Sofia Bothwell

There is a saying 'Life is like a cup of Tea - It's how you make it'. I was considering the life of a couple I know who are happy and healthy in their later years, they travel and have many, friends and meaningful work. Looking at a picture of their youthful happy faces I see the lovely life they have created for themselves through their work in the holistic health field, inspiring and helping so many. And then I thought of those who spend time reading or watching the media of news and fear, horror films and the dramas of the  negative soap operas that seem to be the habit of their lives. Goodness what a difference. I cannot stress the importance of being able to be in a positive frame of mind and steer clear of the addiction to negative TV. It imprints our consciousness and to listen to an uplifting program is better them to watch a horror movie. You feel   different after each. Being free from overeating, drinking and smoking is about being aware of how you feel even if ...

There is something in addiction that brings up the theme of 'Enough'.  What is enough as regards your food intake, or alcohol consumption? Why do some consume too much, buy too much, smoke too much or smoke at all? It is to fill in a gap - an emotional gap. A gap we think that another bite of cake when already full will fill. A gap that we think another pair of shoes will fill. A gap that we think another item or gadget will fill. A gap that we think the next glass of wine will fill. Only to discover they do not fill that emotional gap. So how have some folk been able to live in moderation not deprivation? How do some folk live perfectly contented lives with very few material possessions and no addictions? The answer is -  they have learned to fill the emotional gaps. The key to contentment has always been in the resolving of emotional issues and the following of your hearts desire, to the best of your ability, as much as creativity, finances, resources etc allow. ...

Switching to Vegan - The animal friendly way to eat. It really is easy and do-able to make the change to vegan when you know a few principles that make any lifestyle change easier and lasting. They are principles that can be used to give up anything - in this case meat and dairy. They are principles that I have used over the past thirty years from when I first heard of them and applied them to giving up 'eating when full' . Then applied them in giving up smoking and drinking. I was already vegetarian but used them years later to evolve into a Vegan. Okay lets start: Most folk are now all too aware of the cruelty of the meat and dairy industry and simply do not want to be part of that. Also there are many health benefits to the Vegan lifestyle. but how to make the changeover do-able and permanent? Well read on: Be easy about it - allow yourself to not be 100% Vegan but aim towards it. Great if you can do it, great if you can't, it is all part of learning how to make th...

What are you addicted to? Most people are addicted to something without really knowing what addiction is or how to heal it. Addiction is anything we do to distance us from our feelings and emotional issues. You may binge on chocolate cake after your husband was a bit sharp with you, and not give yourself the time to really ponder the issue at hand. If you instead, catch yourself at the craving stage (maybe just after he has snapped at you) and immediately ask yourself - What feeling is this? And just take a moment to notice what emotions you are feeling, maybe a hint of anger at his response, or a stab of sadness at his words and tone of voice, coupled with a feeling of helplessness as to what to do about it. This leads you deeper into your emotional life, and into the waters of the unknown that often trigger the binge on food / the eating when full that will numb you to the discomfort of these emotions and this issue with your husband. The solution is to follow up with the question...

The following is the first few pages of a book I am writing called Addiction De-Mystified  - Enjoy!! The Healing of Binge Eating, Alcohol and Drug Addiction How I evolved into my own authentic life, addicted to nothing… This is the story of my own journey through several addictions. It starts when I was a teenager. A teenager who was craving. Craving food when full. A teenager who was obsessing, obsessing about size, shape and eating habits. During that journey of five years I learned about addiction, I learned about it through experience. Binge eating was my main addiction. I had no control nor ability to stop when physically full when I was on a binge. The rest of the time I was simply in a love/hate relationship with food, and constantly desiring my body to be slimmer. I can see now it was in a subconscious attempt to be accepted, to be loved, to be heard, to be appreciated. Of course all that was not going to happen just as the result of my being slimmer. The ...

The beginning of my 'weight loss' career was in Violet Hill Studios, North London, UK. I ran weekly self-help support groups for compulsive eating women. It was then that I started to writing about the holistic weight loss method that I was teaching. Our focus week in, week out, was looking at the emotional stuff that would drive them personally to eat when full. We talked about what it entailed to give up dieting. We discussed fears of weight gain and fears of being too skinny. I encouraged them to accept themselves as they were at the larger size and the emotional issues that surfaced to be healed were varied. This is still the way it works. If you want to lose weight for good you have got to listen to your hunger and fullness sensations and not just those emanating from your stomach. Your mind has hungers and your Spirit has hungers. What satisfies your mind? Intellectual pursuits? Reading? What satisfies your emotions? Fulfilling friendships, feeling appreciated, feeling ...

Editing has never been my favourite part of the writing, publishing game. When the creative flow strikes and downloads a block of writing, or a sentence, usually when I am walking or cycling or doing the dishes, that is the signal to put it down on paper or on the computer - and that is the part I love. In the early morning sat in front of my computer  re reading the download and then the inspiration flows as to how the story will flow. Words, sentences and pages spill through my fingertips on to the computer screen as I literally feel the flow of creativity flow through me and before I know it two hours have passed and it is dawn. That is how I got seven manuscripts and a lot of editing over the last ten years or so. Combined with traditional book publication eluding me and immersing myself in the world of single motherhood while home schooling. An adventure to be sure and one I wrote about in My Life My Way (getting its final edit now). I am compelled to blog about the Writer's j...