Talk to Sumodhee

So proud to say that I have won the King's College London Recognition Award for my contribution in research during the pandemic 🎉🎉

Useful article by : How to ease your way out of lockdown when you have social anxiety?

https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/your-stories/how-to-ease-your-way-out-of-lockdown-when-you-have-social-anxiety/?fbclid=IwAR3IoaDZnUHhquKHE63_muea9jb70zQurX4G1jpmqw7VVoNwEJMZ0tx32ho

👉🏼 This week I attended a seminar aimed at stop smoking practitioners. It was very interesting to see the significance of a combination of BCTs and interventions tailored to the patients’ needs.

❓Behaviour change technique (BCT) is a procedure included as an active component of an intervention designed to change one's behaviour for a healthier lifestyle.

💡A wide range of BCTs have been identified in psychological research and the ones presented here are proven to be effective specifically for stopping smoking. These techniques aren’t definitive though and need to be adapted for each patient. For example, stop smoking medication dosage will depend on the patient’s ni****ne addiction level and side effects.

With lockdown easing, people are gradually going back to the office. Let's not forget to take the time to practise mindfulness 😌

Talk to Sumodhee updated their phone number.

The holiday season is over and we are back in full lockdown in the UK. Here are my tips on coping with stress and anxiety.

👀 How can we deal with our negative thoughts?⁣
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Negative automatic thoughts (NATs) are the conscious or unconscious thoughts that occur in response to everyday events. ⁣
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The first step in working with NATs is to identify them. If you know what you are looking for, then it is easier to spot, and you are able to recognize your thought patterns more easily. ⁣
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Once they are identified they can be evaluated and challenged to find alternative thoughts. What is the evidence for and against this thought? Are they accurate? What is another possibility? [swipe to see the process] ⁣➡️
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The next step is to come up with a more accurate, balanced alternative thought.

🔬 As well as providing therapies to support patients to manage their health conditions, I conduct research to understand how to better help them.

Here's the research abstract of a paper I co-authored in the Eye journal 🧑‍🔬

👁️ Eye diseases such as uveitis have a significant impact on patients' quality of life. Health psychologists can help patients to self-manage their condition through one-to-one sessions and research on digital health apps.

👉🏼 Our recent findings suggested that patients had positive views on a digital health app which would enabled them to self-manage their condition. They welcomed the idea to have rapid access to their prescribed medication whilst doctors monitor them through the self-reported symptoms feature of the app.

With a new national lockdown in place in England, here are a few tips to help with your mental health.⁣
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Remember, if you are struggling, you are not alone. You can call:⁣
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👉Samaritans (24-hour helpline): 116 123⁣
👉Anxiety UK: 03444 775 774⁣
👉Mind: 0300 123 3393 ⁣
👉Calm: 0800 58 58 58⁣
👉Your local IAPT service⁣
👉Your GP is here during the lockdown and can offer telephone/video consultations⁣
👉https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk provide plenty self-help resources⁣

🥺 We all have thinking traps. Their aim is to preserve our mental resources. For example, if I believe that my friends think that I’m boring, as a result I may withdraw from interacting with them to protect myself. ⁣
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⚠️ Other thinking traps may involve dismissing relevant information and focusing only on the negative one. These thinking traps can cause trouble...remember the CBT model? Our thoughts (eg. my friends think I'm boring) impact on our emotions (eg. anxious), physical sensation (eg. heart racing) and our impair our normal functioning aka action (eg. withdrawal from a social life). ⁣
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🌈 There are multiple ways of tackling this and one good exercise I do with my clients is to list and rate evidence supporting and not supporting the belief and to find alternative balanced thoughts. To get in touch visit ⬇️ https://www.talk2sumodhee.com/

I used to dislike autumn as it means that the cold weather is approaching but now I think it's the most beautiful season. Delighted that I've managed to capture some of the stunning colours on my morning run today 🍁🌳
🌅 Getting out of bed can be harder when working from home. One tip is to plan something that you enjoy doing in the morning. It can be going for a run/ brisk walk, meditation, listen to your favourite music, call a friend or prepare a nice breakfast?
What are you planning to do tomorrow morning to motivate you? Comment below 😀⬇️

🙄 Have you heard about CBT? It stands for Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. Our thoughts impact how we feel and behave. If unchallenged, our thinking habits can negatively impact on our emotions, physical feelings and subsequent behaviour.⁣
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⚠️ If you identify such thinking habits, you can challenge them and replace them with alternative and more helpful thoughts and by extension, improving how you feel.
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👩‍⚕️ As a health psychologist, I can help you assess how your thinking habits impact on how you feel and behave. Working together we can break the cycle by learning a more balanced way of thinking and managing stress and anxiety.

This year has been a tough one for us all. In times like these, taking care of ourselves and those around us is important. What is the one thing that you are going to do today for your mental health? Call a friend? Go for a walk? As to me, I'm going to do some mindfulness 🦋

👀 Healthy behaviour change: how can we bridge the gap between our intentions and our behaviour ❓⁣
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When we want to make a change we are often pretty motivated but sometimes our intentions do not always translate into actions. In my previous post, I explained how biological, psychological and social factors interact when we want to make a change in behaviour. So how can we follow through with our intentions? ⁣
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Let’s take an example of a behaviour change and explain how a health psychologist can provide support:⁣
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QUITTING SMOKING 🚭⁣
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🦠🧪 Biological factors: Smoking is addictive because of the ni****ne in to***co. Ni****ne is not harmful but it is the reason why people are addicted to ci******es. When the body is deprived of ni****ne it will result in physical changes that will cause mood change, tense muscles, stress and anxiety. Using ni****ne replacement therapies can help people to cope with these withdrawal symptoms.⁣
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🧠 Psychological factor: To cope with the withdrawal symptoms, one needs to learn to recognise their emotions/body reactions and develop coping strategies and self-regulating skills such as using relaxation and distraction techniques. Psychological work is also about making precise action plans to deal with unexpected events (eg. loss of job) to prevent relapse.⁣
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👥 Social factors: Social opportunities can be created by seeing non-smoker friends. We also encourage people to embrace to ‘non-smoker’ identity as soon as possible so instead of saying ‘I’m trying to quit smoking’ say ‘I don’t smoke’. ⁣

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Health Psychology: the missing link that brings all together⁣
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Ever made a New Year resolution but never really got further than day 1? You are not alone. We often have the intention to do something but can’t always translate it into real actions. We often blame “lack of will power” or “no motivation”. How come so few of us go through with our intentions? There is a whole field of science exploring the missing link between our intentions and behaviour called behavioural science 👀⁣
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Our behaviour is a complex interaction between 3 factors:⁣
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🦠🧬 Biological factors such as our genetics, body response system to stress and anxiety.⁣
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🧠 Psychological factors including our belief system, coping strategies, perceived threats and emotions.⁣
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🗣️ Social factors such as our perceived norms (peer pressure to smoke), the place of a specific behaviour in our society (eg. smoking is extremely detrimental to our health and yet, buying/selling cigarette is legal).⁣
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Health psychology focusses mainly on the psychological and social factors to bridge the gap between our intentions and behaviour. Turn on the notification 🔔 for my next post, I will explain more how you can increase the likelihood of implementing a behaviour 😁⁣

🤓 Covid 19 mini series #4: Ways to improve your sleep⁣⁣
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Sleep problems are a common difficulty but equally one, in my opinion, which tends to get ignored by people. It’s often simply seen as a symptom of something else for instance low mood or anxiety. ⁣⁣
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Sleep hygiene isn’t the full answer but it’s certainly a key first step. Here's how you can reverse that trend.⁣⁣
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🕙 Routine⁣⁣
Try to go to bed at the same time and wake up at the same time each day, including weekends. You should aim for 8-9 hours sleep every night. ⁣
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☀️ Daylight⁣⁣
Daylight is key in regulating sleep patterns. Our eyes need exposure to outdoor light because of a hormone in our body called melatonin - it regulates our sleep and wake pattern. Although we can’t go outside as much as we want to, make sure you use your allowed once-a-day trip outdoors. ⁣⁣
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☯️ Manage your stress⁣⁣
As mentioned in my Covid-19 mini series #2 - the uncertainty can cause stress and anxiety. While it’s okay to be worried, try not to take those worries to bed. Have a look at my previous post about how to manage anxiety when self-isolating. ⁣
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💼 Think about your space⁣⁣
If you're working from home avoid working in your bedroom - your mind associates it with it being time to sleep. Try not to sit or lie on your bed until you actually need to go and sleep. ⁣⁣
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☕ Alcohol and caffeine⁣⁣
While alcohol can help to sleep faster, in the long run, it will damage the structure and quality of your sleep. Caffeine can take up to 12 hours to be fully metabolised so try to enforce a ‘no caffeine after noon’ rule. ⁣⁣
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📵 Smartphone, tablet and other devices⁣⁣
Studies show that screen-time is associated with poor sleep. Consider stopping all screen-time (including TV) at least 30 mins before going to bed and use the blue light filter or switch to the night-time mode on your phone. ⁣⁣
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➕ Still struggling? ⁣⁣
Don’t overschedule your evening and plan a relaxing activity, it should be part of your bedtime ritual. Take a hot bath, it will help you to relax and slow down so you are more ready to sleep. Drink a hot cup of nighttime tea or warm milk - another calm-promoting cue for your body.⁣⁣
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🤓 Covid 19 mini series #3: Explaining coronavirus to children⁣
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For my third mini-series on COVID-19, I would like to share a few tips on how to explain coronavirus to children and homeschooling. ⁣
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📚 Coronavirus - a book for children. This great free information book explaining coronavirus to primary school children by Elizabeth Jenner, Kate Wilson, Nia Roberts and illustrated by Alex Scheffler, illustrator of The Gruffalo. The book answers key questions in simple language with nice drawings appropriate for 5 to 9 year olds:⁣
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•What is the coronavirus?⁣
•How do you catch it?⁣
•What happens if you catch it?⁣
•Why are people worried about catching it?⁣
•Is there a cure?⁣
•Why some places we normally go to are closed?⁣
•What can I do to help?⁣
•What’s going to happen next?⁣
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Check it out 👇🏼⁣
https://nosycrow.com/blog/released-today-free-information-book-explaining-coronavirus-children-illustrated-gruffalo-illustrator-axel-scheffler/⁣
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🚸 How are you coping with homeschooling? The key thing to remember is that the atmosphere at school can’t be recreated at home. Children learn through different activities at school that are difficult to recreate at home. This article published in the British Psychological Society highlights tips on home learning: ⁣
👉🏼https://thepsychologist.bps.org.uk/schools-really-out⁣⁣⁣⁣
⁣ ̇d19

🤓Covid 19 mini series #2: Self-isolating and anxiety⁣
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Everyone at some point in their life will experience some level of anxiety. Feeling anxious is normal, it’s even healthy as it can help to perform better (eg. before an exam). Though, when anxiety reaches such a level that it affects your normal life, coping strategies are needed to adapt and reset anxiety levels back to a minimum. With that in mind, here are 5 healthy ways to deal with anxiety:⁣
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🌩 Identify the source of anxiety: it’s impossible to treat anxiety without knowing what makes you feel anxious. Much of the anxiety we are currently experiencing comes from uncertainty. The unknown of what to expect creates a favourable environment for anxiety to emerge and settle. So try to regain some level of certainty and control by making a new routine and sticking to it as best as you can.⁣
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🎾 Physical activities: as well as making you healthier, exercise is good protection against low mood and anxiety. Sedentary lifestyle can make things worse so make sure you are keeping busy whether it’s indoors or outdoors through activities such as workouts or walks!⁣
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🍏 Refrain from unhealthy habits: feeling anxious can encourage you to use unhealthy habits, such as drinking alcohol, coffee or smoking, as coping strategies. These options should be avoided as they will make you feel more anxious, disrupt your sleep and lower your immune system (which is really not what we need at the present). ⁣
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☯️ Relaxation techniques: It's easy to stop noticing the world around us. Mindfulness is an awareness of our thoughts and feelings as they happen. Mindfulness has been shown to reduce anxiety. It involves sitting silently and paying attention to thoughts, sounds or the sensation of breathing.
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💬 Start the conversation: don’t forget you can get support from qualified practitioners! There are people that are trained to help you deal with your anxieties. They are just a phone call away.
̇d19 @ Notting Hill

🤓 Covid 19 mini series #1: Working from home⁣
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I'm sure that you've already seen a lot of advice on physical (or social) distancing. I think the term physical distancing is more appropriate than social distancing as we are not socially distant. If anything, socially we are closer than ever before, thanks to social media and other messaging systems. The main difference is that we are *physically* distant. I'm lucky enough to be able to work from home. If this is the case for you too, I would like to share 10 tips:⁣
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1. Establish a daily routine: set a start time and end time for work and allow yourself at least one lunch break and regular breaks. Keep a different routine for weekdays and weekends.⁣
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2. Boundaries: if there are other people in your house, find a space where you're not likely to be disturbed. ⁣
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3. Get dressed and set up a working desk outside of your bedroom. ⁣
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4. Get some fresh air at least once per day. I know this is particularly difficult when you are self-isolating in big cities without a garden but opening the window (despite the cold) allows the oxygen to flow in your house.⁣
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5. Stay connected with your colleagues: whether it's for a meeting or casual chat. Skype is okay-ish but I recently tried Zoom and I highly recommend it!⁣
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6. In the same spirit of staying connected, you can use Trello to remotely share tasks and progress on collaborative projects. ⁣
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7. Restrain yourself from watching the news more than once per day… otherwise, it can be very distracting and a source of anxiety.⁣
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8. Make a to-do list by task and not by the hour. Time perception is very different when working from home. ⁣
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9. Check-up on your friends, family and elderly neighbours (whilst still physically distancing). We have set up a WhatsApp group for everyone in my building and it’s really helpful! ⁣
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10. You can’t work because you are anxious or have kids to look after? Don’t be too hard on yourself, you are living through a pandemic. Do little things to treat yourself and spend quality time with your family :-) Relaxation techniques such as meditation, yoga, mindfulness are good protection against anxiety! ⁣

🤔❓ Why health psychologists are at the heart of the UK government’s response to Covid-19 ❓🤔

Human behaviour determines how quickly Covid-19 spreads and its mortality. Health psychologists are at the heart of Public Health England to help the government make rapid and informed decisions to slow the spread of the disease preventing thousands of avoidable deaths.

⚛️ Behaviour science
Providing clear and actionable guidance for self-protection and treatment-seeking is crucial and health psychologists/behaviour scientists are advising the government how to do so. One of the aims of behaviour science is to understand how to make information actionable. This means defining which behaviour is involved (eg. hand washing), who needs to do it (everyone), when to do it (eg. when entering a building), where (eg. contact-free tap and soap) and how (20 seconds in 13 steps). According to the COM-B model (Michie, 2014), in order for people to practice the desired behaviour, they need to have the Capability, Opportunity and Motivation.

🔬 Research
Many health psychology research projects are underway investigating barriers/facilitators of self-isolation protocols, compliance to hygiene recommendations or psychological impact of the pandemic on the population and healthcare workers. Results will hopefully benefit NHS and public health work and guidance.

🚭 Changing unhealthy behaviour to minimise the impact of Covid-19
It is well established, smokers are more likely to develop complications due to Covid-19. I’m a trained stop smoking practitioner and I use behaviour change science to help people to stop smoking and remain abstinent. Demand has surged since the pandemic and I am gladly helping people (virtually) in their journey to quit smoking :-)

🙏 Psychological support
This pandemic is an unprecedented challenging time for our health care professionals (nurses, doctors and other NHS staff). They face an enormous amount of pressure and this can be physically and mentally draining for them. They are taking care of us and we also need to take care of them. Health psychologists are there to provide psychological support for various issues such as anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, panic attacks etc. Support is also provided to vulnerable or elderly people. To this end, I have signed up to NHS GoodSAM to volunteer and provide telephone support to these people. Sign up to volunteer here (you don’t need to be a psychologist) → https://www.goodsamapp.org/NHS

🤔❓What does a health psychologist do❓🤔

According to the definition provided by the British Psychological Society (BPS): “Health psychologists use their knowledge of psychology and health to promote general well-being and understand physical illness.”

Health psychologists' can apply their skills in numerous settings such as hospitals, health research units, public health departments and universities. Here are 3 examples:

👉Promote healthier lifestyles and try to find ways to encourage people to improve their health by, for example, losing weight or stopping smoking.
👉Improve the healthcare system, by for example, advising doctors about better ways to communicate with their patients.
👉Teach, supervise and conduct research.

🎓 Health psychologist is a protected title hence we follow strict standards of practice. After completing a doctorate, the psychologist needs to register with the HCPC and the BPS, which was my path 🤓

Welcome to Talk To Sumodhee! I'm Dr Dayyanah Sumodhee, chartered health psychologist and I'm behind this page's posts 😄

In the coming days, I will share with you articles, blogs and research that hopefully will enlighten how health psychology can help you. Watch this space!

You can follow me on Instagram: and my website is www.talk2sumodhee.com

Thanks for liking/following this page, more to follow in the coming days! 👍