We’re living in bleak times.

I’ve never seen so many clients — and friends — quietly struggling.
Something that’s becoming increasingly obvious is that we’re living in a time of collective struggle. I’ve had this conversation so often, and with so many, that my catchphrase for 2025 is indeed “We’re living in bleak times.”

I bumped into a local mum after drop off recently and we asked each other how we were. We had a 5-minute deep and meaningful. 5 minutes was all it took to acknowledge and agree this sense of shared despair.

The cost of living soars while most people’s wages remain motionless. No-one’s job feels ‘safe’ anymore, and we’re expected to do more with less than ever. People are losing their jobs less than a year after starting them, and they’ve barely caught their breath from the last job hunt.

Life. It’s all ‘too much’, but it’s also ‘not enough’.

We’re making big decisions around our ageing parents while we’re still making snacks for our dependant kids — at the same time questioning whether we’re really qualified to adult. Trapped in a sandwich of worry, we watch on as our peers grapple with marriage breakdowns, cancer diagnoses and fragile mental health.

There’s not enough time to rest, and little to look forward to.

None of this detracts from the fact that life is, at the same time, full of little miracles and magic moments. But I want to reassure you that if you can’t see them, or they don’t feel like enough right now, you certainly aren’t alone.

We’re all doing our best to keep going in a world that feels heavy.

If that’s you, know this: you’re not failing — you’re human.

And if you need a reset, or a small spark to help you reimagine what’s next, that’s the kind of conversation I hold space for every day.