I lay in bed, staring at my white and boring bedroom ceiling in an attempt to ignore the alarm on my phone that is growing louder with each passing second. I know as soon as I shift my gaze and turn off that alarm, that I will have to deal with the fact that I […]
In a sense, this is a ‘Tale of Two Cities’ or, more accurately, two countries; actually three if you count this one. This short tale is about asking for help when you don’t think you need it. It is a tale of contradictions. In 2011 I moved, with my wife and two daughters, from a […]
My mantra through school and university life was ‘avoid all eye contact with the teacher and they likely won’t pick on you to answer a question’. It wasn’t that I was a bad student, in fact I was always among the ones topping the class. It’s just that my confidence just seemed to end beyond […]
Challenging exams As part of my Sustainability and Environmental Management course at university, I took a module for those who hadn’t done maths as an A-Level. I passed all the modules, except for maths as I’d struggled with the exam. An hour into the re-take of my exam, I was only on question 3. Given how long it […]
Two weeks ago I had an appointment with my doctor to discuss the medication I was taking for anxiety. Normal procedure would include me telling the doctor, in as little detail as possible, how I’m feeling and that I’m ok on my current medication. However, as I’ve felt my symptoms getting worse over the weeks […]
I started Primary School fairly oblivious to insecurities and worries, but I felt very misunderstood as a child; few teachers supported and understood me. Pupils were put into one of four houses: Beckett, Caxton, Marlowe or Wolfe. I was in Marlowe. Pupils would collect ‘house points’ for achievements and good behaviour. We’d add points under […]
Take a look at the other side of confident comedian, Rhod Gilbert, in his documentary “Stand Up to Shyness” and see how stand up boosts the confidence of his three volunteers. Stand-up comedian Rhod Gilbert is painfully shy. Yes, he can stand up in front of 20,000 people and make them laugh but he finds it […]
I always liked my safe comfort zone. It was small, safe and it left little room for me to make mistakes and potentially embarrass myself, or do anything that could draw attention to me. It wasn’t always like this; at primary school I was happy confident and outgoing. I was bullied all throughout my primary […]
I was bullied at school It started in May 2004, when I was 13. I was verbally bullied at School, by a friend who felt very controlling. Because my bully was a friend, I had no one. My teacher said that after the summer holidays he would make sure we were not in the same […]
Thinking back to infant school, I don’t remember having many problems. I didn’t feel unconfident, but there were times where I felt like the attention was on me. It was like what I was doing was wrong and people were judging me. I felt different. There were incidences in infant school where I was made […]
Change is something that I find incredibly daunting, and is often the root of anxiety for me. I find myself feeling very safe in normality and routines, and so big changes are often something that I struggle with a little. Something that I have noticed, however, is the importance of celebrating positive change. An example […]
People often have a perception of what anxiety is and how someone who is experiencing social anxiety may present themselves. There is a stigma attached to the word anxiety which suggests it would be obvious if someone was feeling that way; that it would be evident and noticeable. This couldn’t be further from the truth. […]