Category: The Westsider
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It’s ok me, I got this
The single most powerful and liberating psychological practice I have ever done is reintroduce myself to my inner child, and show him who I am now. Yes, it sounds wanky and flowery but I truly don’t care. I gave this a crack and the positive change has been nothing short of AMAZING. ‘I want you…
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Honey, I’m home! (reconnecting with myself)
It’s been almost two years since I last wrote a column, and loads of cool and some difficult stuff has happened. I’m excited to be writing again and to share how I’m living as a heartful and hopeful human. Last year I came to realise that despite all of the work I’d been doing to…
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“I have hope now”: interviewing Sarah Lungu
Sarah Lungu shares her mental health struggles with JC Clapham Sitting down to a conversation with Sarah Lungu, one gets a sense she knows her delicacies very well, yet also wields a steely determination. Even on Zoom during Victoria’s most recent lockdown, Sarah’s resolve is evident – almost tangible. But as Sarah herself shares with…
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Lonely, I’m Mr Lonely
I’ve necessarily pushed people away over the past five years. Self-preservation was my goal, and the sense of being a broken burden that a major depressive feels only compounded that. But now I’m through the other side and experiencing some great joys, much optimism and kicking quite a few goals, I find myself with very…
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Where was the bubble wrap for my head?
Moving house recently was not only a massively tiring task, it was also a hugely emotional thing for me, too. A couple of months ago I moved to a new place, one in the outer-west flanks of Melbourne. It’s a move I made for a combination of reasons, but had the primary benefit of giving…
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A love letter to inner-west Melbourne
This will be my final column as a full-time resident of the inner west. I’m moving further out west, beyond the fringes of Melbourne, to be nearer where my kids go to school and have their extra-curricular activities. The driving back and forth was fine and manageable, but with my eldest starting high school this…
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Ozzy the rescuing rescue dog
Reading the profile of Ozzy the Australian Bulldog on the Pet Rescue website in March 2018 felt like someone had described me, but pretended I was a dog: “Ozzy likes getting out for walks, but no longer than 10-15 minutes or he will lie on the ground like a big lump and refuse to move.…
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Dear parents, please don’t choose to die…
*** Content warning: Suicidal themes *** Dear dad or mum to a child or children, Firstly, let me declare I’m one of you. I have children of my own and hopefully like you and yours, my kids are the best part of my life and I’d do anything – anything at all – to see…
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On Tuesdays, we Chinwag
This was to be my year for pushing hard against the social anxiety that at times cripples me, or at the least just makes me feel uncomfortable and awkward and seem that way to people. HAHA!
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Gun it coming off of the line, corona
What a batshit crazy year 2020 is turning out to be, hey? Enormous bushfires shut down huge swathes of the country and crippled communities and the tourism industry. And then something I hope was named after a type of beer and an old Toyota reminded us of the actual meaning of ‘going viral’, shut down…