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Jul 163 min read

Under Pressure: The Physiology of High-Stress Trades

How prolonged exposure to high-threat environments shapes the nervous system, relationships and wellbeing—and why recovery is a process of recalibration rather than weakness.

Nov 16, 20254 min read

Coming Home Together: What Ancient Rituals Teach Us About Modern Community

Across cultures, coming home from war was never a solitary act. This reflection explores what ancient rituals of return can teach us about rebuilding belonging, connection and community today.

Community

Oct 16, 20252 min read

321 EOD: The Unit That Walked Into Danger Every Day

321 EOD quietly became the most decorated unit in the British Army's peacetime history, yet few people know their story. This article explores the courage, innovation and humanity of the bomb disposal operators who walked towards danger so others could live.

Identity & Belonging

Aug 26, 20256 min read

Armed Forces Legacy: A Daughter’s Perspective

Growing up in a British Army EOD family shaped how I understood safety, belonging and emotion. This personal reflection explores the hidden legacy of service, and why understanding—not blame—is the first step towards healing.

Families & Relationships

Aug 26, 20255 min read

Cyclist travelling along a lakeside path towards mountains.

What If We Asked What Was Learned? Adaptation, military transition and the challenge of recalibration

What if some difficulties after military service reflect not only distress, but adaptations that were once highly functional? An exploration of learning, culture, nervous systems and recalibration.

1 day ago7 min read

How the ACT Matrix Became My Passion

I was first introduced to the ACT Matrix in 2009 when I began working as a recovery worker, facilitating groups with people who were navigating addiction. At the time, I worked in a day service in Portsmouth, where Mark Webster, the co-creator of the ACT Matrix, was training and running groups. Mark and his co-creator, Dr Kevin Polk, developed the ACT Matrix as a way to support people who were particularly stuck, whether due to addiction, trauma, or other challenges. Mark was

Aug 103 min read

The First Arrow, the Second Arrow... and A Military Mind

What might an ancient Buddhist teaching reveal about military service, nervous system adaptation and the journey home? Reflecting on pain, self-judgement and the possibility of responding with greater compassion.

Aug 43 min read

What Gets Passed On? Reflections on Military Families, Adaptation and Growing Up

Military service shapes more than the person who serves. This reflection explores how families adapt alongside military life, what those adaptations can offer, and how they may continue to shape identity, relationships and belonging across generations.

Families & Relationships

Aug 35 min read

Recalibration: More Than Just a Metaphor?

For a while now, I've found myself returning to the same word: recalibration. It's appeared in conversations about military service, nervous system regulation, mindfulness, identity, and even my own experiences. I keep using it because it seems to describe something that I haven't quite found the language for elsewhere. I'm beginning to wonder whether recalibration is more than just a useful metaphor. What if it describes a process that all human beings experience? We are con

Aug 33 min read

What Matters in That Environment? Reflections from a We See You Workshop

What happens when we stop asking, "What's wrong with this person?" and start asking, "What mattered in that environment?" Reflections from a We See You workshop exploring recognition, occupational culture and the lasting impact of high-risk service.

Jun 13 min read

Learning to Notice Operational Mode: Moving from Autopilot to Awareness

What if hypervigilance isn't a flaw but an intelligent adaptation? This reflection explores how learning to notice "operational mode" may be the first step towards developing greater flexibility, awareness and choice.

May 313 min read

What Might Buddhism Offer Veterans?

What might Buddhist wisdom offer people shaped by high-threat environments? Exploring mindfulness, compassion, community and awareness as practical ways of relating differently to life after service.

May 243 min read

Understanding the Nervous System: Why We React the Way We Do

Why do our bodies react before our minds catch up? An accessible introduction to the nervous system, explaining how stress responses develop, why they persist, and how awareness, relationships and practice can help restore flexibility.

May 224 min read

You Can’t Switch Off Containment

What happens when the emotional containment needed to survive operational life doesn't switch off? A reflection on compartmentalisation, relationships and the possibility of making space for both strength and feeling.

Identity & Belonging

Apr 103 min read

Meeting Fear, Uncertainty and a Week of Silence

What happens when we stop trying to eliminate fear and begin relating to it differently? Reflections from a silent retreat on uncertainty, mindfulness and learning to meet experience with curiosity rather than certainty.

Mar 124 min read

You Don’t Release the Past. You Change Your Relationship to It

What if healing isn't about releasing the past, but changing our relationship to it? A reflection on shame, aftershocks and why freedom may lie not in erasing old patterns, but in meeting them with greater honesty and compassion.

Feb 253 min read

Holding It Together: Why a Classroom Can Feel Like Bomb Disposal (And Why That Comparison Matters)

What can a classroom and a bomb disposal operation possibly have in common? More than we might think. This reflection explores why different high-pressure environments can create similar patterns of nervous system activation—and why structured decompression matters for us all.

Feb 53 min read

Operation Chill. The Ritual of Dip & Sip

What if one of the oldest human rituals could become one of the simplest ways to reconnect after high-pressure lives? Exploring how cold water, conversation and community might help us come home together.

Community

Oct 21, 20253 min read

Built. Dismantled. Upcycled.

Is leaving the Armed Forces really a transition, or is it something much deeper? Using the metaphor of a flat-pack, this reflection explores identity, belonging and why coming home is less about leaving and more about re-becoming.

Identity & Belonging