Written by Dee Mani, Natural Health Consultant, Best-Selling Author & Founder, My Way CBD Dee Mani is a holistic healing advocate and founder of My Way CBD, who transformed her life after overcoming an aggressive breast cancer diagnosis using natural remedies. She is an author, entrepreneur, and speaker dedicated to empowering others through the healing potential of cannabis and holistic wellness practices. What if one of the greatest resources we have for human health has been growing around us all along? Long before pharmacies, prescription pads and laboratories existed, humans looked to the natural world for medicine. They learned which roots settled the stomach, which leaves soothed wounds, which flowers brought calm, which barks eased pain and which mushrooms could affect everything from energy and immunity to perception and consciousness. That knowledge wasn't born in a laboratory; it was built through generations of observation, experience and a relationship with nature that looked very different from the one most of us have today. Nobody called it alternative medicine, it was simply medicine. But somehow we became disconnected from that knowledge. Plants and traditional remedies were increasingly pushed to the edges and labelled herbal, complementary, alternative or unproven. For instance cannabis went from a plant with a long history of medicinal use to a prohibited drug, while psychedelics became associated with recreational drug culture rather than the healing and ceremonial traditions that had existed long before prohibition. Perhaps most strangely of all, generations of traditional knowledge began to count for very little unless somebody could explain why something worked in terms the modern medical world was prepared to accept. I find that particularly difficult to ignore because I didn't come to this from the outside – I came from the pharmaceutical world. I spent five years in pharmaceutical training before eventually walking away because I had become increasingly uncomfortable with what I saw as the commercialisation of illness and the culture surrounding the industry. I had no idea then just how far that decision would take me, or how profoundly my view of health and medicine would change after my breast cancer diagnosis in 2017. This article isn't about pretending that every plant cures everything or that every traditional remedy should be used without question. It's about looking at what plant medicine actually is, how humans have used it for thousands of years, why so much of that knowledge became marginalised and what these medicines can offer us today – from the everyday herbs sitting in our kitchens to cannabis, medicinal mushrooms, psychedelics and some of the most powerful ceremonial medicines on Earth. Because plant medicine never went away, we simply stopped being taught to look at it. What do we actually mean by plant medicine? Plant medicine is an enormous subject, ranging from the herbs, roots and flowers we use for everyday health to cannabis, medicinal mushrooms and powerful psychoactive medicines such as psilocybin and ayahuasca. Some nourish us, some calm us, some support particular parts of the body, while others can profoundly affect our emotions, perception and consciousness. Mushrooms are technically fungi rather than plants, but they are very much part of this story too. What matters is that we don't need a chemistry degree to understand the basic principle. Nature contains an extraordinary variety of medicines that humans have learned to work with in very different ways. And once you begin to understand just how broad plant medicine really is, calling it simply “herbal remedies” suddenly seems rather inadequate. Nature was the original pharmacy One of the strangest things about the way we talk about natural medicine today is how easily we forget where so much of our medicinal knowledge actually came from. Nature was our original pharmacy. Willow and other salicylate-containing plants played a part in the story of aspirin. Morphine came from the opium poppy, quinine from cinchona bark, digoxin has its origins in foxglove, artemisinin came from Artemisia annua, and paclitaxel was discovered through the Pacific yew. I could give you example after example, but I'm not trying to give you a pharmaceutical history lesson. My point is almost the opposite: nature had the medicine first. As our ability to study plants developed, we learned how to identify individual compounds, isolate them, reproduce them and sometimes change them. However, along that journey, something shifted. Once a compound had been extracted, manufactured and turned into a pharmaceutical product, we were taught to recognise it as medicine, while the plant it originally came from could still be dismissed as herbal, alternative or lacking evidence. And then there is the money side, which I don't think we can ignore. You can't own a plant that has been growing naturally for thousands of years. You can't suddenly claim ownership of ginger, cannabis, turmeric or a mushroom that existed long before any pharmaceutical company did. But isolate something, alter it, create a particular formulation and turn it into a commercial product, and now there is something that can potentially be controlled, protected and sold for profit. For me, this is where our relationship with medicine really began to change. Plants and traditional remedies that people could grow, prepare and use themselves didn't fit particularly well into an increasingly commercial system built around manufactured products, patents and repeat customers. The irony is that the plants themselves never stopped being medicinal simply because our system changed the labels we put on them. And perhaps no plant demonstrates that contradiction better than cannabis. Cannabis: When medicine became marijuana Cannabis has been used as medicine for thousands of years and was once used within Western medicine too. Then prohibition changed everything. Cannabis became marijuana – a narcotic, a gateway drug, something associated with criminals and recreational users wanting to get high – while its long medicinal history became almost completely overshadowed by fear and stigma. My own relationship with cannabis became very personal in March 2017 when I was diagnosed with grade 3 triple-negative breast cancer. I had watched my sister go through chemotherapy and sadly lose her life, so I decided chemotherapy and radiotherapy were not the path I wanted to take. I had surgery, which I felt coerced into, but alongside that I completely changed the way I lived. Nutrition, supplements, meditation, detoxification and cannabis oil all became part of the protocol I chose for myself. I was told by my oncologist that if I refused chemotherapy I would be dead within a year. That was nine years ago. Cannabis oil was a major part of my personal protocol, and I continue to use cannabis as part of the lifestyle I believe has helped me remain well. I can't turn my individual experience into a clinical trial or claim somebody else will have the same outcome, but neither will I erase cannabis from my story simply because it doesn't fit neatly into conventional medicine. That experience led me to learn just how complex cannabis really is. The plant contains more than a hundred cannabinoids, with CBD and THC simply being the best known. THC produces the high; CBD doesn't. Hemp is part of the cannabis family but naturally contains very little THC. It's the source of the CBD we use in My Way CBD, whereas the cannabis oil I used during my cancer journey is a high-THC, whole-plant preparation. Both come from the cannabis family, but they're very different medicines. But what fascinated me most was discovering the endocannabinoid system (ECS). Every one of us has one, whether we've ever used cannabis or not, and our bodies naturally produce their own cannabinoids. The ECS helps regulate things such as sleep, mood, appetite, pain, stress and immune function. Learning that completely changed the way I looked at the plant and ultimately led me into the work I do today. Cannabis also taught me something I've carried into everything I've learned about plant medicine since: the whole plant matters. Its different cannabinoids and natural components can work together, known as the entourage effect. Sometimes the power isn't in one isolated compound, but in what nature created as a whole. And perhaps that's what makes cannabis such a perfect example of this entire article. A plant humans used medicinally for thousands of years became something generations were taught to fear, while all along our own bodies contained a system that helped explain our relationship with it. The plant medicines already around us When people hear the words plant medicine, they often imagine something exotic, but much of it is already sitting in our kitchens and cupboards. Ginger has been used for generations for nausea and digestion, turmeric for inflammation, garlic for cardiovascular and immune support, while chamomile, valerian and passionflower have long been associated with calming, relaxation and sleep. Then there are plants such as ashwagandha, traditionally used to help the body cope with stress; milk thistle and dandelion, commonly associated with liver and digestive support; moringa, an incredibly nourishing plant used as both food and medicine; and black seed, which has a long history of traditional use across the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Some we eat, some we drink as teas, some work beautifully as tinctures or oils, and others are more conveniently taken as supplements. What I love is how ordinary many of them are. We dig dandelions out of our gardens as weeds while herbalists have valued them for generations – I even put the flowers in my salads. We add ginger, turmeric and garlic to food without necessarily thinking about the fact that we're eating plants humans have worked with medicinally for centuries. Passionflower, or Passiflora, is particularly personal to me. When I lived in Spain, it was simply one of those natural remedies people knew about. I used it myself for its calming effects and remember using a Passiflora tincture when my children were teething. I wasn't thinking about studies or how it worked; it was simply a natural remedy I knew and trusted. And that's really the point. Plant medicine doesn't need to be complicated. You don't need to memorise hundreds of compounds or understand every mechanism. Start by learning about the plants, what generations before us used them for and how they can support the body. Once you do, you realise natural medicine isn't some strange world outside everyday life. It's been around us all along. And then there are the mushrooms Medicinal mushrooms are another enormous part of natural medicine, and despite suddenly appearing in supplements, coffees and health shops everywhere, they're certainly nothing new. Different cultures have used them for centuries, particularly across Asia, and different mushrooms have traditionally been valued for very different reasons. Lion's mane has become particularly popular for memory, concentration and brain health; reishi for immunity, stress and relaxation; chaga for immunity, inflammation and general wellbeing; and cordyceps for energy, stamina and physical performance. Shiitake and maitake also remind us that the line between food and medicine isn't always as clear as we've made it – sometimes medicinal mushrooms can simply be eaten. Turkey Tail is particularly interesting to me because I actually used to sell it through My Way until I had to remove it because of its regulatory status in Great Britain. It has a long history of traditional use, particularly across Asia, and is probably one of the best-known medicinal mushrooms for immune support. Yet under the UK's Novel Food rules, that history of use elsewhere isn't enough for it to be sold as a food in the UK without the required authorisation. Of course I complied and removed it from my site, but “not authorised” doesn't mean “found to be dangerous.” It simply means it hasn't met the particular regulatory requirements needed to be sold in Great Britain. It's a perfect example of where generations of traditional knowledge can collide with a modern regulatory system that doesn't necessarily recognise that history in the same way. And if Turkey Tail shows us how complicated the regulation of medicinal mushrooms can become, another mushroom takes us into completely different territory, psilocybin. Psilocybin: When a “drug” becomes medicine again Most people of my generation weren't taught about psilocybin as medicine. We were taught about magic mushrooms. Drugs, hallucinations, illegality, danger. What we rarely knew was that psychedelics had been the subject of psychiatric research decades earlier before the political and legal climate surrounding them changed dramatically during the 1960s and 1970s. Research became severely restricted, and for decades psychedelics were largely pushed outside mainstream medicine. Now the research is reopening. Psilocybin, a naturally occurring psychedelic compound found in numerous mushroom species, is being studied in depression, addiction, end-of-life distress and other areas of mental health. And I think this is where plant medicine begins forcing us to ask much bigger questions about what healing actually means. A conventional antidepressant is generally taken repeatedly to alter symptoms over time. Psychedelic-assisted approaches are exploring something completely different: whether one or a small number of carefully supported experiences might change the way somebody relates to themselves, their memories, their behaviours or their pain. That fascinates me because mental health is not simply about brain chemistry. Human beings have histories. We have relationships, grief, childhoods, fears, beliefs and trauma. And trauma, in particular, can live far beyond the event that created it. Trauma, psychedelics, and going back to the root Trauma isn't simply a bad memory. Imagine stepping into the road and seeing a car speeding towards you. Your body reacts before you've had time to think – your heart races, adrenaline surges and you jump out of the way. That's fight or flight doing exactly what it was designed to do. The problem comes when the danger has gone but the body continues behaving as though it could return at any moment. An experience may have happened years ago, yet certain sounds, places, people or situations can bring that survival response straight back. The thinking mind knows the danger has passed, while the nervous system can behave as though it hasn't. Unresolved trauma can then show up throughout our lives – in our relationships, behaviours, addictions, anxiety, sleep and emotional reactions. And this is where psychedelics become particularly interesting. They don't erase trauma or offer a magical shortcut to healing. But they can temporarily change the way somebody experiences themselves, their memories and their emotions, potentially allowing them to approach things that might otherwise feel impossible to face. The experience itself isn't necessarily the healing; what happens afterwards matters too. But the possibility of getting underneath the suffering rather than continually suppressing its symptoms deserves serious attention. Because how many people are taking something for anxiety, depression, insomnia or addiction without anybody ever asking what happened to them in the first place? Plant ceremony: Something we almost forgot Traditional plant medicine hasn't always been about taking something and carrying on with your day. In many cultures, powerful medicines have been used ceremonially, with preparation, intention, music, prayer, community and time afterwards to process the experience. The medicine wasn't separated from everything surrounding it; the whole experience mattered. Human beings have always used rituals around important moments in life, and one tradition from Brazil particularly fascinates me. Within Santo Daime, where ayahuasca is used as a sacrament, it can form part of the wedding ceremony itself. The bride and groom drink the medicine, each offering it to the other, as they make their commitment to share their lives and build a family together. I find the idea behind that incredibly powerful. Imagine beginning a marriage having first been asked to truly look at yourself – your wounds, your patterns, your fears and everything you might otherwise unconsciously carry into the relationship you're about to build. That's what I find so beautiful about ceremony. The medicine isn't simply something you take. It's being used to mark one of the biggest transitions of your life with intention, reflection and a commitment to enter it consciously. Ayahuasca: Meeting Grandmother Aya Ayahuasca deserves far more than being described as simply another psychedelic. This Amazonian plant medicine has been used ceremonially for generations and is traditionally made by combining the Banisteriopsis caapi vine with a DMT-containing plant, commonly Psychotria viridis. But anyone who has worked with ayahuasca will understand why reducing it to its chemistry completely misses the point. She's often affectionately referred to as Grandmother Aya, and having sat with her eight times myself, I understand why. There is something very different about the way people describe their relationship with this medicine. Rather than simply feeling as though they've “taken something,” people can experience it as being shown, challenged, confronted or guided through parts of themselves they may have spent years avoiding. Ayahuasca can take you deeply inward. Memories can surface, emotions can pour out, patterns can suddenly make sense and experiences you thought you'd buried years ago can appear from a completely different perspective. It can also be incredibly physical. Nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea are common and, within many traditional settings, this purging is viewed as part of the experience rather than simply an unwanted side effect. And this is exactly why I would never talk about ayahuasca casually or suggest somebody simply finds a retreat and gives it a go. Who facilitates the ceremony matters enormously. A responsible facilitator should understand exactly what they're serving, screen participants beforehand, ask about physical and mental health and medications, know who shouldn't participate, provide adequate support throughout the ceremony and know what to do if something goes wrong. Certain medications and health conditions can create genuine risks. There has also been frightening press surrounding deaths associated with ayahuasca ceremonies. Those reports shouldn't simply be ignored, but they need context. Investigations have found cases involving other substances or plants, underlying health problems, accidents and inadequate supervision, while a comprehensive review by the International Center for Ethnobotanical Education, Research, and Service found no forensic evidence establishing fatal poisoning from the traditional ayahuasca brew itself. That doesn't make ayahuasca risk-free. It makes choosing an experienced, responsible facilitator and a properly run ceremony even more important. And then there is my own relationship with Grandmother Aya. I've personally sat in eight ayahuasca ceremonies since 2019, using those experiences as part of my journey into unresolved childhood trauma. Does eight ayahuasca ceremonies make me some kind of spiritual guru? Absolutely not. But it does mean I'm talking from personal experience rather than something I've simply read about. For me, trauma became an important part of how I made sense of my breast cancer diagnosis. I came to believe I'd carried experiences and emotions subconsciously for decades, and ayahuasca gave me access to parts of myself I hadn't previously been able to reach. It helped me confront childhood experiences, recognise patterns that had followed me into adulthood and begin freeing myself from some of the emotional shackles I'd carried for years. No two ceremonies of mine have ever been the same. Ayahuasca can be beautiful, confronting, physical, emotional, confusing, spiritual, terrifying and profound – sometimes several of those things in the same night. And nobody should tell another person what the medicine is going to show them, because the moment they do, they've already planted an expectation. You don't go into ceremony knowing what Grandmother Aya will show you. And perhaps that's precisely why so many people describe the experience as meeting a teacher rather than simply taking a psychedelic. Cacao: Plant ceremony doesn’t have to mean psychedelics I've also experienced cacao ceremony, which sits at a much gentler end of this spectrum. Cacao isn't a psychedelic and doesn't send somebody into the kind of altered state associated with ayahuasca or psilocybin. The ceremonial element is different. People come together, they slow down. There may be meditation, music, breathwork, movement, conversation or reflection. The plant becomes part of creating intentional space. Cacao has deep roots in Mesoamerican cultures, although we should be careful not to pretend every modern Western cacao circle is a continuation of an ancient Indigenous ceremony. Traditions evolve, and modern practices often combine different influences. For me, its inclusion here demonstrates that plant medicine can involve our relationship with a plant as well as simply its active compounds. Peyote, San Pedro, and mescaline Mescaline occurs naturally in several cacti, most famously peyote and San Pedro, and can profoundly alter perception, emotion and consciousness. Peyote needs particular respect because its ceremonial use is deeply connected to Indigenous traditions, especially in North America, and the cactus grows extremely slowly. As Western interest in psychedelics increases, we cannot simply descend upon sacred medicines, commercialise them and ignore the communities that protected their use for generations. Plant medicine without respect for the people and ecosystems from which that medicine comes isn't much of a return to nature at all. Iboga: Extraordinary potential with serious risks Iboga, from the West Central African shrub Tabernanthe iboga, occupies another completely different space and has deep significance within Bwiti traditions. Its best-known psychoactive compound, ibogaine, has attracted attention particularly around addiction and opioid withdrawal. People have described extraordinarily intense, introspective experiences in which memories, behaviour and personal history become impossible to avoid. But iboga also demonstrates why "natural" should never become another word for harmless. Ibogaine can interfere with the heart's electrical activity and has been associated with dangerous arrhythmias and deaths. Anyone considering it needs proper medical screening and experienced support throughout the ceremony. Respecting plant medicine means respecting its power, including the parts that have the potential to harm us. DMT and the mystery of consciousness Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is one of the most fascinating substances found in nature. It occurs naturally in numerous plants, forms part of ayahuasca and, perhaps most remarkably, our own bodies naturally produce it too. DMT has long been linked with profound human experiences including birth, near-death experiences and the final moments before death. There are theories that our naturally produced DMT may play a role in these states, although exactly what happens remains a mystery. Then there's breathwork, where people can reach extraordinary altered states through breathing alone – experiencing visions, emotional release or something deeply spiritual. Again, DMT has been linked to these experiences, but there is still much we don't understand. And I'm comfortable with that. We don't have to understand every mystery before we're allowed to be fascinated by it. The fact that something capable of profoundly altering human consciousness exists in nature and is naturally produced within our own bodies is extraordinary enough. Plant medicine never left us After everything I've covered here, perhaps the biggest question is how we ever became convinced that nature was the alternative in the first place. Cannabis didn't stop being medicinal when governments prohibited it. Psilocybin mushrooms didn't stop affecting the human mind when they became illegal. Dandelion didn't stop being useful because we started calling it a weed. Nature didn't change, we did. The plants never stopped growing and the mushrooms never disappeared. Plant medicine never left us – we left it. And maybe it's time we found our way back home. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn for more info! Read more from Dee Mani Dee Mani, Natural Health Consultant, Best-Selling Author & Founder, My Way CBD Dee Mani is a Natural Health Consultant, bestselling author and founder of the award-winning My Way CBD. With a professional background in pharmaceuticals and a personal journey that reshaped her approach to health following a breast cancer diagnosis in 2017, Dee is dedicated to educating and empowering others through nutrition, lifestyle and evidence-informed natural therapies.

Written by Anham Shaheen, Technology Entrepreneur & Digital Strategist Anham Shaheen is a Dubai-based technology entrepreneur and digital strategist specializing in scalable digital systems, AI, automation, and business transformation. As the founder of PixelWave and a certified Project Manager, she combines technology, strategy, and structured execution to drive measurable business growth. AI is impressive. Sometimes, honestly, it feels like watching a magician perform a trick. You know something is happening behind the scenes, but the result appears so quickly that it feels almost impossible. The problem starts when businesses begin believing in the magic instead of understanding the trick. AI is not magic. It is technology, data, analysis, structure and instructions. If the company behind it is a mess, AI is not going to arrive with a broom and clean everything up. Why does AI fail in some businesses? There is one principle I believe companies need to understand before discussing AI transformation: The output is only as good as the input. When I say input, I do not only mean what someone types into ChatGPT. Your input is your company. It is your data. Your employees. Your processes. Your hierarchy. Your responsibilities. Your management. Your software. Your documentation. Your accountability. It is how you operate internally and externally. If all of that is bad, why are we expecting AI to magically produce something brilliant from it? You cannot take a company from the Stone Age directly into the AI age. Transformation happens gradually. If processes are outdated, employees struggle with basic technology, nobody knows who is responsible for what, information is everywhere and management itself cannot clearly explain the workflow, adding AI may create more confusion rather than less. Before artificial intelligence comes organizational intelligence. AI is a tool, not your personal assistant I think this is where people sometimes mix humans and machines. AI can feel human because it communicates with us. It writes. It answers. It analyzes. It can even challenge an idea. But it is still a tool. Imagine Tool A has one job. For Tool A to perform that job, it should receive the information necessary for it. If we start feeding every tool everything about the company, from A to Z, without thinking about purpose, access or sensitivity, we create a completely different problem. Good AI implementation is not about giving every system access to everything. It is about knowing exactly what problem a tool is supposed to solve and giving it what it needs to solve that problem. This matters even more when company information, financial information, client information or other sensitive data is involved. AI governance cannot be an afterthought. The National Institute of Standards and Technology, through its AI Risk Management Framework, similarly emphasizes governance, clearly defined responsibilities, oversight, documentation and risk management throughout the use of AI systems. Are we using AI, or is AI using us? There is another side of AI transformation that I think we are discussing far less. Underusing AI is a problem. Overusing AI is also a problem. I know people today who would genuinely struggle to work if their preferred AI system went down for one day. Think about that. We have already experienced something similar with the internet. When the internet goes down in an office, suddenly everybody looks at each other as if work itself has been cancelled. AI dependency can become even more interesting because we are not only outsourcing tasks. Sometimes, we are outsourcing thinking. Let us take a very simple example. You need to answer an important email. Write your own draft first. Understand the problem. Decide what you actually think. Then use AI to refine it, improve it, challenge it or make it clearer. But if AI reads the email for you, understands the situation for you, analyzes the information for you, decides what the response should be and then writes the response for you, I have one question: Why exactly does the company still need you? That might sound harsh, but I think professionals need to ask themselves this. Your judgment, creativity, experience, personality and way of solving problems are part of your professional unique selling proposition. If you outsource all of them, eventually, you are outsourcing the very reason somebody hired you. AI should increase your capability. It should not erase your capability. Can AI replace jobs? Of course it can replace some work. I do not believe pretending otherwise helps anyone. Technology has always changed the kind of work humans need to perform. Think about photography. There was a time when taking good photographs required equipment, expertise and often a professional studio. Then digital cameras became accessible. Then almost everyone started carrying an increasingly powerful camera inside a phone. Photography did not disappear. But parts of the industry changed completely. AI will do the same to certain repetitive tasks. Work that previously took hours or sometimes days can already be completed much faster with the right tools. Businesses will save money because of that. Some jobs will change. Some repetitive functions will be reduced. New functions will appear. The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 found that employers expect 39% of workers’ core skills to change by 2030. The same research also highlights the growing importance of continuous learning, upskilling and reskilling as technology changes work. So, my argument is not that businesses should avoid AI to protect the old way of working. Quite the opposite. Businesses that refuse to transform will eventually have a problem. But transformation and recklessness are not the same thing. Should people be trained before using AI at work? We train people before allowing them to drive a car. Why? Because a car is useful, powerful and, when used badly, capable of causing a lot of damage. Now imagine somebody announces a new machine that moves on four wheels and says, “Good news, everybody can use it. Just pay a monthly subscription.” There would be chaos. Just because you know how to ride a bicycle does not mean you suddenly know how to drive a car. I think corporate AI should be approached with a similar mentality. Before employees are expected to use AI professionally, they should understand what AI is, what it is not, how to question its output, what information they can safely provide, where human judgment is required and what they remain accountable for. For corporate environments, I would go further and include basic process and project management thinking in this education. Because knowing which button to press is not the same as understanding the process you are trying to improve. The World Economic Forum has reported strong growth in demand for AI literacy, while workplace research continues to emphasize both AI literacy and human skills. That combination matters. We need people who understand the technology without forgetting how to think without it. Why human oversight still matters AI will make mistakes. Humans make mistakes too. The answer is not to choose one and blindly trust it. For higher-level or higher-risk uses, I like thinking about AI governance almost like multifactor authentication. The first level is the working AI. It performs the task. The second level can be a controlled validation layer. This system works against the company’s approved guidelines, processes, knowledge and rules. I sometimes call this the “company Bible.” Its job is not simply to repeat the first answer. It helps check whether the result actually makes sense within the organization. Then comes the third level: the human. But this human cannot simply be anybody sitting nearby who clicks approve. For important decisions, the reviewer needs enough technical understanding, operational knowledge, project management discipline and human judgment to challenge the result independently. Otherwise, human oversight becomes theatre. If the human needs AI to tell them whether the AI was correct, who exactly is supervising whom? The National Institute of Standards and Technology’s guidance on AI risk management also recognizes that different AI applications require different levels of human oversight and that organizations should clearly define human responsibilities, proficiency requirements, training and governance around AI systems. Not every email needs three layers of approval. That would defeat the entire purpose of efficiency. The level of control should match the level of risk. An AI system summarizing an internal meeting is not the same as one interpreting financial information, influencing a legal decision or working with sensitive customer data. Use common sense. How should a traditional company actually introduce AI? If I walked into a traditional company tomorrow and was asked to make it AI-enabled, I would not start by buying AI tools. I would start by understanding the company. 1. Assess the current health of the business Analyze operations first. How does work actually move through the company? Where are the bottlenecks? Which processes are outdated? Which responsibilities are unclear? Then assess people too. This could involve team interviews, individual questionnaires, practical assessments or even simple quizzes, depending on the organization. Management should not be exempt. Everybody operates at a different level, so everybody should be assessed at the level relevant to their role. You need to know where you are before deciding how far you can go. 2. Fix the foundation If basic responsibilities, hierarchy, processes, accountability and technology use are unclear, work on those first. Then look at existing software and digital processes. A company that cannot properly use its current systems is probably not ready to put AI on top of them. Remember, we are climbing a mountain. We are not jumping from the ground to the top because we are impatient. 3. Start with the strongest people I would not give advanced AI implementation to everybody on day one. Start with selected employees who already demonstrate strong capabilities and train them properly. Let them become the first group to understand the systems, limitations and expected outcomes. Observe how they use AI. Then allow that knowledge to spread gradually through their teams. 4. Automate one clearly defined process Do not try to become an “AI company” overnight. Choose one process. Define what success actually means before implementation. Are we trying to save time? Reduce errors? Improve response times? Lower costs? Improve quality? If you do not know what success looks like, you cannot honestly say whether the AI implementation worked. 5. Run AI and the traditional process together This is one of the most important parts for me. During the first cycle, do not immediately throw away the traditional process. Run both. Complete the task traditionally and complete it with AI. Then compare the results. Is the AI accurate? Is it actually faster? What mistakes does it make? What situations confuse it? Where does a human still perform better? For the first few months, depending on the risk and complexity of the process, monitor it closely. You are testing without unnecessarily disrupting the business. 6. Validate before you scale Once you have enough evidence that the new process works reliably, move further towards AI with confidence. Automate another process. Measure again. Improve again. Then automate another. AI transformation should happen in phases. Assess. Prepare. Pilot. Test. Validate. Scale. Govern. That is much less exciting than announcing that your entire company has become AI-powered overnight. It is also much more likely to work. AI maturity cannot exceed organizational maturity This, for me, is the real point. AI can make a good company faster. It can make talented employees more capable. It can reduce repetitive work, analyze information quickly and create enormous efficiencies. But AI cannot magically give an organization the maturity it never built. If your processes are broken, fix them. If your employees lack digital skills, train them. If nobody is accountable, establish accountability. If your data is a mess, organize it. Then bring AI into an environment where it actually has a chance to perform. Because the output will always depend on the input. Sometimes, before asking which AI tool your company needs, the smarter question is much simpler: Is your company actually ready for AI? Start with your process, not the tool Before buying another AI subscription, choose one process inside your business and map how it works today. Identify who owns it, what information goes into it, where time is wasted, where mistakes happen and what a successful outcome should look like. Only then ask where AI belongs. If you are exploring how AI, automation and structured digital systems can improve your business, connect with me through my Brainz Executive Contributor profile and follow my upcoming articles on practical digital transformation. Follow me on LinkedIn and visit my website for more info! Read more from Anham Shaheen Anham Shaheen, Technology Entrepreneur & Digital Strategist Anham Shaheen is a Dubai-based technology entrepreneur and digital strategist focused on transforming complex business challenges into structured, scalable digital solutions. She is the founder of PixelWave, where she works across digital strategy, technology, AI, automation, and performance-driven systems designed to improve efficiency and support measurable growth. A certified Project Manager, Anham brings a structured approach to connecting business strategy with practical technology implementation. Her work reflects a broader commitment to advancing technology-driven entrepreneurship in the region and encouraging greater female representation in technology and leadership.

Written by James Westphal, Actor & Public Speaking and Communication Coach James Westphal is an actor, coach, and creative development specialist with a degree and training from a leading drama school, professional stage and screen experience, and a Master’s in Psychology. His unique combination of acting craft, public speaking, communication techniques, and psychology helps people connect, lead, and speak with impact. There’s a version of our careers that we’re sold: the longer you do something, the better you get at the work, and therefore, you rise through the ranks. With this, the more difficult parts fall away, and one of these, speaking to a room, becomes easier because you have done it more and your knowledge has grown. The confidence, presence and impact you’ve longed for arrive with the long-awaited title. However, in reality, for a large proportion of the people I coach, the more senior they are, the more challenging they find communication. It brings more nuanced challenges, different expectations and, usually, more eyes. This article explores some of the reasons why it can feel like this and what can be done to ease the challenges faced. What changes on the way up Early in a career, at least historically, you are largely assessed on competence: Do you know the material? Can you do the work? Is your track record right? Communication issues at that stage are mostly thought of as knowledge and confidence problems. The more confident you become with the knowledge, the better you are able to get it across. Obviously, there are a few exceptions to this, but on the whole, communication comes second to the actual job and competence at hand. But, as we all know, the two are not independent of one another. They are completely intertwined, I’d argue, at every stage of every single job. But it’s usually not until you progress up the seniority ladder that it becomes very difficult to separate them. An aspect of seniority that is expected is being able to share your ideas and vision with clarity, confidence and ownership. But if this hasn’t been given time, training and practice, it is something that can compound in the wrong direction. And to make matters worse, none of that can be stated. You can’t open a board update by announcing that you have sound judgement or begin a town hall meeting by declaring that you are a great leader. They are characteristics and traits transmitted in real time through how you handle a challenge, how much space you take up, how you hold yourself physically and what your voice reflects. The result is a strange inversion. People arrive at the level where communication matters most with the skill set they’ve built over an extended period of time, but with the least technical ability and competence in how they communicate and speak in public. This, to me, is one of the oddest aspects of business. Three recurring habits of senior people Some of the patterns I see most often in the senior people I work with are: 1. Playing the executive In an attempt to show people they are deserving of the title and able to do the job, many people try to play what they think others want to see. Sometimes this can work if there is depth of understanding and the technical ability to modulate your vocal and physical presence. But a lot of the time, people are trying to impose what they think is needed while lacking foundational confidence in communication. They try to force out any sign of weakness or vulnerability. A sense of seriousness is imposed. God forbid, they aren’t able to answer a particular question. All of this leads to a buildup of unnecessary tension. In communication, tension is your biggest enemy. It restricts your vocal clarity. It limits your ability to breathe fully and release your diaphragm. It shows up in the body as rigidity and inflexibility and creates an invisible barrier, which can sometimes make people feel like they are speaking with someone through a glass screen. When we don’t breathe properly, we don’t feel properly. Think about it: if you are trying not to cry and someone asks you if you are okay, the last thing you want to do is take a deep breath because the feeling then has free rein. But by avoiding it, we block and harden ourselves. Showing feeling is never as bad as tensing to avoid feeling anything at all. This comes from a good place, though. Most senior people want to do a good job and prove to others that they have earned their place. This, however, means they are trying to control a lot of things, and this is one of the ways unnecessary tension shows up. It has been drilled into us that vulnerability is weakness in business. Whilst there can be an element of truth to that in some circumstances, this can lead people, especially within communication, to forget to be real. A real person gets things wrong, doesn’t always know the answer and still gets to connect with others on a human level. They can simultaneously be a work colleague and a leader. 2. Forgetting the joy At some point, the story of your best piece of work or your experience and journey to where you are may have become something that has been told many, many times. Maybe it is at reviews, to new joiners, at separate off-site meetings, to your partner over dinner or to a new team. Whatever the reason, by the time it is needed in a moment that matters, you can find that the story has been worn completely smooth. The result is often strong material with the tonal energy of a train announcement. It lacks the raw passion and energy it had when you first started out and were hungry to succeed. It is devoid of life. Familiarity has drained it, and whatever lit your fire at the start has dampened. The joy in the work, at some point along the way, has diminished. Actors encounter this problem during the long run of a show. There are a couple of ways we can look to actors to help with this all too familiar problem, and each takes a different approach. The first is more cerebral: reminding yourself of and reconnecting with what it is about the job, company, idea, talk, pitch or presentation that energises you. When we see other people feeling something real, we can’t help but find it interesting. That is why we are drawn to streaming hours and hours of television. We are compelled to watch other people feel and experience things, whether in fiction or nonfiction. Once you have reconnected with the joy, ask yourself, “What do I want the other person or people to think, feel or do?” When people feel, they are more likely to do. The second is more creative and imaginative. Let’s be honest, sometimes in senior positions, or any position for that matter, you might find that you have to talk about something you aren’t particularly passionate about or don’t actually love. Maybe it is more of a commercial means to an end. In this case, you can utilise something that we were all brilliant at when we were younger: imagination. Frame the thing you don’t care much about as if it were something you do. For example, the new policy you are trying to push because the stakeholders want it might be thought of as if it were the proposition of a great new holiday for your family. Now ask yourself how you would feel and communicate if it were that, and then apply some of this to your communication of the duller thing. 3. The echo chamber This one doesn’t apply to everyone because some senior people are intuitively very good at seeking feedback and constructive criticism. But one aspect of business I have noticed within the territory of seniority is that it can create a vacuum in which there are minimal feedback loops. You are usually the one who is looked to for feedback and criticism. But when you are at the top, there isn’t always a built-in structure through which you can receive the same. Or worse, you may think that you are above feedback. That is where the ego becomes the real enemy. The liberating thing about this, though, is that as soon as you realise this could be you and your situation, you can do something about it. There are many forms this can take, including a coach, a mentor, a fellow executive or a close friend. The through line, though, is trust and respect. You need someone you trust and respect to give you honest, constructive and unbiased feedback on your communication. If none of the above is appealing, one great, quick and easy alternative is something almost everyone in this world owns: a smartphone. Record yourself and watch it back. This will give you real-time, unbiased data to work with. This helps close something I call the perception gap. There is often a large distance between what a speaker intends and what a listener receives. You may feel like you are being inviting, but what is being signalled is disengagement. Or you may feel like you are bringing high energy and passion, but what is being signalled is frantic and nervous energy. Nobody can see themselves from the outside, so this distance can survive entire careers uncorrected. It widens with seniority because fewer and fewer people are willing to tell you about it. The game of translation I urge all my clients to think of communication as a game of translation. As mentioned above, what you feel might not always be how you come across. Instead of finding this frustrating, with time, awareness and feedback, you can start to treat it like a game. Who doesn’t love a game? Always ask yourself: What am I intending to do here, and how might I be coming across? There is a well-documented psychological effect at work here, known as the illusion of transparency. We consistently overestimate how visible our inner states are to the people watching us. Research by Gilovich and colleagues found that this holds particularly true in public speaking, where speakers judged their own nervousness to be far more obvious than observers actually rated it. What is useful about this is that it cuts both ways. The anxiety you are certain everyone can see is arriving much more faintly than you think. So are the warmth, conviction and interest. This is precisely why these feelings need translating rather than simply feeling. What can be done? Aside from the above, when it comes to communication at any level, there are three factors at play. If you can master each one, you will find that your level of communication and public speaking begins to match the level of your title. 1. Psychological Cognitive work matters, but thinking differently about a room you are already standing in has limited reach once adrenaline has arrived. Where it does its work is beforehand. Reframing is a useful tool. Changing the lens through which you view a situation can alter your feelings and behaviours surrounding it. The physical sensations of anxiety and readiness can be very similar, including a raised heart rate, heightened alertness and adrenaline. What differs is the label you attach, a process known as arousal reappraisal. Reading a state as your system preparing you rather than betraying you can change a great deal about what you do next. The other aspect is structure. Rambling tends to show up in high-stakes moments and undermines your logos, which is your logic and reasoning, and your ethos, which is the credibility you carry as a speaker. I use a framework I call OMF with clients: Objective, Message, Feeling, with the latter covering pathos. Objective is what you want these people to do as a result of the communicative situation at hand. Not “understand the update,” which is too loose to steer anything, but something specific enough to make decisions against. Specific over vague every time. Message is the single line you would want to remain in their heads a week later. It is almost a tagline of sorts. Feeling is what you want them to experience while you speak, and it is the element almost everyone skips. It is also not fixed. It travels across a talk: uneasy in one section, reassured in the next. You plan in that order, and you deliver in reverse. Feeling lands first, meaning second, and the action follows from both. Lead with what you want someone to feel in each section of your pitch, speech or presentation. 2. Physiological You cannot always reason your way out of an adrenaline response, but you can intervene in it directly, which is what makes this the fastest acting of the three. One useful tool is the physiological sigh: an inhale through the nose, a second shorter inhale on top to inflate the lungs further, and then a long, slow exhale through the mouth. Repeating this two or three times may help reduce physiological arousal. The mechanism is not mysterious. A longer exhale can support the body’s parasympathetic response, which acts like a brake. It can be done in a lift or corridor in less than a minute. This one isn’t particularly discreet, though. If you want something more subtle, you can check out my other articles. The second piece is breath as fuel rather than regulation. Voice is powered by the breath. Shallow breathing high in the chest can give you a thin sound, sentences that run out of support before they end, and a pitch that climbs and gets stuck. It can also keep your body in a heightened state of stress. Allowing the lower ribs to expand and the diaphragm to work freely gives you range, volume and the ability to land the end of a sentence rather than let it drift. This brings us back to tension. The same tension described earlier is what stops the breath from dropping in the first place. Everything in this layer is connected to everything in the first habit. All communication work is interconnected. 3. Physical This is the layer people are least aware of and the one that others catch on to the quickest, whether they are consciously aware of it or not. Start with the basics: weight through both feet or distributed evenly on the chair, shoulders released, and an open and aligned posture. The instinct under pressure is to protect the chest and close down by folding the arms, gripping a lectern or turning slightly away. Under pressure, people tense. Their shoulders lift, their stomach is braced, their weight may lean back, giving the impression of someone wanting to escape, and their breath becomes shallow. The correction is to send the weight downwards. This is a physical action that observers can also read as steadiness. Beyond that, this is where acting craft becomes directly useful. Rudolf Laban’s movement analysis examines physical expression through space, weight, time and flow. Once you have language for those elements, you have choices. This was built upon by Yat Malmgren to create a system of movement psychology and character analysis. Are you moving directly or indirectly? Is your energy strong or light? Sudden or sustained? Most people have one default setting they use for everything, which is why some senior speakers come across as relentless and others as weightless. The same words delivered with different qualities of weight and time carry entirely different meanings. Then there is the space around you. Actors may refer to this as the gestural sphere, the area your gestures occupy. Held tightly to the body, your gestures can make you look contained, and the room may read uncertainty. Opened out, they allow you to occupy the room. Occupying space can be a clear signal of authority, and it is trainable in a way that confidence is not. A good exercise is to experiment with different tempi while delivering a passage of text and record yourself. Watch it back to train your understanding and use of how you move through space, weight and time. You will reach a point where you intuitively begin to match what you do physically with how you want to come across. Final thoughts In my experience, people think that all of this is a natural talent that you are either born with or not. This isn’t the case. As with any skill, this work is trainable and can be improved. It takes time, practice and dedication, but it is worth it. Many people give so much time and dedication to reaching the level they want in business and work hard to ensure they acquire the knowledge and competence required to do the job at a technical level. It seems nonsensical that a similar amount of time isn’t given to communication and public speaking because these skills can elevate or undermine the work you have done up to this point. For some, it is not enough to read the tools in an article. If you would like to explore any of this practically, I work one-to-one and with groups on communication, presence and performance under pressure. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from James Westphal James Westphal, Actor & Public Speaking and Communication Coach James Westphal is an actor, coach, and creative development specialist who works with professional actors on their acting and audition technique and provides public speaking and communication coaching for individuals and groups across business, leadership, and public-facing roles. With his first-class degree and training from a leading drama school, ongoing stage and screen work, a Master’s in Psychology, and extensive teaching experience at top drama schools and conservatoires, James also coaches internationally for leading companies. Founder and CEO of James Westphal Creative Development, providing effective help and guidance for people who speak for a living, his mission is to empower people to connect, lead, and speak with impact.

Written by Nelson Barrios, Founder, Edukko | EdTech & Education Innovator Nelson Barrios is the Founder of Edukko, a Dubai-based EdTech platform delivering personalized tutoring, mentorship, and academic support across IB, GCSE, A-Level, American, and French curricula. A PGCE-qualified, multilingual practitioner trained by the UK Ministry of Education, he harnesses AI to transform learning worldwide. Millions of people open a language app every day, keep a streak going for weeks or months, and then quietly realize they still cannot hold a real conversation. If that sounds familiar, you are not failing at language learning. You are simply using a tool that may not be enough to get you where you actually want to go. This article looks at what the research says about apps versus human instruction, why so many committed learners get stuck, and what language coaching does differently. The streak that goes nowhere I have taught languages for fifteen years, French and Spanish mostly, though I speak five languages myself and have spent my whole life moving between them. In the last few years, I have had a version of the same conversation over and over again with parents, professionals, teenagers, and retirees. It goes something like this: I have been doing Duolingo every day for eight months. My streak is huge. But I still freeze the moment someone actually speaks to me. These are not lazy people. They are the opposite. They have shown up daily, built a habit most learners never manage, and genuinely tried. And yet they are stuck in the exact same place they were months ago, which is the ability to recognize words on a screen but not use them with a living human being in real time. This is not a criticism of anyone who uses an app. I want to be clear about that. Apps have done something genuinely valuable. They have made the idea of learning a language feel accessible and unintimidating to millions of people who would never have walked into a classroom. That matters. But somewhere along the way, a quiet myth took hold, the myth that an app alone could take you all the way to actually speaking a language. And that myth is leaving a lot of committed people frustrated and blaming themselves for a failure that was never theirs. “You are not bad at languages. You are using a tool that may stop exactly where the hard and interesting part begins.” What the research shows This is not just my opinion from the classroom. Recent research offers useful insight into where apps can be effective and where their limitations may become apparent. A study published in Studies in Second Language Acquisition through Cambridge University Press compared beginner French learners across three conditions: app use only, classroom instruction only, and a combination of the two. All three groups showed significant improvement across nearly all measures, with similar levels of progress overall. The combination group showed greater gains in one area of pragmatic competence involving the use of tu and vous. The study also noted that the effects of language apps on oral skills have received limited research attention, partly because many apps have traditionally focused more on receptive than productive skills. A separate systematic review of twenty studies on Duolingo found a similar pattern. The app was particularly effective at building foundational vocabulary and supporting beginner-level reading and listening. However, the review concluded that the lack of interactive, real-time communication restricts the platform’s ability to develop higher-order language skills. In plain terms, an app can teach you words. It may be less effective at teaching you to converse, think on your feet, read a room, or recover when you make a mistake in the middle of a sentence. Those skills develop through meaningful interaction and practice. Even language learning trends for 2026 point in a similar direction. Current teaching trends emphasize keeping the human element at the center, developing practical communication skills, and creating immersive and social learning experiences. The message is clear: technology can support language learning, but expertise, empathy, judgment, and genuine interaction remain essential. Why apps hit a wall It helps to understand why this happens because it is not necessarily a flaw in any particular app. It is a limitation built into the format itself. A language app is, by design, a closed system. It gives you a prompt, you give it one of a small number of expected answers, and it tells you if you were right. That loop is excellent for memorizing vocabulary and practising basic grammar patterns. But real conversation is the opposite of a closed system. It is open, unpredictable, and full of the very things an app cannot fully replicate. Someone interrupts you. They use a word you do not know. They ask a follow-up question you did not prepare for. They speak with an accent or too quickly, or they make a joke and you have to decide whether to laugh. Not all of that can be scripted, so it cannot be fully taught by a script. There is also the emotional side, which almost nobody talks about. One of the biggest barriers to speaking a new language is not vocabulary. It is fear. It is the fear of sounding stupid, making mistakes, or being judged. An app rarely asks you to be vulnerable, which feels comfortable but can also be part of the problem. You may never practise the one thing that actually holds you back, which is the courage to open your mouth and get it wrong in front of another human being. That courage is a skill, and like any skill, it develops through practice with real stakes and real support. “One of the biggest barriers to speaking a language is not vocabulary. It is fear. And overcoming that fear often requires real interaction and support.” What coaching does differently This is where language coaching is fundamentally different from both an app and, honestly, from a lot of traditional language teaching too. A language teacher, in the old sense, delivers content: grammar rules, vocabulary lists, and verb tables. That has value, but it is not necessarily the thing that gets someone speaking. A language coach does something else entirely. A coach starts with the person. Why do you actually want to learn this language? What is the situation you are dreading or dreaming about? Is it a conversation with your partner’s family, a move abroad, or a promotion that requires a second language? A coach builds everything around that real motivation because motivation connected to your actual life is the fuel that carries you through the hard parts. A coach also does the thing an app structurally cannot. They create a safe relationship in which you can be bad at something. That sounds small. It is everything. When you have a coach who genuinely believes in you, who is patient when you stumble, and who celebrates the messy first attempts rather than just correcting them, you slowly lose the fear. And when the fear goes, the language comes. I have watched this happen hundreds of times. The student who could not say a sentence in month one is, by month four, arguing with me playfully about which restaurant to imagine going to. An app alone may not produce that. It comes from a human relationship built on trust. Coaching is also responsive in real time in a way no algorithm can fully match. When I am working with someone and I see their face change, I know they have lost confidence, and I adjust immediately. When I hear the specific mistake they keep making, I do not give them a generic lesson. I build the next session around exactly that. This is the difference between personalized in the marketing sense, which is what apps mean when they say it, and personalized in the human sense, which is a real person paying complete attention to you and adapting to what they see. Using both well None of this means you should delete your language app. That would be the wrong lesson to take from all of this. A practical approach is to use each tool for what it is genuinely good at. Research shows that both language apps and classroom instruction can support beginner language development, while blended learning may offer additional benefits in certain areas. Use the app for what it does well: daily vocabulary practice, keeping the language warm in your mind between sessions, and building the foundational bricks. Then use a human coach for the things a human does best: turning those bricks into actual conversation, building your confidence, and pushing you into the unpredictable, real, slightly uncomfortable territory where fluency is born. Think of the app as the gym where you build the raw material and the coach as the person who teaches you to use your strength in the real world. One without the other may leave important gaps. Together, they can work effectively. Where Edukko comes in This is exactly the gap that our language coaching at Edukko was built to fill. I founded Edukko as an education platform, but language coaching sits close to my heart because it is where I started and because I see so many people stuck in precisely the place I have described. Our language coaching is not a set of prerecorded lessons or a rigid syllabus. It involves real sessions with real educators who are fluent, experienced, and trained to coach rather than just teach. We start by understanding why you want to learn the language and what is getting in your way. We build a plan around your actual goals. We meet you at your level, whether you have a huge app streak but cannot speak or you are starting completely from scratch. And we focus relentlessly on the thing that matters most, which is getting you speaking with confidence as early as possible in a supportive environment where making mistakes is not just allowed but expected. Whether you are an adult who has stalled after months on an app, a parent who wants your child to genuinely speak a language rather than just pass an exam, or a professional who needs a second language for a real opportunity, coaching can bridge the gap between studying a language and actually using it. “An app can help you learn a language. A coach teaches you to speak it. The difference is the entire point.” Start speaking sooner If you have been putting in the daily effort and still feel stuck, the missing piece may not be more vocabulary. It may be a real person who can take what you already know and turn it into confident, living conversation. That is what language coaching does, and it is what many stuck learners have never actually tried. To find out more about language coaching with Edukko in French, Spanish, and other languages for children, teenagers, and adults, visit edukko.ae or reach out through any of our channels. Bring your streak. We will help you finally use it. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn for more info! Read more from Nelson Barrios Nelson Barrios, Founder, Edukko | EdTech & Education Innovator Nelson Barrios is a Dubai-based education entrepreneur, PGCE-qualified teacher trained by the UK Ministry of Education, and founder of Edukko, one of the UAE’s fastest-growing EdTech platforms. Having taught across Spain, the United States, and the United Kingdom, he launched Edukko in 2021 to help families navigate academic pressure with expert support. Today, a network of 700+ vetted Edukkators has delivered over 10,000 sessions across eight countries, supporting students across IB, GCSE, A-Level, American, and French curricula. Nelson writes on EdTech innovation, AI in learning, and how families can raise confident, future-ready students in a rapidly changing world.

Sydney, Australia – 2026 – Have you ever wondered what someone around you might be going through behind the smile you see? For Sam Lee, this question is deeply personal. Today, Sam is a multi-award-winning social skills coach, certified life coach and Neuro-Linguistic Programming practitioner, published author, speaker and founder of Connect with Confidence. But his journey to helping others was shaped by some of the darkest experiences of his life. From Hong Kong to Australia Sam moved from Hong Kong to Australia with his family when he was four years old. His parents wanted to create a better lifestyle and future for him and his brother in Sydney. Growing up, English was not Sam’s first language. He describes himself as a shy, nervous and introverted young person who struggled with confidence. Those characteristics made him vulnerable to bullying. One experience during university remains particularly vivid. While playing basketball and minding his own business, a young man approached him from behind and punched him in the head. The individual and his friends then directed racist comments towards him, including telling him to “go back to China.” “I was scared and shocked because this had never happened to me before,” Sam recalls. The bullying did not stop there. Sam also experienced cyberbullying and online trolling. Whenever he posted something on social media, negative comments and offensive messages could quickly follow. Over time, these experiences affected how he saw himself and how safe he felt expressing himself publicly. When pain gets bottled up For Sam, one of the greatest challenges was not simply experiencing hurtful comments or attacks. It was learning how to process the emotions that came with them. He describes himself as someone who was highly sensitive and emotionally affected by personal attacks, while also strongly disliking confrontation. Rather than expressing his feelings, he often bottled them up. That emotional suppression became increasingly difficult to manage. At the same time, some friendships became strained as his negativity and emotional struggles intensified. Then came another devastating experience. Sam had fallen in love with someone he had met through mutual friends. Eventually, the relationship ended, leaving him devastated. The combination of bullying, university pressures, social challenges and heartbreak became a major turning point in his mental health. Three hospitalisations Sam was eventually admitted to a mental health ward on three separate occasions while experiencing severe depression. His university studies were delayed. He became unemployed and spent significant periods of time at home, struggling to find motivation and direction. At his lowest point, Sam reached a moment where he felt that he could not continue living with the pain. Then something changed. He describes experiencing a powerful realisation that there had to be more to life. That moment became a turning point. Instead of continuing down the same path, Sam began making difficult changes. He eventually decided to leave university, despite being close to completing his degree. He distanced himself from relationships that he felt were toxic or unhealthy and began reconnecting with supportive people who encouraged him and lifted his spirits. Those decisions did not magically solve everything, but they became part of a new chapter. From sales to social skills coaching Sam eventually discovered that his background in sales gave him something he had once struggled with, an opportunity to communicate with people. Working as a real estate agent and in other sales roles challenged him to become more outgoing, develop stronger communication skills and build relationships with people from different backgrounds. He began to realise that the very skills he once struggled with could become his greatest strengths. Then, in 2017, another idea emerged. Sam felt intuitively that he should write a book about social skills. He originally thought it would take around a year. It took two and a half years. In 2019, he published “The Social Way,” a self-help book focused on improving social skills and helping people build meaningful friendships with people they genuinely resonate with. The book was more than a publication. For Sam, it was a message, a message to people who bully others about the consequences their actions can have, and a message to people who have experienced bullying, you do not have to face the world alone. Turning pain into purpose Sam's experience ultimately inspired him to pivot his career from real estate and sales into coaching. Today, through Connect with Confidence, he helps professionals, entrepreneurs and business owners develop confidence in their social skills, communication and relationships. He has trained more than 1,000 people, including executives, lawyers, accountants, teachers, banking professionals and information technology (IT) professionals. His work has also included collaboration with the New South Wales (NSW) Government, helping organisations improve workplace culture through ethical social skills and efforts to address workplace bullying. His message is simple, social skills should be used ethically, to connect, not manipulate, to build people up, not tear them down. A personal commitment to mental health Mental health advocacy remains deeply important to Sam. He supports organisations such as Beyond Blue and donates a portion of the profits from his coaching business towards supporting mental health initiatives. His commitment became even more personal when he lost a basketball friend to suicide. “When I heard the news, I was devastated,” Sam says. “He looked fine when I saw him. Sometimes you simply cannot know what someone is going through by looking at them.” That experience reinforced something Sam had already learned through his own journey. We cannot always see the battles that other people are fighting. Ask someone if they are okay In an increasingly connected digital world, Sam believes there is an important paradox. People have more ways than ever to communicate, yet many can still feel incredibly isolated. Cyberbullying, online negativity and social pressure can affect people deeply, particularly young people who are still developing their identity and sense of self. Sam encourages people to look beyond the surface. Ask a friend, a colleague, a family member or someone you haven't heard from in a while. Most importantly, genuinely listen to the answer. Sometimes a simple conversation can be the beginning of someone feeling less alone. A mission born from experience Sam's story has taken him from a shy young person struggling with confidence and bullying, through some of the darkest periods of his life, to becoming an advocate for connection and ethical social skills. He now sees his experiences not as something that defines him, but as something that helped shape his purpose. His mission and vision are simple, “To make the world a safer place to live in with ethical social skills, so the world can be a more connected place to live in.” For Sam, confidence is not about becoming the loudest person in the room. It is about having the courage to connect, surrounding yourself with people who genuinely support you and learning to communicate rather than suppressing what you feel. Sometimes, it is simply about having the courage to ask another person, “Are you okay?” About Sam Lee Sam Lee is a multi-award-winning social skills coach, certified life coach, Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) practitioner, published author, keynote speaker and founder of Connect with Confidence. He is the author of The Social Way and Connect with Confidence and has trained more than 1,000 professionals and business leaders in social skills, confidence and communication. His work focuses on helping people build stronger connections, communicate with confidence and develop ethical social skills that contribute to healthier personal and professional relationships. Mission is to make the world a safer place to live in with ethical social skills so the world can be a more connected place to live in.

Written by Christina Carras, Leadership Coach Christina Carras is an ICF-accredited leadership coach based in Brisbane. She specialises in guiding leaders with compassion, collaboration, and practical experience. With 30 years of experience in senior management, she helps both emerging and established leaders build confidence, develop people skills, and gain clarity on their leadership journey. I remember coaching a leader who was highly capable, well prepared, and deeply respected by her team. Every time we spoke, it was clear she understood the work inside and out. She had thoughtful insights, strong technical knowledge, and a genuine desire to make a difference. Yet, in leadership meetings, she rarely contributed. When I asked her why, she quietly admitted, "I don't speak up because I'm worried I don't have all the answers." That single sentence stayed with me because I know she's not alone. Many talented leaders believe they need certainty before they earn the right to have a voice. They wait until they're completely confident, only to discover that the conversation has moved on without them. I challenged her to think differently. Leadership is not about having every answer. It's about being curious enough to ask the questions that move the conversation forward. Sometimes the most valuable contribution a leader makes isn't an answer at all, it's the question that helps everyone see an issue from a new perspective. That shift changed how she showed up. She stopped measuring her value by what she knew and started recognising the power of her voice to create understanding, invite collaboration, and lead with confidence. Leadership isn't about having the loudest voice in the room or having all the answers. It's about finding the voice that reflects your values, your experience, and your purpose. Your voice is one of the most powerful leadership tools you possess. It's how confidence becomes visible. It's how presence becomes influence. It's how trust is built. I often say that I help leaders find their voice. What I really mean is helping people find the confidence to express who they already are. What does it mean to find your voice? Finding your voice as a leader is about much more than becoming a better communicator. It is about having the confidence to express your ideas, values, and perspective in a way that is authentic to who you are. Your leadership voice is shaped by knowing what you stand for, speaking with honesty and clarity, and being willing to contribute even when you are not fully certain or when the conversation feels uncomfortable. It is not about being the loudest person in the room or having all the answers. It is about showing up with courage and offering your perspective to serve the conversation. Your leadership voice develops long before you stand in front of an audience or deliver a presentation. It is built in everyday moments, in meetings where you speak up, in one-on-one conversations where you ask thoughtful questions, in difficult feedback discussions, and in countless interactions that shape trust and influence. Every time you choose authenticity over silence, you strengthen your voice as a leader. A question worth reflecting on, "Where do you currently hold back your voice, and what might change if you chose to use it?" Why so many leaders lose their voice One of the greatest privileges of coaching leaders is creating a space where they can explore the stories they tell themselves about their own capability. Time and again, I work with talented, experienced professionals who have not lost their knowledge or expertise, they have lost confidence in using their voice. Some are navigating imposter syndrome and questioning whether they belong in the room. Others worry about being wrong, being judged, or saying something that will expose what they don't know. I also see leaders who have recently stepped into leadership roles, as well as technical experts who have spent years being recognised for their specialist knowledge but are now expected to lead through people, influence, and conversation. For many, previous workplaces have taught them that speaking up was risky, so silence became a form of self-protection. As a coach, I help leaders recognise that these experiences do not define their leadership potential. We unpack the beliefs that are keeping them quiet and reframe leadership as something very different from having all the answers. Many emerging leaders have spent years proving their competence through excellent work. Leadership asks something new of them, it asks them to contribute ideas, ask thoughtful questions, challenge respectfully, and create dialogue. Finding your voice often begins by changing the conversation you are having with yourself. A question I often ask my clients is, "What story are you telling yourself before you decide whether to speak up?" Confidence gives voice permission In my previous article on confidence, I explored the idea that confidence is not something we have or don't have, it is something we build through experience, action, and reflection. The same is true of finding our leadership voice. We can spend a great deal of time waiting to feel confident enough to speak, but confidence rarely arrives before we take the first step. It grows because we use our voice. Every time we contribute an idea, ask a question, offer an alternative perspective, or have a conversation that feels uncomfortable, we create another opportunity to strengthen our confidence. This is where courage becomes more important than certainty. You do not need to know exactly how a conversation will unfold before you enter it, nor do you need to have every answer before you contribute. Sometimes leadership means being willing to say, "I don't know, but I would like to explore this," or "I see it differently, can we consider another perspective?" These small moments matter. They may seem insignificant at the time, but each one builds our capacity to speak with greater confidence and authenticity. Every meaningful leadership conversation strengthens your voice. Presence gives voice impact Finding your voice is not simply about speaking more, it is about being present when you do. In my previous article on presence, I explored how powerful it can be to slow down, listen deeply, and genuinely connect with the people around us. These same qualities shape the impact of our voice as leaders. Listening before speaking allows us to understand rather than respond. Curiosity helps us ask questions without judgement, while emotional intelligence helps us recognise how others may receive our words, tone, and timing. A leader's voice can invite conversation or shut it down, it can create confidence or create caution. This is why presence and voice are so closely connected. When we are present, we create psychological safety for others to speak openly, challenge ideas, and contribute their perspectives. Presence is what helps people feel heard. Voice is what helps people hear you. Together, they create the foundation for meaningful connection, trust, and influence. Four ways leaders can strengthen their voice Finding your leadership voice is a practice, not a destination. There are simple ways to begin strengthening it every day. Speak with clarity, not perfection. You don't need to craft every word or have the perfect response. Focus instead on being clear about what you are trying to say and why it matters. Let your values guide your words. When your communication is grounded in what you believe and stand for, it becomes more authentic and easier for others to trust. Ask courageous questions. You don't need to have all the answers to make a valuable contribution. A thoughtful question can challenge assumptions, open new thinking, and move a conversation forward. Finally, practise difficult conversations before they become necessary. Think about what you want to say, how you want the other person to feel, and what outcome you hope to achieve. Rehearsing a challenging conversation with a coach, trusted colleague, or mentor can help you find the words and confidence to have it when the moment comes. Small, intentional steps like these can gradually turn hesitation into confidence and help your voice become a more natural and authentic part of your leadership. Voice creates influence When we think about leadership influence, it is easy to think about the people who speak the most, have the strongest opinions, or naturally command a room. But the leaders we remember are often remembered for something much deeper, the way they used their voice to make a difference in the lives of others. They encouraged people when they needed confidence, spoke truth with honesty and respect, and created an environment where others felt safe enough to contribute, question, and grow. This is at the heart of human-centred leadership for me. Leadership is not about proving how much we know or ensuring our voice is always the one that is heard. It is about using our experience, perspective, and influence in a way that brings others with us. The strongest leaders don't use their voice to dominate a room. They use it to create space for others to find theirs. When we lead this way, our influence extends beyond what we say in the moment. We leave people feeling more capable, more confident, and more willing to use their own voice, and perhaps that is one of the most meaningful measures of leadership we can leave behind. Finding your voice is a leadership journey When I think back to the leader I described at the beginning of this article, what stands out most is not that she suddenly became more confident or started speaking in every meeting. It was that she began to see her contribution differently. She realised that her value did not depend on having every answer. Her knowledge, curiosity, and ability to ask thoughtful questions were equally valuable forms of leadership. Over time, she became more willing to contribute, challenge ideas, and ask questions others may not have considered. For me, this is what finding your voice is about. It is not about becoming someone louder or more outspoken. It is about becoming more comfortable with who you are, what you know, what you don't know, and what you have to offer. Your voice isn't something you discover overnight. It is something you develop every time you choose authenticity over approval, courage over silence, and connection over performance. As leaders, we have a responsibility not only to find our own voice but to create the conditions for others to find theirs. Leadership begins when you believe your voice matters, and great leadership grows when you help others believe theirs matters too. Follow me on LinkedIn for more info! Read more from Christina Carras Christina Carras, Leadership Coach With more than thirty years of leadership experience, Christina Carras is committed to helping individuals find the confidence to express their own voice. As a leadership coach, she collaborates with professionals to enhance self-belief, clarity, and authentic influence. Christina believes leadership is not defined by one's position but by service, courage, and the desire to uplift others. Her work centres on unlocking potential and cultivating leaders who inspire trust, foster growth, and drive positive change.

Miss K is the creator and voice behind Uncaged Mind, a podcast built for people who refuse to stop questioning. Guided by “Where Curiosity Leads,” she turns bold curiosity into conversations that challenge assumptions, make complex ideas accessible, and invite listeners to think beyond what they have been taught to accept. In this exclusive interview, Miss K opens up about the personal realization that shaped Uncaged Mind, the courage it took to reclaim her own voice, and the bigger vision behind the platform designed for minds that were never meant to stay caged. Miss K, Founder & Host of Uncaged Mind Before Uncaged Mind and the identity of “Miss K,” who were you and what shaped the woman you are today? Before Miss K, I was simply a girl who was endlessly curious about the world. I was the child who always had another “why?” about people, beliefs, society, life, and anything that did not quite make sense to me. I never wanted to know something just because I was told it was true, I wanted to understand why it was true. That curiosity shaped me more than any title ever could. But so did ambition. From a young age, I wanted my life to mean something beyond personal success. I have always been drawn to leadership, creating, speaking, and ideas that can genuinely move people. Miss K is not a character I created to become somebody else. She is almost the opposite. She represents the version of me that stopped asking for permission to be curious, ambitious, outspoken, or unconventional. Everything I am building today comes back to that, having the courage to think independently, use my voice, and create something meaningful from it. You describe yourself as an intensely curious child who eventually learned to question less. When did you realize that part of you had been “caged”? I don’t think there was one dramatic moment. That is what makes the experience so relatable and perhaps more dangerous. Sometimes the cage is built so gradually that you do not realize you are inside it. As children, we question everything without embarrassment. Then we grow up and begin absorbing invisible rules, what is acceptable to say, what success should look like, which opinions are respectable, when we should remain quiet, and how much of ourselves is “too much.” Eventually, I realized that the girl who once questioned everything had become far more concerned with fitting into expectations. That realization confronted me. I started asking myself, "When did I stop being curious? When did I become afraid of my own questions? How many of my beliefs were actually mine?" That was my cage. Breaking it meant consciously returning to the part of myself I had almost abandoned. I realized I did not need to become someone new. I needed to reclaim someone I had always been. What made you decide to turn that personal realization into Uncaged Mind? Once I recognized my own cage, I started noticing cages everywhere, the invisible boundaries around what we are encouraged to question, discuss, believe, and become. I could have kept that realization personal. Instead, I wanted to build the space I wished existed, somewhere curiosity could be followed without apology, difficult questions could be explored without immediately demanding a comfortable conclusion, and conversations could go beyond what we already know. That became Uncaged Mind. The name is deeply intentional. To me, an uncaged mind is not a mind that believes it knows everything. It is a mind brave enough to question what it thinks it knows. The podcast became my way of sitting across from people who know things I do not, entering their worlds, and asking the questions I genuinely want answered. I am learning alongside my audience. That is why Uncaged Mind feels so personal. It is not simply something I host. It represents the intellectual freedom I had to reclaim for myself. In a world obsessed with finding a niche, why have you chosen to let curiosity, not a category, define Uncaged Mind? Because human curiosity does not exist in categories. We can become fascinated by the human mind today, question an aspect of society tomorrow, and find ourselves completely absorbed by an idea we had never encountered the following week. Why should curiosity need permission to cross those boundaries? I understand why niches exist, but I never wanted to build Uncaged Mind around what an algorithm could easily categorize. I wanted to build it around what a genuinely curious person might want to understand. That is why “Where Curiosity Leads” became our philosophy rather than simply a slogan. I do not want to know where every conversation will take me before I begin it. That uncertainty is part of the magic. Uncaged Mind is ultimately for people whose minds refuse to stay in one lane, for the person with fifty tabs open, ten questions forming, and the courage to explore the eleventh. There is one boundary I want the platform to protect fiercely, curiosity itself should have no cage. When you sit across from an expert, what allows you to ask questions without entering the conversation with a conclusion already in mind? I remind myself that my responsibility is not to appear like the smartest person in the room. It is to be curious enough to learn from the smartest person in the room. There is enormous freedom in saying, “I don’t know, help me understand.” Research has always been something I genuinely love. Ever since I was a teenager, I’ve enjoyed going down research rabbit holes simply because I wanted to understand something better. So I come deeply prepared for every Uncaged Mind conversation, but preparation should sharpen curiosity, not predetermine the conclusion. My intention with Uncaged Mind is to take ideas that may initially seem complex or intimidating and make them accessible to any mind curious enough to learn. I want someone completely unfamiliar with a topic to finish an episode thinking, “I actually understand this now.” That is why I’ll ask the seemingly simple question, even when I know the answer. Intellectual conversations should not become performances reserved for people who already understand the vocabulary. Knowledge should invite people in, not intimidate them out. Why do you believe critical thinking has become so important in the world we live in today? Because we have extraordinary access to information, but access to information is not the same thing as knowing how to think. Every day, we are surrounded by opinions, headlines, algorithms, trends, communities, and people competing to tell us what deserves our attention and what we should believe. The danger is not simply misinformation. It is becoming so accustomed to receiving conclusions that we forget how to arrive at our own. For me, critical thinking begins with intellectual self-awareness, "Why do I believe this? Where did this belief come from? What evidence would make me reconsider it? Have I genuinely listened to another perspective?" That does not mean distrusting everything or disagreeing for the sake of appearing intelligent. It means refusing to outsource your mind. If Uncaged Mind can achieve one thing, I hope it makes people curious enough to examine their own certainty. The most powerful mind is not necessarily the one with the strongest opinions. Sometimes, it is the one courageous enough to say, “Maybe there is something here I haven’t understood yet.” What do you think we lose when media becomes faster, shorter, and increasingly unwilling to sit with complexity? We lose nuance, and when nuance disappears, understanding often disappears with it. We are becoming accustomed to consuming enormous ideas in seconds. Complex human experiences become headlines. Difficult debates become clips. Someone can spend years developing expertise, and we may encounter their thinking through thirty seconds selected to provoke the strongest reaction. I enjoy short-form media too, the problem begins when brevity becomes our only way of understanding the world. Some ideas deserve time. Some questions require context. Sometimes two seemingly contradictory things can contain truth simultaneously. Sometimes the most intellectually responsible answer is, “It’s complicated.” That is something I want Uncaged Mind to protect, the permission to stay with a question long enough for it to become uncomfortable, surprising, or transformative. I am not interested in creating conversations people simply consume and forget. I want someone to finish an episode, put their phone down, and continue thinking about it hours later. To me, that lingering thought is far more valuable than another piece of content instantly replaced by the next. As a young woman building a public voice, what have you learned about refusing to make yourself smaller to fit society’s expectations? One experience that partially influenced Uncaged Mind came from a disagreement I had with someone I knew. I was presenting factual information, while he continued dismissing it in favour of his own opinion. What stayed with me was not the disagreement itself, but the realization it triggered. A woman can come prepared with evidence, articulate herself clearly, and still find herself fighting simply to be heard. It made me think about how often women feel they must be extraordinary just to receive the visibility or credibility that men are given more freely. I remember thinking, if speaking up can still get you dismissed, imagine what happens when you stop speaking altogether. That became deeply personal to me. Uncaged Mind was partially born from that realization. I decided I would rather risk being challenged than make myself smaller to remain comfortable for others. That is something I want other women to recognize too. The world may try to cage your voice. Your responsibility is not to shrink until you fit inside it. It is to break the cage. When you imagine Uncaged Mind years from now, what do you ultimately want it to become? I see Uncaged Mind becoming much bigger than a podcast. My vision is to build a global intellectual platform where curiosity connects people who might otherwise never enter the same conversation, experts, thinkers, creators, unconventional voices, and audiences who simply want to understand the world more deeply. I want Uncaged Mind to become synonymous with conversations people trust to challenge them. A place where depth is accessible, disagreement is not automatically hostility, difficult subjects are approached with courage, and listeners never quite know where their curiosity might take them next. But growth, numbers, and recognition are not the ultimate measurement for me. The real ambition is cultural. Years from now, I want someone to say that Uncaged Mind made them question something they had accepted their entire life, discover an idea they never knew existed, speak when they previously would have stayed silent, or become curious again. If I can build something that protects that instinct in people, then Uncaged Mind will have become exactly what I envisioned, not simply content to consume, but a catalyst for minds that refuse to be caged. If someone reading this wanted to begin living by “Where Curiosity Leads,” what is the one question you would encourage them to start asking themselves? I would encourage them to ask, “What have I accepted as true simply because I never thought to question it?” Then I would tell them not to rush the answer. Look at the beliefs you inherited, the life you were told to want, the limits you placed on yourself, the opinions you repeat, and even the person you believe you are. Not everything needs to be rejected. But everything meaningful deserves the dignity of conscious examination. That is what “Where Curiosity Leads” means to me. Curiosity is not merely wanting to collect more information. At its deepest, it is having the courage to discover that you may have been wrong, that there may be another perspective, or that the cage you thought was reality actually had a door. I built Uncaged Mind after realizing how much of my own curiosity I had allowed the world to quiet. So if there is one thing I hope people take from my journey, it is this. Protect the part of you that still asks “why.” Follow it. You never know which cage that question might open. Visit my website for more info! Read more from Miss K

Written by Mary Rose Connolly, Wellbeing-Led Education Consultant Mary Rose Connolly is the founder of POSA Consulting and an experienced international educator with over 20 years in schools in Ireland and the UAE. She works with teens, families, and schools, bringing a strong background in positive health, wellbeing, and safeguarding to provide clear, personalised educational guidance. When it comes to wellbeing, we are often searching for the golden solution. The perfect morning routine. The ideal meditation practice. The latest food trend. The exercise programme that promises to transform not only our bodies but also our mood, relationships, and career. The reality is rather less straightforward. Research from positive psychology and lifestyle medicine increasingly suggests that flourishing is rarely built on one habit alone. Instead, sustainable wellbeing emerges from a collection of practices that work together and adapt as our lives change. Rather than relying on a single intervention, the most resilient people appear to develop what might best be described as a thriving toolkit, a personalised set of evidence-based strategies that support physical health, psychological wellbeing, meaningful relationships, and purposeful living. Perhaps the greatest lesson from positive health is that wellbeing is less about finding the perfect tool and more about knowing which one to reach for at the right time. There is no universal wellbeing formula One of the most encouraging developments in positive psychology is the growing recognition that people respond differently to wellbeing interventions. For years, wellbeing advice often implied that everyone should follow the same path. Keep a gratitude journal. Meditate daily. Exercise every morning. While these practices can certainly be beneficial, research suggests their effectiveness depends largely on the individual. Positive psychology presents the idea that interventions are most effective when they align with an individual's values, motivations, and circumstances. Similarly, research into vantage sensitivity demonstrates that some people naturally respond more strongly to positive interventions than others. This is liberating. If a particular wellbeing practice has not worked for you, it does not necessarily mean you have failed. It may simply mean you have chosen the wrong tool. Start with awareness Every effective toolkit begins with awareness. Before changing behaviour, we first need to notice what is happening. How does stress show up in the body? When does energy begin to dip? Which relationships leave us feeling restored, and which consistently drain us? Positive health places considerable emphasis on developing self-awareness because meaningful change becomes far more difficult without it. Sustainable wellbeing depends on recognising patterns early enough to respond intentionally rather than reactively. Awareness creates choice. Without it, we tend to repeat the same habits regardless of whether they continue to serve us. 1. Emotional regulation Life will always present uncertainty. The goal is not to eliminate stress but to respond to it more effectively. Meditation and mindfulness have become some of the most widely researched approaches to improving emotional regulation. Studies have demonstrated improvements in attention, mood, resilience, and emotional control, even with relatively brief daily practice. At the same time, researchers caution against viewing mindfulness as a universal solution, recognising that different people benefit from different approaches. Emotional regulation can also be strengthened through breathing techniques, reflective practices, coaching conversations, physical activity, and simply creating deliberate pauses during demanding days. The method matters less than developing the capacity to notice emotional responses before they become overwhelming. 2. Self-compassion Many people possess a remarkably forgiving attitude towards others while maintaining an unforgiving relationship with themselves. Positive psychology challenges this imbalance. Kristin Neff's research has consistently shown that self-compassion supports resilience, reduces rumination, and enables healthier emotional regulation. Importantly, it does not encourage complacency. Instead, it allows people to recover more effectively from setbacks because mistakes are met with curiosity rather than harsh self-criticism. For many high performers, this may be one of the most valuable tools in the entire toolkit. Performance can often be sustained through discipline. Long-term flourishing requires kindness too. 3. Relationships Few findings within wellbeing science have proved as remarkably consistent as the importance of human connection. The Harvard Study of Adult Development continues to demonstrate that supportive relationships remain among the strongest predictors of long-term health and happiness. The implication is that wellbeing cannot be built in isolation. A thriving toolkit therefore includes intentional investment in relationships, not simply expanding social circles but nurturing those relationships that provide trust, encouragement, and psychological safety. Connection is not an optional extra, it is part of the infrastructure of wellbeing. 4. Strengths Positive psychology has shifted attention away from constantly fixing weaknesses towards understanding what people naturally do well. Character strengths, including curiosity, kindness, perseverance, leadership, humility, and courage, represent qualities that individuals can intentionally develop and apply across different situations. However, strengths become most effective when used wisely. Ryan Niemiec's concept of the golden mean reminds us that every strength has the potential to be overused or underused. Confidence without humility becomes arrogance. Prudence without courage may become avoidance. Thriving depends on learning how to use our strengths with flexibility rather than simply using them more often. 5. Purpose Purpose is often misunderstood as discovering one defining life mission. In reality, positive psychology suggests something much more practical. Purpose emerges when daily actions align with personal values. It provides direction during periods of uncertainty and helps sustain motivation when challenges inevitably arise. Importantly, purpose evolves. What feels meaningful at one stage of life may change dramatically following career transitions, family responsibilities, or significant life events. A thriving toolkit therefore requires regular reflection. Rather than asking, “What is my purpose?” perhaps the better question is, “Does the way I spend my time still reflect what matters most?” 6. Recovery One of the most overlooked components of flourishing is recovery. Modern culture frequently rewards constant productivity while undervaluing rest. Positive health offers a different perspective. Recovery is not the opposite of productivity, it is what makes sustainable productivity possible. Exercise improves health because the body is allowed to recover afterward. Learning strengthens the brain because periods of rest consolidate memory. Creative thinking often emerges after stepping away from difficult problems rather than working through them relentlessly. A thriving toolkit therefore includes boundaries, time away from work, sleep, movement, and moments of stillness. These are not interruptions to performance. They are part of performance itself. 7. Adaptability Perhaps the most important tool is adaptability. Positive health consistently demonstrates that flourishing is dynamic rather than fixed. Circumstances change. Stress levels fluctuate. Priorities evolve. The strategies that supported wellbeing six months ago may no longer be sufficient today. Rather than following rigid routines, thriving individuals continually evaluate which practices remain helpful and which need adjusting. This ongoing process of reflection and adaptation is one of the defining characteristics of sustainable wellbeing. In many ways, adaptability is the tool that keeps every other tool relevant. From toolkit to way of life A thriving toolkit encourages us to develop a flexible collection of practices that can support us through changing seasons of life. Some days, we may need movement. On others, meaningful conversation. Sometimes recovery. Sometimes courage. Sometimes self-compassion. The science increasingly suggests that flourishing is not achieved through heroic effort or flawless routines. It is built gradually through intentional, evidence-informed practices that strengthen our capacity to respond well to whatever life presents. Ultimately, the most valuable toolkit is not the one containing the greatest number of strategies. It is the one we know how and when to use. Follow me on Instagram, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Mary Rose Connolly Mary Rose Connolly, Wellbeing-Led Education Consultant Mary Rose Connolly is an international educator and school leader with over 20 years’ experience supporting young people and families in Ireland and the United Arab Emirates. Beginning as an English teacher, she developed a lasting belief in student voice and in empowering teenagers to grow into confident, capable adults. As a senior leader, she embedded well-being into school culture to strengthen relationships and drive outcomes. In 2025, she founded POSA Consulting to champion young people and provide trusted, unbiased guidance to families throughout their educational journey.

Faraday Fearnside is a coach, mentor and educator with a keen interest in the impact of trauma on human behaviour and the nervous system. Her own experience of recovering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) led to a deeper interest in understanding how our experiences can shape the way we think, feel and behave, and how we can begin to break patterns that no longer serve us. In this interview, Faraday shares her personal perspective on healing, survival patterns, self-sabotage, authenticity and trauma-informed manifestation. She explores why lasting change can be difficult, the importance of understanding the nervous system, and what it really takes to break patterns and create meaningful change. Drawing on her own experience, she shares why she believes healing is possible, even when we have been told it isn't. Faraday Fearnside, Coach, Mentor and Educator Your work helps people understand the hidden patterns shaping their lives, so what first drew you to this approach? As long as I can remember, I’ve always been intrigued by human behaviour. I loved watching the early series of Big Brother and how contestants interacted. I intuitively knew that behaviours weren't random, even when I didn't fully understand what was driving them. Then, when I started healing and recognising my own emotional patterns, I became fascinated by how our past and trauma can shape our behaviour and keep us stuck on repeat. What I call trauma loops. Our past experiences can influence what we expect, tolerate, choose and respond to in the present. We often assume that change is about trying harder or thinking differently, but if we don't recognise what is driving the pattern underneath, we keep returning to the same place. I did, over and over. I kept finding myself in traumatic situations, or falling into the same financial and relationship patterns, no matter how hard I worked. It was so frustrating. We aren't broken; we're simply repeating survival patterns that once protected us. So once we become consciously aware of those patterns, we have the opportunity to heal, interrupt and make different choices. They no longer control us. You describe survival patterns as intelligent adaptations rather than flaws, so how does that perspective change the way people begin healing? When we understand that we are functioning exactly as a human nervous system is designed to function, something shifts. We stop seeing ourselves as broken and start seeing ourselves as human. Survival patterns aren't flaws; they are adaptations in our behaviour to keep us safe. That's a brilliant human design. At its core, our survival system has one primary job: to keep us alive. It does, albeit a little too well at times, as it can keep us in a familiar hell rather than shifting to an unfamiliar but healthier heaven. When those adaptations become stuck in a loop, they ultimately become maladaptive. They run riot. What kept us safe as a child, or during a traumatic period of our lives, can continue running long after the danger has passed. So we end up living from old predictions rather than present reality. When we understand that our brain and nervous system are constantly predicting what might happen next based on past experiences, everything starts to make sense. We stop asking, "What's wrong with me?" and instead ask, "What is my system trying to protect me from?" Then, when we begin to feel safe, we're far more willing to let go of patterns that no longer serve us. Trauma-informed manifestation is still an emerging conversation, so what does it mean in practice and how does it differ from mainstream manifestation teachings? For me, trauma-informed manifestation means recognising that unresolved trauma and chronic survival states make lasting change incredibly challenging. My personal view is that the energy of trauma – fear, resistance and constriction – conflicts with the state many manifestation teachings encourage: love, abundance and being open to receive. When we're living in survival mode, our brain and body are focused on safety, not possibility. We make choices based on fear, familiarity and protection. We predict the future through the lens of our past; if that past was traumatic, we then become caught in repeating the same familiar hell. Many trauma survivors also carry deeply rooted beliefs that they're not good enough, not worthy or that the world isn't safe. This is where I think mainstream manifestation often misses an important piece of the puzzle. The current narrative around visualisation and energy doesn't necessarily address the underlying survival patterns or beliefs. We cannot just shift emotional energy when it is not safe to do so. I spent years trying to create a better life while unconsciously recreating the same patterns; it was hell. Healing first creates the conditions for change; we then naturally become more open to creating a future that isn't simply a repetition of our past. Why do you think so many personal development methods overlook the role of the nervous system? We live in a culture of instant gratification; a quick fix sells. The messy process of trauma healing and nervous system work is not quick or glamorous. Reality asks something very different of us. Promises of changing your life in 30 days, rewiring your mind overnight, or simply thinking positively are far more appealing than hearing that lasting change is painful, messy, and takes time, repetition, and patience. We spend so much of our lives trying not to feel uncomfortable emotions. We distract ourselves with work, food, alcohol, drugs, exercise, social media, personal development, anything that helps us avoid what is happening inside us. But avoidance doesn't resolve what's underneath. You can tell someone to think differently or step outside their comfort zone, but if their nervous system has learned to associate the unfamiliar with danger, it may be working hard to keep them safe rather than allowing change. You can't mindset your way out of a nervous system that is constantly telling you that you're not safe. Healing requires us to gradually and safely turn towards the parts of ourselves we've spent years avoiding. It isn't about being more productive, thinking positively or simply trying harder. What are some of the signs that someone is living from old protective strategies rather than making conscious choices? One of the biggest signs is repetition. When we find ourselves in the same type of relationships, repeating the same arguments, struggling with the same financial habits, people-pleasing, avoiding conflict or constantly putting everyone else's needs before our own, we are still operating from our protective strategies. People often tell the same story. Some of the details change, but the emotional pattern stays the same, and they are always the protagonist. We want to change, yet we keep ending up back in the same place, like Groundhog Day. There is often self-criticism, defensiveness, or a belief that you are simply "bad at relationships", "not good enough", or "this is just who I am”. Most people don't realise that many of these behaviours are protective strategies helping them survive. Not who they are! Protective strategies operate automatically. When we're living from survival, we're reacting from the past. When we're living consciously, we're responding to what's happening in the present. Conscious choices involve awareness, flexibility and intention. You can't change a pattern you can't see. But once you become aware of it and recognise it for what it is – a survival strategy rather than a character flaw – you finally have the opportunity to choose something different. For someone who feels stuck in cycles of self-sabotage, what is the first practical step toward creating lasting change? The first step is genuinely wanting to change, followed by awareness. Before we can change a pattern, we have to observe it. Start by noticing the patterns, triggers, behaviours, thoughts, and moments when you react or do something that takes you away from what you say you want. What happened? What were you feeling? What were you afraid might happen if you did or didn't do it? Often, the sabotaging behaviour serves a protective function. Underneath, there might be fear, anxiety, shame, or a nervous system that has learned to associate change, vulnerability, or even receiving good things with risk. I know what it's like to desperately want something, only to unconsciously do things that take you further away from it. I took an emotional sledgehammer to a few things because unconscious beliefs would take over. But we can approach these protective parts of ourselves with curiosity and compassion rather than frustration. After all, those parts aren't trying to sabotage us; they're trying to protect us, which is, ironically, something to be thankful for. Once you understand what the behaviour is trying to protect you from, you can start finding safer ways to meet that need. Lasting change can begin there. You have written that authenticity often requires unlearning, so what does becoming more authentic actually look like? Authenticity is less about finding yourself and more about unlearning who you had to become to survive. Trauma teaches us to hide parts of ourselves and adapt to our surroundings by becoming people-pleasers, perfectionists, or high achievers. We become defensive to protect ourselves, or we may avoid many aspects of life to stay safe. We learn to stay quiet, play small, avoid conflict or put everyone else's needs before our own, all for the sake of our survival. As we heal, we uncover which parts genuinely reflect who we are and how we want to live. Trauma strips away choice, and healing gives it back. We stop making decisions based on our survival and start making choices that align with our own values, needs and purpose. To me, authenticity is not always about being unapologetically yourself and shouting about it. It's those quieter moments of having the courage to say no without guilt, to express what you think without feeling threatened, to set healthy boundaries and to stop carrying the shame that never belonged to you in the first place. Authenticity isn't about approval. It's about no longer abandoning yourself to gain acceptance from your external world. Your own recovery from severe PTSD has shaped your work, so how has that experience influenced the way you support others today? My own recovery has enabled me to hold space for people in a way I never experienced. I never felt truly safe growing up, and that lack of safety persisted into adulthood. My therapist once told me that we often give others what we didn't have in childhood, and I think that's what I do: I provide a safe space combined with foundational techniques I was never given. Early in my healing, I worked with practitioners who didn't fully understand trauma or know how to help me safely contain what was coming up. My nervous system became overwhelmed, and I was re-traumatised. For a long time, I felt like I was flailing around in the dark, like a pinball bouncing around, desperately trying to find somewhere to land. My healing taught me what works, what doesn't, and that recovery isn't all unicorns and rainbows. So, I never bullshit my clients. Trauma recovery is hard work, but healing is possible. I don't promise quick fixes. You learn to slowly build safety, recognise patterns and triggers, and develop the capacity to be with difficult emotions without becoming overwhelmed. Healing isn't about forcing yourself through pain; it's about creating the conditions where change can happen safely. If readers could take away one new understanding about healing, trauma, and personal growth, what would you hope it is? If there is one thing I want readers to take away, it’s this: healing is truly possible. Don't be put off by social media influencers and clickbait telling you that if something isn't working, you're doing it wrong. You're not. Healing doesn't just happen; we have to engage in the right processes. I was written off by a doctor and psychiatrist who told me I would never be well. But when I looked at my challenges and well-being through the lens of trauma, I was able to approach my healing from this place and make progress. We have an incredible capacity to heal and adapt. When a bone breaks, the body knows how to repair it; we don't have to consciously tell it how. We create the conditions that support the process. I believe emotional healing is similar. Our brains and bodies have a remarkable capacity for recovery and change. We just have to learn how to support ourselves through it. Trauma recovery isn't about becoming perfect or never struggling again. It's about no longer being controlled by the survival patterns that once ran your life. So, if healing was possible for me, I believe it is possible for far more people than we're led to believe. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Faraday Fearnside

Written by Victoria (Vicky) Russ, Managing Director and Leadership Coach Vicky Russ is a leadership coach and former CEO with 20+ years’ experience across the public, health and education sectors. She specialises in leadership, transformation and helping leaders navigate complex change and life transitions. Every year, hundreds of thousands of people in the UK return to work after maternity leave, long-term illness, burnout, redundancy, or other life events. Most are expected to slot back in as if nothing happened. Many are told by employers, by colleagues, and sometimes by the people closest to them that they should be grateful to have a job at all. This article challenges that narrative, examines why so many returners struggle in silence, and offers ten evidence-informed strategies for going back on your own terms, without guilt and without apology. A crisis hiding in plain sight The numbers are staggering. In the UK in 2024/25, 964,000 workers suffered from work-related stress, depression, or anxiety, the highest figure ever recorded, according to the Health and Safety Executive. That is a 24 percent increase on the previous year and more than double the rate recorded when annual collection began in 2001. It resulted in 22.1 million working days lost. Stress, anxiety, and depression now account for 52 percent of all work-related ill health. And yet, when people take time away from work, whether through illness, burnout, maternity leave, redundancy, or caring responsibilities, the expectation when they return is often the same, get on with it. Be grateful. Slot back in. It is, after all, "just a job." Except it is never just a job. And the idea that it should be is one of the most damaging myths in modern working life. It was never "just a job" Work gives us structure, identity, social connection, purpose, and a sense of competence. It organises our days, our relationships, and, for many of us, our sense of who we are. When that is disrupted, the impact is not merely logistical. It is psychological, emotional, and often deeply personal. A woman returning from maternity leave is not simply resuming her duties. She is navigating a fundamental shift in identity, from the person she was to the person she has become, while managing guilt, sleep deprivation, and often a workplace that has moved on without her. Research from the Careers After Babies report found that 74,000 women in the UK lose their job every year for getting pregnant or taking maternity leave. Among those who returned to a different role in the same organisation, 57 percent left within two years. A person returning after burnout is not coming back from a holiday. They are re-entering the very environment that broke them, often without any meaningful change to the conditions that caused the burnout in the first place. Mental Health UK's 2026 Burnout Report found that 63 percent of UK employees show clear signs of burnout, with 62 percent citing toxic workplace culture as the primary cause. If the culture has not changed, the return is not a recovery. It is a countdown to the next collapse. A person returning after redundancy is carrying grief, rejection, and often a fractured sense of professional identity. They may be entering a new organisation while still processing the loss of the old one, and doing so while pretending to be fine because the world has told them they should be. And someone returning after long-term illness is facing all of this with the added weight of a body or mind that may not yet be fully healed, in a system that measures recovery by whether you can sit at a desk for eight hours, not by whether you are actually well. The guilt that nobody talks about One of the most corrosive aspects of returning to work is the guilt. Guilt for being away. Guilt for needing time. Guilt for not being "over it" yet. Guilt for struggling when you are supposed to be grateful and strong. And, perhaps most damaging of all, guilt for the very reasonable thought that you might not want to go back at all. This guilt is not a personal failing. It is a cultural product. We live in a society that values resilience as strength, treats vulnerability as weakness, and frames workplace distress as a problem with the individual rather than the environment. If you burned out, you were not resilient enough, or perhaps you struggled because you weren’t good enough at your job. If you struggled after maternity leave, you were not committed enough. If you could not bounce back from redundancy, you were not strong or competent enough. This framing is not just wrong. It is dangerous. It shifts responsibility from the system to the person. And it creates a population of returners who are so busy managing their guilt that they never ask the question that actually matters, "Is this environment safe for me to return to? Does it value me?" I know because I have been there I know this because I have lived it, more than once. I returned to work twice after having babies. I returned after Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). I returned after burnout. Every single time, the experience was the same, anxiety-inducing, guilt-ridden, and utterly lacking in compassion. I was expected to hit the ground running. To catch up, even if that meant extra hours and extra work. My absence was treated not as recovery or as one of the most significant experiences of my life, but as time off. A gap. Something dangerously close to a paid holiday. Every single return felt like penance for having had the audacity to be away. Not once did anyone ask how my absence had affected me and who I was now. Not once was there a conversation about what I might need to ease my transition or any recognition that I was coming back as a different person from the one who had left. The unspoken message was clear, you have had your time off. Now prove you still deserve to be here. And later, as a senior leader and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), I saw it from the other side, watching large organisations fail their returning staff with the same lack of compassion, the same hollow processes, and the same unspoken expectation that people should simply get on with it and be grateful to still have a job. The system that fails returners The evidence that organisations are failing their returning workers is overwhelming. One in five workers who took time off due to stress received no support whatsoever upon their return. Only 17 per cent had a formal return-to-work plan in place. More than a quarter of mothers either do not return after maternity leave or leave within a year of coming back, with most citing a lack of support or poor return-to-work policies. Among those who did return but to a different role, 57 per cent left the organisation within two years. The picture for long-term sickness absence is even starker. Workers who have been absent for six months or more have less than a 50 per cent chance of ever returning to employment at all. And those who do return often find themselves back in the same conditions, with the same pressures, and the same lack of support, which is why so many leave again within months. The cost to UK businesses is estimated at £650 million annually in lost talent from maternity returners alone. Factor in the £85 billion annual cost of long-term sickness absence, including £47 billion in lost output, and the scale of the failure becomes clear. This is not support. It is performance. And it is why so many returners, intelligent, capable, experienced professionals, find themselves sitting at their desk within weeks of coming back, quietly wondering whether they have made a terrible mistake. It is not your fault, but it is your life I do want to be clear about something here. If you struggled when you returned to work, that does not mean there is something wrong with you. It almost certainly means there was something wrong with the support you received, or did not receive. The research is unambiguous and logical: well-managed, phased returns with proper psychological support produce significantly better outcomes than the "just get on with it" approach that remains the norm in most UK workplaces. But here is the part that matters most. While you cannot always control the system, you can control how you re-enter it. You can set boundaries. You can name your needs. You can refuse to carry guilt for something that was never your fault. And you can approach your return not as a retreat back to who you were, but as a deliberate, conscious step forward into who you are becoming. That is not selfishness. That is self-leadership. And it is the difference between a return that sustains you and one that slowly breaks you down again. Ten tips for returning to work on your terms Drop the guilt at the door. You do not owe anyone an apology for being away. Whatever the reason, maternity, illness, burnout, redundancy, or caring, you took the time you needed and were entitled to. Guilt is not a sign that you did something wrong. It is a sign that you have internalised someone else's expectations. Name it, challenge it, and let it go. Reject the "just a job" narrative. If work were "just a job," losing it would not hurt, returning to it would not be frightening, and toxic cultures would not cause illness. Work is tied to your identity, your relationships, your sense of purpose, and your mental health. Acknowledging that is not weakness. It is honesty. And honesty is the foundation of a healthy return. Define your terms before you walk through the door. Before your first day back, get clear on what you need. Not what you think your employer will accept, what you actually need. Flexible hours? A phased return? A quiet space? Reduced meetings in the first week? Write it down. Present it. Do not wait to be offered what you should be asking for. Have the conversation you are avoiding. If you are anxious about going back, say so, to your manager, to Human Resources (HR), to your General Practitioner (GP), or to someone you trust. Research consistently shows that open, early communication about return-to-work needs produces better outcomes. The conversation you are avoiding is almost always the conversation that will help you most. Prepare for the identity shift. You are not the same person you were when you left. That is not a problem, it is reality. You may have become a parent, survived an illness, recovered from a breakdown, or simply had time to think about what actually matters to you. Do not try to pretend nothing has changed. Bring the whole of who you are now back with you, it’s your superpower. Set boundaries early and hold them. The first week sets the precedent. If you answer emails at 10pm in your first week back, you will be expected to answer emails at 10pm forever. If you skip lunch to prove you are committed, you will skip lunch indefinitely. Set the boundaries that protect your wellbeing from day one, because it is much harder to introduce them later. Build your support network before you need it. Identify the people who will help you, not just at work, but outside it. A trusted colleague, a mentor, a coach, or a friend who will check in on you. Returning to work can feel isolating, especially if your workplace has changed while you were away, as well as you. You need people in your corner, identify them. Watch for the warning signs. If you find yourself dreading Mondays again within weeks of returning, pay attention. If your sleep is deteriorating, your anxiety is climbing, or you are counting the hours until you can leave, those are not signs that you should try harder. They are signs that something in the environment is not right. Do not ignore them. They are your early warning system. Remember, staying is a choice, not an obligation. You are not trapped. If the environment that caused your absence has not changed, you are allowed to decide that it is not the right place for you. Leaving is not failure. Sometimes the bravest and most self-respecting thing you can do is walk away from a situation that is harming you and build something better on your own terms. Get professional support. You do not have to figure this out alone. A coach, a therapist, or a career adviser, someone who can help you process what happened, rebuild your confidence, and plan a return that actually works for you. Returning to work after a significant absence is one of the most complex transitions in adult life. Treat it with the seriousness it deserves. Take control of your first week back The first week of any return to work sets the tone for everything that follows. Get it right, and you build momentum, confidence, and a sense of control. Get it wrong, or have it managed badly for you, and you become another statistic, another returner who quietly walks away because nobody helped them come back properly. The research tells us that more than half of workers who return to a changed role leave within two years, and that those absent for six months have less than a 50 per cent chance of returning at all. These are not numbers about weak people. They are numbers about broken systems. That is the real reason I wrote Your First Week Back: Returning to Work After Extended Leave, on Your Terms. Not from theory, from lived experience, both as a returner and as a manager who witnessed first-hand how unsupportive large organisations can be. It is a practical, coaching-led guide for anyone returning to work after maternity leave, long-term sickness, bereavement, burnout, or redundancy. It walks you through the emotional, practical, and psychological challenges of re-entry and gives you the tools to do it on your terms, not theirs. A supporting online course is also available for those who want structured, step-by-step, video-led guidance. If you are preparing to return to work and want to do it with confidence, clarity, and self-compassion, Your First Week Back is available on Amazon, search "Vicky Russ" or visit vickyrusslifecoach.com. And if you would like to learn more about coaching support for your return, book a free discovery call. You do not have to go back alone. Follow me on LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Victoria (Vicky) Russ Victoria (Vicky) Russ, Managing Director and Leadership Coach Vicky Russ is a leadership coach and former CEO with over 20 years’ experience across the public, health and education sectors. She specialises in leadership, transformation and helping leaders navigate complex change and life transitions. Her work focuses on supporting leaders to maintain performance while creating psychologically safe, high-performing cultures. Vicky is also a teacher of Positive Psychology Leadership and brings a practical, human approach to even the most challenging situations. She is passionate about “protecting the protectors” and helping leaders move from pressure to purpose. References: Careers After Babies (2025). Employment Pathways and Occupational Change After Childbirth. Health and Safety Executive (2025). Work-Related Stress, Anxiety and Depression Statistics in Great Britain, 2025. LiveCareer (2025). Mind the Gap: 2025 UK Employment Gap Report. Mental Health UK (2026). Burnout Report 2026. Available at: mentalhealth-uk.org Office for National Statistics (2025). Sickness Absence in the UK Labour Market: 2025. Peppy Health (2026). How to Improve Parental Leave Retention in 2026. Pregnant Then Screwed and Women in Data (2025). Maternity Discrimination in the UK. Yomly (2026). Workplace Mental Health Statistics for 2026: Key Data and Trends.

Written by Emily Pankratz, Clinical Nutritionist Emily Pankratz is a functional nutritionist who is best known for her work in digestive health and hormonal imbalances. She is the founder of Emily Pankratz Nutrition, where she uses a holistic and natural approach in her clinical practice to support the root cause of disease for her clients. If you've been searching for support with bloating, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), digestive health, hormone balance, or simply feeling better in your body, you may have wondered what the difference is between a dietitian and a nutritionist, and which one is right for you. While both professionals can provide nutrition-related support, their education, professional designations, regulation, and approaches can differ. Understanding the difference can help you find the right practitioner for your individual needs. At Emily Pankratz Nutrition, my approach is rooted in holistic nutrition, personalized care, and looking beyond the symptom to understand the bigger picture of health. Rather than focusing solely on what is on your plate, I take a whole-body and functional approach that considers nutrition alongside digestion, stress, sleep, movement, lifestyle, and other foundations of wellness. Dietitian vs. Nutritionist in British Columbia: What's the difference? One of the most important distinctions to understand is that dietitian is a regulated title in British Columbia, while the term nutritionist is not regulated in the same way. What is a dietitian? A Registered Dietitian (RD) is a regulated healthcare professional in British Columbia. Dietitians must complete specific education and practical training requirements and be registered with the provincial regulatory body. Dietitians can provide evidence-based nutrition counselling and medical nutrition therapy for a wide range of health conditions. They may work in hospitals, primary care, private practice, community health, research, and other healthcare settings. For someone who requires medical nutrition therapy for a diagnosed condition or needs nutrition care closely integrated with medical treatment, a registered dietitian may be an appropriate choice. What is a certified holistic nutritionist? A holistic nutritionist takes a broader approach to nutrition, looking at how food and lifestyle interact with the health of the whole person. Rather than focusing exclusively on a specific diagnosis or nutrition prescription, holistic nutrition often considers areas such as: Digestion and gut health Food quality and nourishment Sleep Stress and nervous system regulation Movement Hydration Meal timing and eating patterns Lifestyle Energy and overall wellbeing It's important to note that the term nutritionist itself is not a regulated healthcare title in British Columbia. Because of this, the education, certification, and scope of practice of nutritionists can vary. A Certified Holistic Nutritionist (CHN) has completed training and certification through a holistic nutrition education or certification organization. Depending on the specific certification and professional organization, a certified holistic nutritionist may also maintain professional membership, liability insurance, a code of ethics, and professional standards through a recognized organization. If your extended health plan specifically covers your certification or professional association, your nutrition services may be eligible for reimbursement. Coverage varies significantly between insurance providers and plans, so it is important to check your individual benefits before booking. Dietitian vs. Holistic nutritionist in Abbotsford, BC If you're looking for a nutritionist in Abbotsford, you may be deciding between working with a registered dietitian or a holistic nutritionist. The right choice depends on what you're hoping to accomplish. If you require medical nutrition therapy for a diagnosed condition, a registered dietitian may be the appropriate professional to work with. If you're looking for personalized nutrition, digestive support, lifestyle guidance, and a whole-body approach to wellness, working with a holistic nutritionist may be a good fit. At Emily Pankratz Nutrition, my work with clients in Abbotsford focuses on understanding the bigger picture rather than simply handing you another diet or list of foods to avoid. Dietitian vs. Holistic nutritionist in Vancouver, BC For those searching for a nutritionist in Vancouver, the same distinction applies. A registered dietitian and a holistic nutritionist can offer different types of support, and one isn't necessarily "better" than the other. It comes down to your individual needs and the type of care you're looking for. My approach is designed for clients who want to take a deeper look at their health through a functional and holistic nutrition lens. Rather than asking only, "What should I eat?" we can also explore: Why am I experiencing these symptoms? What might be contributing to them? What foundations of health need more support? How can we make changes without creating another restrictive diet? A functional approach: Looking beyond the symptom One of the biggest differences you may notice in my approach is the focus on why you're experiencing a symptom. For example, if you're experiencing bloating, the goal isn't automatically to give you a long list of foods to eliminate. Instead, we can step back and ask: What is happening with your digestion? How are you eating throughout the day? Are you eating enough? How is your stress affecting your digestion? Are you getting adequate sleep? What does your fibre intake look like? Are there patterns in your symptoms? Are there other lifestyle factors that may be contributing? This is what I mean by taking a root cause approach. It doesn't mean assuming there is one hidden cause behind every symptom. Instead, it means looking at the different factors that may be contributing to how you're feeling and creating a personalized plan from there. A whole-body approach to nutrition Your health doesn't exist in separate categories. Digestion, nutrition, sleep, stress, movement, hormones, energy, and lifestyle are all interconnected. That's why nutrition counselling doesn't have to be limited to a meal plan. At Emily Pankratz Nutrition, I look at the fundamentals of health and wellness alongside nutrition. Together, we may explore: Nutrition: Are you getting enough nourishment and variety? Digestion: How are you digesting and responding to your food? Sleep: Are you getting enough quality rest? Stress: What is your current stress load, and how might it be affecting your wellbeing? Movement: Are you moving your body in a way that supports your health? Lifestyle: What does your daily routine actually look like? Mindset and relationship with food: Does your approach to eating feel sustainable? Together, these areas create a more complete picture of your health. Gut health through the lens of a certified nutritionist If you've experienced bloating or IBS, you've probably heard about elimination diets. Low Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides and Polyols (FODMAP), gluten-free, dairy-free, and other elimination approaches can have a place in nutrition care when they're appropriate and professionally guided. But elimination doesn't have to be the starting point, and it doesn't have to be the end goal. If you've already spent years restricting foods, constantly wondering what you can and can't eat, or feeling anxious about your next meal, adding another restrictive diet may not be the answer. Instead, my approach is to look at the bigger picture of your digestion and overall health. The goal isn't to create a longer list of foods you can't eat. The goal is to help you understand your body, support your foundations of health, and build a way of eating that is nourishing, sustainable, and realistic. Personalized nutrition, root cause support, and BIE My practice combines personalized holistic nutrition, functional thinking, root cause support, and BioEnergetic Intolerance Elimination (BIE) where appropriate. BIE is used as a complementary modality within my broader approach and is not intended to replace medical diagnosis or treatment. Every person is different, which means there isn't one nutrition protocol, supplement routine, or lifestyle plan that will work for everyone. Instead, we start with you, your symptoms, your history, your goals, your lifestyle, and the patterns you're experiencing. From there, we can determine where to focus. Is a dietitian or certified nutritionist the best option for you? There isn't one universally "better" practitioner. A registered dietitian may be the right choice if you're looking for regulated medical nutrition therapy or nutrition care related to a diagnosed medical condition. A certified holistic nutritionist may be a good fit if you're looking for personalized nutrition and whole-body wellness support that considers nutrition alongside the broader foundations of health. Sometimes, the best approach is to work with multiple practitioners. I believe strongly in collaboration and in recognizing when another healthcare professional may be better suited to a particular concern. My approach at Emily Pankratz Nutrition My goal isn't to give you another diet to follow. It's to help you understand your body and build a healthier relationship with nutrition and wellness. My approach is centred around: Personalized nutrition: Your recommendations are tailored to your individual needs, lifestyle, symptoms, and goals. A functional lens: We look at patterns and contributing factors rather than focusing only on individual symptoms. Root cause support: Instead of asking only, "How do we manage this symptom?" we also ask, "What could be contributing to it?" Whole body wellness: Nutrition is considered alongside digestion, sleep, stress, movement, lifestyle, and other foundations of health. Less restriction, more nourishment: You don't need to live on an elimination diet to support your gut. The goal is to create a sustainable approach that works in real life. Collaborative care: Nutrition support can complement your existing healthcare team, and referrals or collaboration with other practitioners can be incorporated when appropriate. You don't need another restrictive diet If you've tried diet after diet, eliminated food after food, or feel like eating has become complicated because of your digestive symptoms, you may be ready for a different approach. Instead of asking, "What else can I remove?" let's ask, "What does my body need?" Your nutrition should support your health, not make your life smaller. If you're looking for personalized holistic nutrition support for IBS, bloating, digestion, hormone health, or overall wellness, I would love to help you take a deeper look at the bigger picture. Nutrition support is available in Vancouver and Abbotsford, British Columbia (BC). Book a FREE discovery call in Vancouver Book a FREE discovery call in Abbotsford Nutrition services are not a substitute for medical diagnosis or treatment. If you have a medical condition or persistent or concerning symptoms, please work with your physician or an appropriate regulated healthcare professional alongside your nutrition care. Follow me on Instagram, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Emily Pankratz Emily Pankratz, Clinical Nutritionist Emily Pankratz is a leader in the alternative health and wellness space. She utilizes natural health modalities and holistic medicine to support her clients in getting to the root cause of their health conditions and symptoms. She is best known for her work with digestive and hormonal imbalances, along with autoimmune conditions and oncology-related support. Emily is extremely passionate about health and supporting her clients in finding complete wholeness and recovery. Her mission: that every one of her clients will feel empowered with their health and understand how they are able to heal themselves.

Written by Nick Ronald, Elite Mindset Coach Nick Ronald is a mindset coach and public speaking trainer with experience as a Toastmasters Club President and Area Director. He is the founder of Confidence Mindset Club, helping individuals build the confidence to speak up, stand out, and lead. You got the promotion. The title changed. The salary, hopefully, went up. So why does it feel like you have no idea what you're doing? Here's the truth nobody tells you at the celebration drinks: being good at your job and being good at leading people who do your old job are two completely different skill sets. Research from Gartner and Corporate Executive Board (CEB) backs this up in sobering terms. Sixty percent of new managers fail within their first 24 months, and it's rarely because they weren't smart enough or didn't work hard enough. It's because nobody helped them make the internal shift the role actually demands. The Chartered Management Institute puts a finer point on it: 82% of new managers step into their first leadership role with zero formal training. They're handed a team, a spreadsheet of targets, and a "you've got this," then left to figure out the rest through trial, error, and the occasional 2 am spiral of self-doubt. I've coached founders, team leads, and newly promoted managers through exactly this transition at Confidence Mindset Club, and I've made most of these mistakes myself before I ever coached anyone else through them. The good news? Leadership isn't a personality trait you either have or don't. It's a set of mindset shifts you can choose to make, starting today. Here are the five that matter most. 1. From "I need all the answers" to "I need all the questions" Sound familiar? You get promoted because you were the person with the answers. You knew the process, you solved the problems, you were the safe pair of hands. So naturally, when your new team comes to you with a problem, your instinct is to solve it for them. This is the single fastest way to burn out as a first-time leader and accidentally train your team to stop thinking for themselves. The shift: your job is no longer to have the best answer in the room. It's to ask the question that helps someone else find it. Early in my own coaching practice, I caught myself doing this constantly, jumping in to "rescue" a client's thinking instead of holding space for them to arrive at their own insight. The moment I started asking, "What do you think the next step is?" instead of telling people what the next step was, the quality of the work around me improved, and I got my evenings back. Try this: Next time someone brings you a problem, resist answering for the first ten seconds. Ask, "What have you already considered?" instead. 2. From managing tasks to managing energy New leaders obsess over task lists, who's doing what, by when, ticked off or not. It feels productive. It's also incomplete. Development Dimensions International (DDI) Global Leadership Forecast, which surveyed over 10,000 leaders across 50 countries, found that 71% of leaders report significantly higher stress since stepping into their role. A huge part of that stress comes from treating people like task executors rather than humans with fluctuating energy, motivation, and confidence. The best leaders I've worked with, and the best mentors I've had, shaped a lot of my early thinking on public speaking and presence. They pay as much attention to how someone shows up as what they produce. A brilliant task list means nothing if your team is quietly disengaging. The shift: start noticing energy, not just output. Who lit up in that meeting? Who went quiet? Who's been consistently "fine" for three weeks running, which usually means they're not fine at all? Try this: In your next 1:1, open with, "How are you feeling about the workload?" before asking, "Where are we on the project?" 3. From being liked to being trusted This one stings, but it needs saying: if your primary goal as a leader is to be liked, you will make bad decisions. You'll avoid the difficult conversation. You'll let underperformance slide. You'll say yes to things you should say no to. Ironically, your team will trust you less, not more, because people can sense when a leader is managing their own anxiety rather than managing the team. I know this shift personally because it's the one that took me the longest. As a Certified Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) Practitioner and someone who trained formally in counselling and psychotherapy, I understand exactly why we crave approval. It's wired into us. But leadership asks you to tolerate short-term discomfort (someone being annoyed with you) in service of long-term respect (someone trusting that your word means something). Research collected by Training Industry found that four in ten employees rate first-time managers as weak specifically in "handling difficult situations" and "providing quality feedback." That's not a coincidence. It's the same root cause wearing different outfits. The shift: swap "will they like this?" for "is this the right call?" Trust is built through consistency and honesty, not through comfort. 4. From doing to delegating properly Delegation sounds simple. In practice, it's one of the hardest transitions for a first-time leader because handing something off often feels slower and riskier than just doing it yourself. The stats are blunt here. One recent analysis found that only 19% of rising leaders have the delegation skills needed to operate effectively as managers rather than senior individual contributors. Most people aren't taught delegation. They're taught to be excellent doers, then thrown into a role that punishes doing everything yourself. Here's what I tell every client wrestling with this: delegation isn't dumping a task and hoping for the best, and it isn't hovering over someone's shoulder either. It's being clear on the outcome, generous with context, and disciplined about stepping back. Poor delegation isn't a trust problem with your team. It's usually a control problem with you. Try this: Before you delegate something, write one sentence describing what "done well" looks like. If you can't write that sentence, you're not ready to hand it off yet. You need more clarity, not more control. 5. From individual contributor identity to leadership identity This is the deepest shift, and it's the one most organisations never help you make. For years, your sense of competence and worth came from doing the work well. Now, your value comes from enabling other people to do the work well. It's a completely different source of satisfaction and, for many new leaders, a genuinely disorienting one. This isn't just a skills gap. It's an identity gap. It explains why so many capable people struggle in their first leadership role even when they're clearly talented. The problem was never their competence. It was that nobody told them the psychological job had changed, not just the practical one. I built AI Entrepreneur Hub partly around this same principle, helping people navigate identity shifts as tools and roles change faster than ever. Whether it's stepping into leadership or adapting to new ways of working with AI, the pattern is the same: the external change is the easy part. The internal permission to see yourself differently is the hard part. The shift: give yourself explicit permission to let go of your old identity as "the best individual performer" and step into a new one as "the person who makes the team the best version of itself." That's not a demotion of your value. It's an expansion of it. The bottom line None of these shifts happen overnight, and none of them happen by accident. The 60% failure statistic isn't a reflection of first-time leaders' potential. It's a reflection of how rarely anyone teaches the internal work leadership actually requires. You don't need to have this figured out today. You need to be willing to notice where you're still leading like an individual contributor and gently, deliberately, start leading like a leader instead. Which of these five shifts do you find hardest? Want more on building genuine confidence in leadership and public speaking? Explore more at Confidence Mindset Club, or if you're navigating how Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reshaping the way we work and lead, check out AI Entrepreneur Hub. Follow me on Facebook and LinkedIn for more info! Read more from Nick Ronald Nick Ronald, Elite Mindset Coach Nick Ronald is a mindset coach and public speaking trainer dedicated to helping people unlock their confidence and find their voice. Having overcome his own confidence challenges, Nick understands firsthand what it takes to silence self-doubt and step into your power. He is the founder of Confidence Mindset Club, an online platform offering coaching, resources, and community for those ready to transform how they think, speak, and lead. A seasoned Toastmasters leader and Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) Practitioner, Nick brings real-world experience to everything he teaches. His mission is simple: to help you become the most confident version of yourself.