Setting New Year intentions Do you have New Year’s resolutions? Have you set yourself some goals for 2020 yet? We all want the year ahead to be a great one for us and it’s easy to get caught up in ideas about what we want to achieve; often coming to the end of the year […]
Feeling frazzled is common at this busy time of year as we attempt to meet perceived expectations and create the perfect Christmas -from the gifts we give, to the meals we cook, the conversation we make and generally doing our best to please all of the people who matter to us on the very same […]
Over time, I’ve noticed a switch in my mentality. From taking a powerless perspective of things happening to me, completely wrapped up in how I felt at the time, to being able to focus on what I’ve learnt from those situations. Essentially, I’ve been moving from taking a negative and powerless view of my experiences […]
Affectionately known as Action Nan, Pat Smith stands tall with fire in her belly. You can feel her passion from the back of the room. You can also sense that standing centre-stage on a red carpet in the TEDxTruro spotlight isn’t where she feels most at home. I imagine doing a TED Talk is a […]
In true nerdy fashion, I’m sat in my pre-booked seat at 18:45 (because hey, you can’t leave it to chance to get good seats on the night), finally watching the heavily anticipated film, Joker. If you monitor ‘movie news’ you will already know it is being met with controversial reception. While I respect the opinions […]
How can Mindfulness help? Mindfulness has become a buzzword of late – known for being a vital component in a self-care tool kit, along with exercise, eating healthily, and all those other things that you know are good for you but you don’t actually do… (Or is that just me?) I knew that mindfulness and […]
One big assumption that people often make about introverts is that we hate going to parties. More often than not, as an introvert with anxiety, this assumption is correct for me. But as I have grown older, the definition of a party has changed. A few years ago, an invite to a party would conjure […]
As I was driving, alone in the darkness, tears streaming down my face, despair took over and told me how easy it would be to end my pain right here, right now, high speed. The tears came the moment I reached the sanctuary of my car. This had been building up for some time but […]
I spent my childhood loving a man who I called Grandad. When I was 11, a series of events led to a situation whereby I found myself on the receiving end of the bitterness, anger, aggression and hostility stored within him; and just like that, I casted him as a villain in my life, soon […]
Feelings of social anxiety seem to have happened gradually for me; they kind of crept up on me into adulthood. So I started thinking about how the development of society may have subconsciously affected me, such as the “big brother” phenomena, the rise of public CCTV placement instilling the idea of being continually watched, without […]
Have you ever heard the phrase ‘everything can change in an instant’? I realised how true that is a few weeks ago, when an unexpected discovery helped me find a new way to challenge my feelings of anxiety and depression. I had forced myself to go out for a short walk, and as usual I […]
You know how it is when you get talking to someone and that quiet excitement bubbles up inside because they feel so aligned with where you are and it’s almost like the universe has sent them your way? Well, I was lucky enough to have one of those awesome connections yesterday. It’s funny to think […]