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Research suggests that in the UK, family estrangement is more common than many imagine. A 2014 survey by the charity ‘Stand Alone’ in partnership with Ipsos MORI reported that approximately 8% of British adults said they were personally estranged from at least one family member. Broader data from Stand Alone estimates that around one in five UK families will be “touched by estrangement” — meaning estrangement affects a considerable portion of the population at some point.  Th

Every relationship - romantic, familial, or otherwise - experiences moments of rupture. These are the inevitable points where something misfires: a comment lands badly, a boundary is crossed, a need isn’t met, or emotions swell beyond what either person can manage in the moment. Rupture isn’t the problem. The absence of repair is. When repair is missing, relationships begin to erode. This can show up in subtle or overt ways: shifting blame, avoiding accountability, offering s

Most of us know that quiet unease that can arise mid-scroll — the subtle sense of falling behind, of not quite measuring up. Comparison isn’t new, but the scale and frequency of it are. In 1954, psychologist Leon Festinger  proposed that humans have a fundamental drive to evaluate themselves — their abilities, opinions, and worth — by comparing to others when objective measures aren’t available. Social Comparison Theory  describes this as a way of orienting ourselves in a soc

Relational trauma doesn’t always announce itself in obvious ways. It often forms quietly, over time — through moments of emotional neglect, criticism, or the absence of consistent care. These experiences may not leave visible scars, yet they shape how we come to expect (or protect ourselves from) closeness. The effects often show up later in life as difficulty trusting, a deep fear of rejection, or a sense that intimacy feels both longed for and unsafe. In therapy, people som

What our habits of checking, waiting, and worrying reveal about the need to feel close — and the fear of being left unseen. In an age where connection is measured in ticks and timestamps, WhatsApp has become more than a messaging app — it’s a mirror of our emotional lives. For many, especially those with an anxious attachment style, the smallest digital cues — a read receipt, a pause before a reply, a disappearing “last seen” — can stir waves of doubt and longing. This piece