The Spark Blog
Category: Society
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Breaking Up Before Valentine’s Day
It might be the time of year to celebrate love but that does not mean Valentine’s Day is filled with excitement for everyone. Some will be approaching February 14 with one particular thought: do I break up with her/him before or after Valentine’s Day? I don’t want to be ‘that’ guy on Valentine’s Day… Society…
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![Songs For Sound Minds #22 – Van Morrison]()
Songs For Sound Minds #22 – Van Morrison
What are your thoughts when you first hear this refrain? ‘Well my mama told me there’d be days like this’ Are you thinking about the negative side of things? The ‘chancers’ in life that your mum warned you to avoid? The times when it feels like nothing is going right? You might even be thinking…
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![Why We Fear Change in Relationships]()
Why We Fear Change in Relationships
‘There is nothing permanent except change’. Heraclitus This particular Greek philosopher had life pegged some 2,500 years ago: change is inevitable. The world around us changes, as do we as life progresses. Aside from the physical aspects of ageing, over time we evolve in our attitudes, beliefs and priorities. Change can lead to new opportunities,…
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![Male Infertility and Mental Health]()
Male Infertility and Mental Health
Men are in general pretty bad at talking about their feelings. They are taught from their earliest years – both explicitly and implicitly – to hold emotions in. Never cry, get on with it and barely whisper about what is upsetting you. When it comes to male infertility, the whisper typically fades to complete silence.…
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![Social Media & Self Image]()
Social Media & Self Image
One of the common problems presented by school pupils to our counsellors is the tricky issue of social media. Children and young people are the section of our society that first embraced social media platforms. The highs and lows of social media They have been the first to experience the highs and lows of social…
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![Pupils Come First with Counselling]()
Pupils Come First with Counselling
The Spark is at the forefront of efforts to improve the mental and emotional wellbeing of school pupils in Scotland. It is widely recognised that a child’s ability and readiness to learn can be compromised by difficult life experiences. Through counselling and education programmes we are helping schools manage the emotional and mental wellbeing of…
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![The Need for Emotional First Aid]()
The Need for Emotional First Aid
When we experience aches, pains or a chesty cough where do we head? Straight to our local doctor of course. When it comes to emotional pain – guilt, loss, loneliness – what do we do? Most of the time we try to sort it ourselves. We (try to) keep calm and carry on. Instead of…
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![Dementia and Its Impact on Relationships]()
Dementia and Its Impact on Relationships
According to the Alzheimer’s Society around 900,000 people in the UK are living with dementia. The impact of dementia on sufferers and their carers is deeply upsetting. In particular the effect on their relationship is a very emotionally and mentally painful feature of this illness. The symptoms of dementia and the inevitable loss of the…
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![Parents’ Guide to Exam Results Day]()
Parents’ Guide to Exam Results Day
Being a parent of a teenager is tricky at the best of times. High school exams are barely over when attention turns to the next stress-triggering milestone: exam results day. Parents can end up just as distressed as the kids who sat the exams. The near constant squeeze on prospects for an increasingly disadvantaged millennial…
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