For many people, the typical 9 to 5 job can feel like a marathon of stress, deadlines, and pressure. Now, imagine navigating that terrain while battling chronic anxiety. It’s not just about meeting deadlines or impressing the boss; it’s also about managing your mental health on a daily basis. But fear not, because with the right strategies and mindset, it’s possible to not only survive but thrive in the workplace. Here’s how: Recognize Your Triggers: Practice Self-Care: Set Boundaries: Break Tasks Into Manageable Steps: Practice Mindfulness: Seek Support: Embrace Imperfection: In conclusion ..read more

According to the NHS website (link at the bottom of this post) mindfulness “involves paying attention to what is going on inside and outside ourselves, moment by moment.”   It sounds simple enough, and yet, in our fast-paced society, it is easy to keep hurtling ahead with our lives, ignoring the effect our environment and experiences have on us.   When I first became aware of mindfulness, I was wary that it was just another “quack” method with the sole aim of extracting money from people. However, I needed to find something to help with the relentless barrage of thoughts racing thro ..read more

Burnout can happen when you are in a situation that causes long-term, persistent stress. Situations such as a stressful job, relationship breakdown or financial difficulties may be the cause. It is a state of both physical and psychological exhaustion. I have become very aware of the damage that burnout causes burnt through my own experiences with it. It took me a long time to understand what was happening to me and why I felt the way I was. Like many people, I just thought that if I carried on, these feelings would go away. Not surprisingly, all that happened was that they got worse and made ..read more

OCD, three of the most overused letters placed together to create an acronym that most people couldn't actually tell you what the letters stand for, let alone understand the horrors of the experiences someone with OCD goes through. As someone with a diagnosis of OCD hearing someone use this phrase as casually as saying your please and thank you's can make me feel frustratingly angry. It's tiring to have to explain to people what true OCD is and what compulsions actually look like. This is the reason for me writing this. Now please bare in mind this is only one perspective. It's my story, ever ..read more

Sharing experiences is one of the ways that we communicate and learn. It is something we do every day without realising it. It may be a response to a question about how your weekend went, but you have shared your experience with someone else. From that sharing, the other person may learn something they did not know about you, discover something such as an activity they are interested in, or find comfort in interacting with another person. For some years, I have shared my experiences with mental health issues. My sharing has been met both positively and negatively by others. Some have found it ..read more

Some experiences impact us and have a long lasting effect - it is like an unseen wound, which constantly provides pain and seeps into your thoughts. Trauma can be experienced by either isolated specific situations/events, or repeated and prolonged incidents (such as domestic abuse). It can range from stressful or frightening incidents, addictions, grief and loss. Trauma can often be complex and difficult to navigate. I have personally experienced complex trauma and after years of trying to move past the events that happened, I decided that I no longer wanted it to live rent-free in my head ..read more

:The aftermath of PTSD You hide and you hide but eventually you’ll be found. It’s like a game of hide and seek. You get good at hiding the more times you play. Even so the person looking for you will get better at finding you too. Predicting your moves, until eventually they become accustomed to your pattern. That’s how it feels battling with PTSD symptoms. You’re all good, then bang, smack. You’re triggered and just like a line of dominos all that you’ve built comes falling. You can only repress your symptoms for so long. Once upon a time, this was me. After experiencing a traumatic event I w ..read more

Between the year 2016-2018 I found myself writing anything and everything. To be more specific, whatever came to my mind I would make something out of it. Back then I was working at a neuro-disability hospital and studying for my degree. Majority of the time my tasks set for that day would be done by late morning. So, I was left with a lot of time on my hands, most of my poetry was written then. Over time, one day I found myself with a notebook filled with poetry. I didn’t know what to do with it, but I wanted to make something out of it. I gave it sometime as often I can be quite impulsive ..read more

Trigger warning: there’s mention of suicidal thoughts and attempts. I felt outside of myself like I was watching a film of someone else playing me. The person who looked back at me in the mirror wasn’t me either. Where was I in all of this? Where had I gone? Where was the person who used to occupy this body? It turned out that she was the one doing all the screaming. She wanted to be heard. She was tired of being eroded by the prison of repression. She was tired of being told that she didn’t matter. She was hurt but wasn’t being allowed to heal. You can’t heal if you don’t bleed first. Society ..read more

Welcome, to the roller-coaster of emotions known as an anxiety attack. Don’t worry; you’re not alone on this wild ride. In this blog post, we’ll sprinkle some humor on the serious topic of handling anxiety attacks. So, buckle up – not too tightly though, we want you to breathe! Spotting the Panic Pals: You know it’s showtime when your heart decides to host a drum solo, your palms become instant waterfalls, and your brain starts brainstorming worst-case scenarios like it’s auditioning for a Hollywood disaster movie. Pro-tip: Consider creating a bingo card of your symptoms. It’s like a twisted ..read more