More often than not when I ask clients about their self-care when things aren't going well in their lives, their response is thoughtful and they ask what I mean. It is clearly an overlooked concept. Considering our health and its value is frequently overlooked and undervalued. Self-care is frequently viewed as selfish in the counselling room by the client, but in reality it is a matter of self-preservation: we cannot afford not to care for ourselves.

Using the lesson of tragic sinking of the Titanic ship as a metaphor for not 'going under', keeping ourselves 'buoyant' and our own 'ship afloat', how do we develop resilience in the face of overwhelming adversity? The Titanic was declared unsinkable and yet it did sink on her Maiden voyage! Like that vast magnificent ship launched in 1912 from Belfast, the prospect of our inner world and wealth of our own treasures sinking without trace is untenable at best and wasteful at worst.

Instead of the traditional design of fuel storage on a ship based only in the hull, it was replaced with silos of separate storage, so in the event of harm or damage to the ship or our well-being we can invest in different areas of our lives to ensure resilience is spread throughout our lifestyle, instead relying on just one aspect of our lives to sustain us. In our busy lives we can invest minimum effort for maximum output and realise quickly and efficiently that self-care is essential and indeed possible.

Initially, we only need to effect one small change in each area of our lives: Change one thing in your exercise programme i.e walk around the woods consciously in a different direction; change one thing in your nutrition: perhaps a lovely crunchy salad; doing something for the community such as donating food or books; making contact with a 'long-lost' friend of relative who is always a joy to interact with ; do something creative - music, painting, gardening, crafts, reading etc. The outcome is to seek joy in these choices and an awareness of their impact. We choose the frequency; the new activities create dopamine hits in the brain and enhance a sense of well-being and our senses read positive input and the body improves its immune system. Self-care makes a world of difference and everyone benefits!