Writing creatively can be very therapeutic. Research has shown that oral and written storytelling can enrich our spiritual and cultural lives and help us heal from past traumas and abuse. Sometimes people write their own life narrative and their writing is autobiographical in nature. Writing about daily experiences, that is, writing rooted in one’s own…
In the early budding stage of our relationship, my boyfriend’s sister invited me to her wedding. Upon receiving this news, I mentally responded in two ways. Firstly I was filled with elation, after all, she was betting on us being together a whole year into the future, a potentially risky move for a bride. Who…
I’ve come to the point in my life where I realise that what I did one day does not epitomise who I am; but it epitomised who I was that day. I look back to things I’ve done even in the last week and cannot understand how I did them -it becomes unrecognisable to me…
Do you feel self-conscious when exercising? You’re not alone. It’s a challenge that has come up in conversation in our community groups, online and has even been the topic of some of our coaching sessions recently. Well, there’s a few of us in our Quiet Community who have now become determined to push through the…
I have been quite guilty of rolling my eyes at ‘inspirational quotes’, seeing them as cliché and pointless; the same empty words constantly regurgitated. To a certain extent, I think this is possibly a valid way of seeing them, as quite often they don’t really seem to hold any meaning. The flip side of this,…
Let’s face it, we would all rather avoid uncomfortable feelings if it were at all possible. This includes avoiding tough conversations. When we feel hurt or vulnerable, our first response is often to do anything we can to move away from that feeling. We might be choosing to be burying our heads in the sand…
Did you know there are three aspects of happiness? In order to feel truly happy, we have to fulfil each of these areas: Pleasure, Engagement and Meaning. Let’s briefly explore why each of these components are important to your happiness; what activities might look like in each area; and the kind of things that could…
I know so many people who have had experience of not feeling good enough and plagued with self-doubt and suffering low self-esteem as a result. Due to poor manual dexterity due to the Functional Neurological Disorder I suffer from, I thought I would put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) and share my own…
Breathing. Pfft!! How could breathing possibly help with anxiety? I used to feel so annoyed that anyone would even suggest the idea of using breathing techniques. “This isn’t something I have any control over!” I’d think with a roll of my eyes, “Don’t people know how paralysing the fear is for me?” It’s going to take…
Three years ago, I had just finished secondary school, and one of my friends asked me to write a guest post for her blog. Naturally I said “yes of course”, and then spent the next few weeks thinking “I have absolutely no idea what I’m going to write about.” I found myself thinking a lot…
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…
Talking in front of large groups or individuals can be tough for anybody living with social anxiety. I prefer to be around a friend or somebody I’m familiar with when speaking to one or several new people (and a bit of Dutch courage might help me too!). However, in the workplace you will not always…