IN THIS ISSUE

I ALWAYS feel like I missed out on a little part of my childhood when I tell people that myself and my brother very seldom had rows. There was no rivalry, no ignoring each other in the street, no evil pranks. In fact, we hung around in the same group of friends pretty much up until the point when he moved out, and still get on really well today. There’s four-and-a-half years between us so we aren’t particularly close in age, but nor are we of different eras. It might be down to our personalities: we’re both laidback to the point of falling over so perhaps we’re just too lazy to fight! So it’s with intrigue that I read on page 30 that sibling therapy is on the rise – apparently having the same background, upbringing and values can lead to conflict. Rivalry and jealousy are two of the main reasons behind it – and we certainly witnessed that in the case of the B*Witched twins Keavy and Edele Lynch back in the day. But surely you should only ever feel pride and happiness when your sibling does well – and then work equally as hard to ensure it happens for you too. A very interesting question is asked on

page 34 – can mindfulness be bad for you? I’ve tried several facets of mindfulness down the years – yoga, meditation and apps that promote mental awareness among them – but always find myself feeling stressed afterwards that they didn’t seem to work for me. I find it very difficult to close my mind off to what’s going on around me and in my life in general, and though people tell me to keep at it, I’ll get the hang of it eventually, surely the anxiety of trying to force it is counterproductive. By all means, use whatever works for you as a way to calm your mind, but remember your cure may not work for everyone. We all have to find our own path. Enjoy the issue!

“YOU SHOULD FEEL HAPPINESS AND PRIDE WHEN YOUR SIBLING DOES WELL”