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Supporting Friends with Depression
If I asked you, ‘how are you today?’, how would you react? Perhaps with a cursory, ‘fine thanks, how are you?’, as seems to be the norm whenever somebody asks that. But all too often, we hide our true feelings inside. Fear of judgement, fear of vulnerability, shame, confusion. When it comes to mental health, many are afraid to talk about it or to admit that they’re anything but ‘fine’, but in the past few years with world-changing traumas, and now facing ever uncertain times, it is more important than ever. First there was the pandemic, and the traumatic after effects of loss and lockdown are still being felt today.…
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Smile! – When It’s Okay To Not Be Okay
Photo by Kristina Tripkovic on Unsplash My son who’s 7 was sat at the table eating lunch when he said “Mummy, it’s really important to smile!” I said “Yes, it is but it’s even more important to show others how you’re feeling. You don’t always have to smile!” “But I learnt it at school!”, he replied. And sadly, this is what society encourages. Smile, even if you’re feeling like crap. No matter what crap you’re dealing with, eat it up like a good person. School is a place of rules. You follow the rules to get a good education, get a good job, and hopefully be a good person. But it is this…
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How Rampant Consumerism is Destroying Us
I’ve been watching a riveting anime called Dr Stone. In it, a mysterious wave of light suddenly washes over Earth and turns everybody into stone. 3,700 years later, the world has reverted back to how it was before humans became advanced, and the humans that break out have to survive and rebuild civilisation. So many things in this anime have stood out to me, but one which has stuck in my mind is how quickly everything can be taken away in a flash, whether that’s by natural disaster, or from unfortunate circumstances. The humans who found themselves 3,700 years in the future had to start from scratch; foraging for food,…
Minimalist Thinking, Maximum Living
