This week I started my Master of Counselling at uni. (side note: It is wonderful. I love it. I’m so glad I decided to start studying. I can’t wait to be counselling people!) We are focusing on something called Solution-Focused … Continue reading People are amazing!
After 4 months on anti-depressants and 2 months seeing a psychologist, the other night I turned to my husband and said, “I have depression.” To which he said something like, “Um…yes.” What I meant was that I finally discovered what depression looks like for me. It can look different for everybody. Because I was diagnosed with PND (post-natal depression, aka post-partum depression), I believed that once things with my children settled down, I would go back to feeling better, to feeling like myself. Just automatically. Things settled down – my youngest child started walking, being able to do things independently, and … Continue reading What depression looks like for me
This is a very timely topic as sleep is a scarce commodity in my house right now. Well, for me anyway. I need at least 6 hours broken sleep a night to feel human. The less broken, the better. But some nights I fall asleep, get woken 1-2 hours later, sit up for 20 – 60 mins, go back to sleep for another 1-2 hrs etc. The intervals get shorter as the night goes on. Or I’ve had my day start at 3:30am. Or I’ve had 3 hours sleep in total. Etcetera. I’m not special – many parents the world … Continue reading Sleep glorious sleep! (Or: when lack of sleep makes anxiety worse)
A little saying I’ve adopted for life’s tough moments – OCD-related or not. I call it my “mummy motto” but it’s useful to me in lots of situations. Do you have any favourite quotes, sayings, mantras or mottoes that help you cope? Continue reading Taking my own advice!
The other day I bought The Mindfulness Workbook for OCD by Jon Hershfield and Tom Corboy. I am a big fan of Jon’s work. He runs an online support group and has battled with OCD himself. I realised that right now in my life, my anxiety levels are relatively low, which is great. But I attributed this to managing my OCD so well, and while I have definitely learned so much, there are still a few things I’ve let slide, mostly because I think, “That’s too hard.” But that’s a sure fire way to have a relapse. I will post reflections … Continue reading Being proactive! Mindfulness Workbook part 1
A quote that helped me when I was worrying about how I would cope with my OCD (and a particular obsession) in days to come: “Never let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present.” Marcus Aurelius. Continue reading Words of Wisdom
Nicola Joy 