The black clouds of depression have haunted us since humans first trod the Earth.

When you are struggling financially, negative feelings about your self-worth are often created or intensified which lead to behaviour that only makes the situation worse. It’s a vicious circle where your mood plunges in tandem with the growth of your overdraft.

Goods for life have long given way to throwaway products designed to spontaneously combust the day their warranty expires. Overnight queues for iPhone upgrades or celebrity clothes ranges highlight the epidemic of shopping till you drop. With all these possessions ending up in landfill sites or the bottom of the oceans, we don’t need David Attenborough to warn us about the dangers of excess waste…

We appear to be living in turbulent times. Indeed, many of my clients have reported feeling despair and frustration about the dark metaphorical clouds they see gathering about us. But I, for one, believe there is light behind the gloom…