. Look for places that feel safe, are well maintained, accessible, and offer opportunities to engage in different ways, like walking paths, open lawns, or spaces to sit and reflect. And remember, what makes a space appealing is personal: the “right” spot is the one that feels and looks good to you.

Move Mindfully

Mindfulness is consciously noticing the present moment without judgement. When we fully pay attention to our current environment, we can shift focus away from past and future worries. Combining this with movement in the outdoors makes for another wonderfully positive combination to promote our wellbeing.

Research shows that as little as 5–6 minutes of mindful walking can lead to noticeable improvements. Physically, it can reduce blood pressure and increase walking speed and ability. Psychologically, it supports better mood, reduces stress, distress, and anxiety, whilst increasing people’s state of mindfulness.

To walk mindfully, pay close attention to your surroundings, your breathing, your footsteps, and even the thoughts that come and go. Try not to label these experiences as good or bad, just notice them.

Flow and Focus

If mindful walking doesn’t come easily, you could try a colour walk. Intentionally pick out and notice details and colours in your surroundings as you walk. This helps keep you present and prevent mind-wandering. Alternatively, you could try mindful photography, by taking pictures of things that catch your attention or hold personal meaning. Later, reflect on those images: What does this photo represent? Why is it meaningful to me? These small moments of reflection can help cement positive experiences and deepen their impact.

Focusing on nature, even in our own garden, can help focus attention and bring about a sense of calm. Activities we enjoy and lose ourselves in, where time seems to slip away, are often described as “flow states,” and these have also been linked to improved mood and wellbeing.

Movement isn’t just about fitness, it’s a way of coping, connecting, and cultivating wellbeing. Whether it’s a walk with a friend, a solo stroll in the park, or a reflective photo session, what matters most is that it feels good and works for you.

Try This: Happy Habits & Positive Postcards

If you’re looking to build these practices into daily life, check out the Happy Habits Box – a toolkit designed to help you find joy in the everyday. Positive postcards provide ideas and guidance for small, everyday activities to promote positivity.

burnout, emotional-wellbeing, mental wellbeing, mental-health, stress

What Is Burnout?

As featured in The Mirror US 15/04/2025

Burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by prolonged and excessive stress. It’s not just “being stressed” or “having a bad week”—it’s a sign that our body and mind are saying, “I can’t keep going like this.”

People experiencing burnout often feel drained, cynical or detached, and may struggle to find motivation or meaning in tasks they once enjoyed. It’s a signal that our usual ways of coping have been exhausted.

And while it’s commonly associated with the workplace, burnout isn’t exclusive to the office. Parents, students, carers, volunteers—anyone facing chronic stress without sufficient relief or support can experience it.

What Causes Burnout?

Burnout arises when long-term stress exceeds our ability to manage it. That might look like constant workload with no downtime, lack of control or support in a role, emotional labour without recognition, or high self-imposed expectations with little margin for error.

Over time, when rest, social support, or meaningful breaks aren’t accessible or effective, our mental and physical resources reduce. Eventually, we stop coping.

How does it differ from stress?

Stress and burnout are related, but they’re not the same. Stress occurs when we feel a situation requires more of what is required than our current circumstances allow – such as time, energy, or more practical resources. There is often a sense of urgency, or anxiety. Burnout, on the other hand, feels empty, and people become detached from the task at hand

While stress might make you feel overwhelmed, burnout can make you feel like your tank is completely empty.

Photo by Photo By: Kaboompics.com on Pexels.com

How can we recognise symptoms of burnout in ourselves?

Common warning signs include emotional exhaustion, cynicism or detachment from from work, relationships, or responsibilities, reduced performance, as well as physical symptoms like geadaches, insomnia, stomach problems, or a sense of being unwell.

How can we spot signs of burnout in others?

People experiencing burnout may not always say so outright. But you might notice they are more withdrawn, more irritable, missing deadlines or being more disorganised than usual, or they have a general sense of hopelessness or apathy.

How can you recover from burnout?

Recovering from burnout isn’t a quick fix—it’s about rebuilding balance and meaning in your life, as well as energy.

Genuine rest is really important – not just sleep, but time to be free from responsibilities and relax. Setting boundaries and ensuring work-life balance is maintained will help support this. Prioritising joy and indulging in things you enjoy and value can also help. There is also a lot of support available, whatever the reason for your burnout, so asking for help is a great step to recovery.

emotional-wellbeing, mental wellbeing, mental-health

What is stress? And can it be good for you?

As Featured in Your Healthy Living 07/04/2025

Stress arises when a situation demands more than we feel our current circumstances allow. It is often linked to unpredictability, lack of control, significant life changes, or internal conflict.

At work, for example, an unexpected deadline may feel stressful—not because you lack the ability to complete the task, but because it requires more time than you believe you have available.

The key difference between stress being a positive or negative experience is motivation. Eustress is stress that acts as a motivator. For instance, adjusting your schedule to meet a tight deadline may feel like an exciting challenge. In contrast, distress occurs when stress feels overwhelming or discouraging, such as when multiple deadlines collide, making it difficult to cope.

Regardless of whether stress is perceived as positive or negative, it triggers the same physical response. The body releases adrenaline and cortisol into the bloodstream, increasing heart rate, speeding up breathing, and tensing muscles—known as the “fight or flight” response.

This response is adaptive and beneficial in the right circumstances, but the body needs time to recover afterwards. Heart rate and breathing should return to normal, and muscles should relax. However, when stress is prolonged, the body does not get enough time to recover between stress responses. Over time, this can negatively impact blood pressure, sleep, concentration, and the immune system, among other aspects of health.

The key to managing stress is setting boundaries and building healthy habits that support resilience—the ability to adapt and cope with life’s challenges.

Learn more with my Happy Habits Box!

Resilience can be developed through daily habits that promote happiness and wellbeing. When life is going well, there is time and energy to establish these habits, making them invaluable when faced with difficulties. For example, maintaining a good bedtime routine—ensuring enough sleep in a restful environment—helps support recovery when stress arises.

Engaging in activities you enjoy, such as running, going to the gym, or more relaxing hobbies like knitting, also plays a role. Setting clear boundaries between work and personal life is another crucial strategy, providing a buffer when one area becomes stressful.

Social support is equally important for resilience and overall wellbeing. Feeling safe and supported—both practically and emotionally—enhances our ability to manage stress. Nurturing meaningful friendships or connecting with people through shared interests helps build a supportive network, improving our ability to navigate stressful situations.

emotional-wellbeing, mental wellbeing, mental-health, science communication

Why you should pick up a cosy hobby

Featured in Good Housekeeping here and here

Research has shown that there are several pathways to happiness and good mental wellbeing. One of the most effective is simply doing activities that bring us joy and a sense of fulfilment. But this becomes more effective when we combine our favourite hobbies with other key ingredients for happiness.

Take knitting, for example. Engaging in activities we truly enjoy helps build resilience—the ability to adapt to challenges and manage stress. When we are fully absorbed in a creative task, we can enter a state of “flow,” where we focus entirely on the present moment rather than dwelling on the past or worrying about the future. This level of engagement leads to greater life satisfaction and productivity.

Social connection is another key ingredient. Feeling supported and a sense of belonging helps us manage stress more effectively. Hobbies like knitting and crochet provide wonderful opportunities to build friendships based on shared interests, and doing so strengthens our social network. Even better, helping others is another way to achieve happiness, so supporting your network adds to the personal benefits as well!

Having a sense of meaning and accomplishment are other great ways to boost wellbeing. Setting personal goals to work towards in any area of life, including cosy hobbies, provides purpose to our pleasures. Whether you’re learning a new craft or challenging yourself with a new pattern, working towards goals and feeling accomplished boosts self-esteem, positive emotions, and overall wellbeing.

The joy of cozy hobbies is that they naturally incorporate many of these ingredients. You can enjoy them alone, or as part of a community. Whether you connect with others in person or online, the benefits remain the same: a greater sense of joy, engagement, purpose, accomplishment, and shared connection support your wellbeing.

So, if you’re looking for a scientifically-backed way to increase your happiness, picking up a cozy hobby might be the perfect place to start!

mental wellbeing, science communication

Mindful Colour Walks

As featured in Marie Claire, 03/03/2025

As featured in Woman & Home July 2025

What is a colour walk?

A colour walk is a mindful way to way to connect with your surroundings by focusing on specific colours while walking outdoors. This simple practice encourages awareness of the present moment, which can enhance wellbeing.

How does a colour walk work?

Many of us go through the day on autopilot, disconnected from where we currently are in the world. A colour walk shifts focus to the present moment, helping you feel grounded and engaged with nature. Choose one or two colours and actively seek them out as you walk. If you find your mind wandering, gently bring your attention back to your chosen colours.

What are the benefits of trying a colour walk?

Paying mindful attention to nature can cultivate positive emotions and a deeper sense of connection—to nature, others, and life itself. Noticing details and colours in the moment can also help set aside past, present and future worries.

If mindfulness is something you find challenging, a colour walk offers a simple, structured way pay attention and stay present in your surroundings.

How can we be more mindful on a walk to reap more benefits?

As you walk, reflect on how your surroundings and the colours make you feel. Paying attention to the emotions you experience during these moments can increase the effects.

How often should be doing mindful walking

Research shows that regular mindful practice, such as colour walks, builds resilience by improving psychological wellbeing and reducing stress.

The key is engagement, choosing a colour you love, or walking in a space that brings you joy makes commitment easier. If you need more focus, try taking photos and reflecting on why this was a particularly pleasant or meaningful place or moment in time to really feel the impact. Regular practice can turn this into a regular, happy habit.