Hello!

My name is Thomas. I’m a writer and counsellor in training based in the UK. I wanted to take a moment to welcome you to the online space that is Flourish & Be.

Flourish & Be is dedicated to the promotion of your mental health, wellbeing and self-care. It exists to offer ideas and encouragement in both the active journeys of self-development and personal growth (‘flourishing’), and the slower pursuits of living mindfully and taking care of you (‘being’).

what does it mean to ‘flourish & Be’?

I often think how dreamy it would be if our main role as human beings was to find this ideal balance between working on and caring for ourselves. In this (imaginary) world, we’d float through life as well-rounded, ever-content individuals. We’d live free of external stressors, and unashamedly devote ourselves solely to the things and people that brought us joy and fulfilment.

Unfortunately, this simply isn’t a practical reality for the vast majority of us. Though I have built Flourish & Be as a space for optimism and escape, it would be disingenuous for me to ignore the fact that none of us live inside a perfect vacuum. We inhabit a wider world that often feels confusing, overwhelming and, quite frankly, terrifying. We hold responsibilities and roles that exert pressure and upset our sense of equilibrium (if we ever found it in the first place). The extent to which these things affect us at any one time is subject to change, but very few of us can say we are completely free of anxiety, stress or other difficult feelings. For me to present that to you as some kind of eventual goal would be unfair and unrealistic.

Saying that, I do know that it’s possible to create a little more room in life, however small, for our own individual version of what it means to ‘flourish and be’. The aim of this space is to introduce you to fresh ideas, friendly encouragement and relevant information on how you can do just that.

Creating a greater sense of balance within ourselves, emphasising our own growth and wellbeing, can only improve our perception and experience of the world around us and, in doing so, give us greater strength and resilience in facing whatever it is that comes our way. We may not live in that imaginary, floaty world of perpetual self-care and self-growth, but we can support ourselves (and each other) in finding glimpses of it along the way.

A final note

Your mental health and personal journey are completely unique to you. As such, I’d like to offer you an invitation, if at all needed, to hold onto only what inspires, motivates and encourages you in these pages, and to feel completely free to let the rest float away.

The content and articles at Flourish & Be are created to gently embolden you to find a little more time and space in life for personal growth and self-care. Though I have undertaken multiple years of counselling and other mental health training, I do not purport to be an ‘expert’. With this in mind, I have compiled a list of helpful resources that are better positioned than I to impart more specific information and advice, and to signpost to services that can offer support.

It is with the upmost care and concern for your wellbeing that I encourage you, if you’re living through a tough period, to reach out. Your mental health is a precious and worthy thing, and there is help to be found.

Take care and I wish you all the best,

Thomas