Category: Life
-
In the face of nastiness, I will still be as strong as I can
This has been a week and a bit straight from the depths of hell. There are things going on in my life that even with my belief in candour and openness, I can’t and won’t go into right now. Some because it is now the subject of legal proceedings, and some because I simply refuse…
-
Blasting away the rubbish and finding my core values
Working with a psychologist and psychiatrist on recovering, and fortifying myself from, my mental illness has been quite an experience. I almost said ‘journey’, but I loathe that cliche. Thankfully I didn’t say it 🙂 My psychologist, in particular, has been so challenging, rewarding, and empowering all at once. Challenging because I’ve confronted many demons I…
-
Conscious gratitude breeds even more, and deeper, gratitude
Most of us will have heard of a ‘gratitude diary’ or similar, where you keep a notebook or something like it to write down that for which you are grateful, usually daily or weekly. Beyond a passing acknowledgement of a generally happy existence, consciously detailing specific things one is grateful for can have a profoundly…
-
I thought I’d hit rock bottom. I was wrong.
A few weeks ago I shared my battle with depression and anxiety. The ‘black dog’ as Churchill dubbed it. At the time I felt the worst was over, that the future could very well be brighter, if a little bumpy, as is the way with this beast. But I was wrong. Yesterday was close to the…
-
Messengers of perfect timing
Twice in my life I have been delivered – in person – powerful and timely messages from complete strangers. The first was the day of my father’s funeral, and the second was last Wednesday night. On both occasions, the message has been exactly what I needed and provided answers or hope to a major crisis…
-
Breaking it down: my mental health isn’t great
It didn’t hurt when I ran into the sandstone wall at full pace. Not immediately, anyway. I was able to regather myself a little bit and for a little while. Pushed on some more, moved in what I thought was a forward direction. But I couldn’t outrun the beast as well. Squeezed between a rock…
-
There’s no dignity in parenting
Life changes dramatically when you have kids. As it should, I guess. But I wasn’t ready for the sudden loss of dignity. And to be honest, how little I cared about losing it. My firstborn was delivered unto us via an emergency caesarean. He was ten days past due and just too damn cosy. In…