The Mind Coach

New year can bring reflection, regret, readjustments, refinement, release and responses, and so much more. 💡

How are you feeling about a new year as we move into 2026?

You could feel so many emotions which could include:
Anxiety
Relief
Happiness
Joy
Excitement
Grief
Numbness
Fear

New year doesn’t = new you, we don’t change overnight! 💚

We must give ourself grace to continue as we are, we don’t need grand gestures or an overhaul. Be the best you can be today and work towards your goals on your timetable. ☘️

So how are you starting this new day and new year?

Sharing my 2025 rewind according to Coauthor 🚀

It’s been quite a year, I always feel like I don’t post enough because my energy tends to go on the thing I need to post about 🙈

It’s interesting comparing it to 2024 which showed:

My Superpower: “Transforming lived trauma into healing wisdom”.

My Top Quote: “Trauma is not what happened to you, it is what happens inside you as a result”.

So, a common theme across two years - healing and working with trauma, but now as a therapist. 💚

Here’s to continuing the work, no New Year’s resolutions, just a promise to keep leaning into my purpose 🙌🏻

I look forward to bringing more raw storytelling, insights and empathy in 2026!

You can follow me on LinkedIn, the link to my profile is in my bio or you can search for me 🔗

Thank you to all who continue to support me and my work, it doesn’t go unnoticed and I really appreciate it 🫶🏼

2025: some real lows….and highs

I don’t think I can even describe the first half of 2025, but it was tough.

I spent most days in tears, I was navigating the end of a difficult journey.

My health was deteriorating, I was having investigations but nothing was found. I was desperate.

I was struggling with assignments for my counselling qualification and had to pause my placement.

I wasn’t getting far with opportunities. I faced rejections that hit hard.

My self worth and esteem had hit a low. Grief was winning.

But I focused heavily on building myself back up and I was back in group therapy and EMDR.

Then I started to see a shift.

Opportunities started to materialise into real things.

I secured new work, a role as an associate university lecturer, finished my course, my placement hours and was nominated for two awards 🏆

Why do I think this happened?

Because I had rebuilt my self worth and realised my value.

I am enough.
I am important.

I didn’t want to list my achievements for 2025 without acknowledging my lows, because I know when you’re in that dark deep pit of depression, seeing the endless lists of achievements from others can break you that little bit more. 😔

So, for anyone who is finding it hard to acknowledge your accomplishments for 2025. This is for you, just making it each day is one. Things do and will get better. ❤️‍🩹

Keep faith and hope 🙏🏼

Here’s to continuing my work in 2026 as a newly qualified therapist who comes with a wealth of experience and a trauma informed approach 💚

Wishing you all a very happy new year. May it bring peace and contentment 🫶🏼

PS I wrote this standing on a train into London 😊

This picture was taken on my first cruise this year in Europe 🥰

#2025

My first ever newspaper appearance as Mary in the Christmas school play! 🎄

I was painfully shy as a child and lacked confidence.

So much so that I didn’t really have friends, and you would rarely hear me speak.

I was quiet at school.
Quiet at home.
Quiet everywhere. 🤫

Then one year, my teacher, Ms Hunt, decided to give me the role of Mary in the school play to help build my confidence.

It’s safe to say… I was horrified!

I dreaded speaking out loud. I remember the anxiety in the lead-up, and then sitting on the stage waiting to say my lines, my heart racing so fast I thought everyone could hear it.

That moment even ended up in the local newspaper, there I was, a ten-year-old me, holding baby Jesus.

Fast forward a number of years. It took a very long time for me to build confidence and learn how to use my voice. But today, I use it in ways that ten-year-old Anita could never have imagined. ❤️

And so, here we are.

I wanted to share this in the lead-up to Christmas because it’s something I’ve actually never shared before, and a reminder that confidence can be built, and sometimes the most terrifying moments quietly shape who we become.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and an amazing new year full of the best things to come! ✨

Image description - newspaper cutting from a local London paper showing the cast of the Christmas nativity play with Anita in the centre holding baby Jesus.

Navigating Grief During the Festive Season 💚

I recently facilitated a grief circle focused on navigating loss through the festive season for

I have been supporting London Borough of Waltham Forest with grief in the workplace this year, and the impact has been heartwarming, to see people opening up and sharing what is often hidden in the workplace.

While the world tells us this should be a time of joy, togetherness, and celebration, for many people Christmas amplifies what’s missing, be it infertility, divorce, bereavement, or loss of a job.

The pressure to “be merry” when your heart is heavy can be overwhelming and so, so difficult.

In the circle, there was no fixing, no expectation to be anything other than honest. Just space to acknowledge grief in all its forms, recent, long-held, complex, and painful, and to gently explore how we can care for ourselves during a season that can feel incredibly isolating.

If this time of year feels hard for you, please know you’re not alone, and it’s okay to do the festive season in a way that honours where you truly are. I have put together a document, please do comment or send a DM if you would like a copy, it includes how to:

💚 Acknowledge & Validate Your Grief
💚 Adapt (or skip) Traditions & Plan Ahead
💚 Honor Your Loved One
💚 Prioritise Self-Care
💚 Prepare for Triggers
💚 Seek Support & Connection

Holding space for conversations like these matters and it’s an important part of my work. If you feel you would benefit from such conversations, I am able to support in 2026 on a one-to-one basis or help create supportive and human workplace cultures 🌿  

Picture credit: .branding 🫶🏼

MentalHealth

Did you know that I’m a podcaster?🎙️

I have just finished recording a fourth series of the Unspoken podcast for

The new series will be dropping next month and there will be a range of medical experts and those with lived experience of infertility sharing invaluable advice. 💛

Last series, I was joined by the following guests:

⭐ shared her experience of living childless not by choice.
⭐ from Hollyoaks opened up on IVF from a male perspective.
⭐ from Geordie Shore & TOWIE shared her fertility journey.
⭐ Dr Justin Chu busts myths and explains male fertility tests.
⭐ talked about infertility experiences in the Black community.
⭐ discussed the cultural nuances and support in the South Asian community.
⭐ Dr Sharleen Hapuarachi explained on egg collection, freezing and genetic testing.
⭐ gave essential guidance for starting your fertility journey.

I cannot wait to bring more informative and powerful conversations in January. 🚀

A huge thanks to for the support with podcast editing, you have been a amazing and such a pleasure working with you 🙏🏼








Picture description: Anita sat in front of the camera with a microphone and smiling into the camera.

I did it!!! 🚀

Today I officially hit the 100 clinical hours required for my counselling qualification 🎉

It’s been a long time coming and it feels like a milestone.

All coursework is done and submitted!!

Just need a letter to confirm I can practice then it’s new beginnings in January 🙏🏼

Watch this space and more details on how you can work with me.

I’m committed to supporting people with their mental health and this will be another way to do it 💜

A huge thanks to everyone who’s been supporting and cheering me on, especially my special husband 🫶🏼

I’ll share more on the journey and learnings, but for now, I’m going into the weekend with a sense of achievement 🙌🏻

I had the honour of speaking on a panel for joined by over 200 people, a powerful conversation about the many faces of grief and how deeply it can impact us at work, and in life.

Grief is part of the human experience 💛

I shared my own journey with grief starting from age 11, navigating the loss of my mum in my 20s, but also the experience of infertility and many won’t know that grief forms a big part of it.

I spoke alongside Helen Ford, Kate Nolan-Burgess and Mark Wilson who all shared their personal experiences so openly and offered great insights about how workplaces can support those impacted by grief.

We talked openly about the different forms grief can take…
💛 Bereavement
💛 Infertility
💛 Loss of identity or purpose
💛 Relationship changes
💛 Health challenges
💛 The quiet, invisible losses so many carry every day

What truly stood out was the reminder that:
✨ Grief isn’t linear
✨ Everyone’s experience is valid
✨ We don’t need to fix - we just need to listen
✨ Empathy in the workplace matters more than ever
✨ People want safe spaces to talk about their grief

My advice: “Feelings buried alive never die” - this is a great quote from Freud, feel your feelings as they will resurface at some stage. As painful as it might feel, you will be ok 🙏🏼

Thank you to .sinclair.777 for hosting and for creating such a supportive and much needed space, and to everyone who joined and shared their hearts.

It was so evident that many wanted to share. These conversations are how we reduce stigma and build more compassionate workplaces.

As I continue to support organisations with grief in the workplace, if you or your organisation would benefit from exploring this topic please drop a message to [email protected] 🤝

What do you need to start your week?

Just wanted to say have a great
Monday and you got this. 💪🏼

The thing you’re doubting, you can and you will do it. Don’t trust that inner critic or the negative voice, it usually comes from a place of fear or self protection. 🙏🏼

Have a great week ahead and remember, rest is also important. Self care isn’t selfish ❤️

8 years ago today, I walked into a psychiatric hospital not knowing what would happen.

What started was a long journey of recovery and a diagnosis of complex PTSD, something I had not anticipated on arrival. 💔

I was full of anxiety, fear, and many unknowns. I had no idea what was going to unfold, but what did unfold was mind blowing.

My journey through that experience led me to unpack incredibly traumatic things from childhood right up until that very year, experiences that broke me. 💔

I lost my sense of identity. ❌

I lost the will to live. 😔

I lost the ability to feel safe in my own home.

I lost the ability to function in the world.

I lost the ability to work.

And, I lost the ability to believe and hope that there was a future for me. 🙏🏼

Through recovery, I became more unwell before I started to feel better, and it wasn’t something I had anticipated.

Recovery is messy. It’s not linear.
It’s everything you wouldn’t expect it to be, and there isn’t a bed of roses at the end. There was a new life to rebuild, my purpose, my whole being, and my identity. ✨

As I’m reflecting on my journey, it brings up many difficult emotions and memories.

It was at a conference a few years back where I first publicly shared my story and became an ambassador. 🌟

Last night, I attended the This Can Happen awards, what an incredible night celebrating workplace mental health. 💙

It was also my first award nomination, for the Storyteller Award, which was a huge recognition of my work. Just being nominated was heartwarming and affirming. ❤️

Congratulations to for winning the Storyteller award and for highly commended, I salute all the nominees for the relentless hard work .pickering 🙌 I also presented award 🏆

Huge congratulations to the This Can Happen Team for a great night! And great hosting from 👏🏼

Today, back to delivering a workshop on inclusive leadership and recording a podcast episode for Unspoken: The Fertility Network podcast 🎙️