It’s okay if it’s not all rainbows and butterflies
This has been a week of not being able to get into a groove with anything. Now in the eleventh week of lockdown, or at least the next phase of it (Is that right? Is it week 11?) I have gone through so many waves of over productivity, positivity, optimism, denial, frustration, realism, proactivity. For the most part I have felt good, happy and content, but every now and again I have a big dip as the days and weeks feel monotonous. The last couple of weeks have added more to th
Seeing life from a different perspective
Whilst the world is trying to work out how to heal and make everything better, it is up to us to stay at home, stay healthy and remain as positive as we are able. I have had so many conversations recently with people saying “oh my god such and such did this and it is really doing my head in”. Every time it has prompted me to think and respond, “would they have done this before now?”, “would it have annoyed you then?”, “why do you think they did that?” Most of the time the res
Seeing life from a different perspective
Whilst the world is trying to work out how to heal and make everything better, it is up to us to stay at home, stay healthy and remain as positive as we are able. I have had so many conversations recently with people saying “oh my god such and such did this and it is really doing my head in”. Every time it has prompted me to think and respond, “would they have done this before now?”, “would it have annoyed you then?”, “why do you think they did that?” Most of the time the res
Food for thought: stress
We generally perceive stress to be a bad thing, it is a sign we can’t cope with the stimulus around us, it’s negative and overwhelming. But is that true? In reality, it should be considered a state of arousal or stimulation. If we are bored then this will be low, if it is too low and we have no stimulus this can lead to depression (like, too much can lead to anxiety and depression). If we are angry, nervous, afraid or excited the level of stimulation or stress will be higher.
Food for thought: stress
We generally perceive stress to be a bad thing, it is a sign we can’t cope with the stimulus around us, it’s negative and overwhelming. But is that true? In reality, it should be considered a state of arousal or stimulation. If we are bored then this will be low, if it is too low and we have no stimulus this can lead to depression (like, too much can lead to anxiety and depression). If we are angry, nervous, afraid or excited the level of stimulation or stress will be higher.
Food for thought: stress
We generally perceive stress to be a bad thing, it is a sign we can’t cope with the stimulus around us, it’s negative and overwhelming. But is that true? In reality, it should be considered a state of arousal or stimulation. If we are bored then this will be low, if it is too low and we have no stimulus this can lead to depression (like, too much can lead to anxiety and depression). If we are angry, nervous, afraid or excited the level of stimulation or stress will be higher.
Education is power
Education is an interesting thing. The more we know, the more choice we have to do something with it. I could go down many rabbit holes of my thoughts here, but I’ll stick to one: nutrition. I have always been mostly good at eating right and being healthy. Ultimately good health and performance are high on my list of values and priorities. As an obese kid, into an overweight teen, body image was always an issue. The cause wasn’t necessarily that I ate badly but that I was ver
Education is power
Education is an interesting thing. The more we know, the more choice we have to do something with it. I could go down many rabbit holes of my thoughts here, but I’ll stick to one: nutrition. I have always been mostly good at eating right and being healthy. Ultimately good health and performance are high on my list of values and priorities. As an obese kid, into an overweight teen, body image was always an issue. The cause wasn’t necessarily that I ate badly but that I was ver
Education is power
Education is an interesting thing. The more we know, the more choice we have to do something with it. I could go down many rabbit holes of my thoughts here, but I’ll stick to one: nutrition. I have always been mostly good at eating right and being healthy. Ultimately good health and performance are high on my list of values and priorities. As an obese kid, into an overweight teen, body image was always an issue. The cause wasn’t necessarily that I ate badly but that I was ver
Taking a pandemic and turning it into an opportunity
It would be safe to say that in the last few weeks my brain has gone crazy. I could never have predicted that when I resigned in November, would I leave the office, retrain, be full of energy and ready to go, then one week later see WHO announce a pandemic. Welcome to the world of trying to make it as a PT in the middle of Covid-19. My brain has well and truly done loops of the stages of acceptance. Although I think I compressed it into three stages: denial, depression and ac
Taking a pandemic and turning it into an opportunity
It would be safe to say that in the last few weeks my brain has gone crazy. I could never have predicted that when I resigned in November, would I leave the office, retrain, be full of energy and ready to go, then one week later see WHO announce a pandemic. Welcome to the world of trying to make it as a PT in the middle of Covid-19. My brain has well and truly done loops of the stages of acceptance. Although I think I compressed it into three stages: denial, depression and ac
Taking a pandemic and turning it into an opportunity
It would be safe to say that in the last few weeks my brain has gone crazy. I could never have predicted that when I resigned in November, would I leave the office, retrain, be full of energy and ready to go, then one week later see WHO announce a pandemic. Welcome to the world of trying to make it as a PT in the middle of Covid-19. My brain has well and truly done loops of the stages of acceptance. Although I think I compressed it into three stages: denial, depression and ac
Home for Christmas
No matter how much you like your family, Christmas, gift buying and giving, eating – Christmas can be a pretty anxiety inducing time of year for even the calmest of people. And I certainly am not the calmest of people. December is a month of the year where you can be in full swing, doing great at work, at home, balancing your life and then suddenly everything gets picked up, shaken and lobbed out the window, with the upbeat ring of “oh, go on, it’s Christmas”. For people that
Home for Christmas
No matter how much you like your family, Christmas, gift buying and giving, eating – Christmas can be a pretty anxiety inducing time of year for even the calmest of people. And I certainly am not the calmest of people. December is a month of the year where you can be in full swing, doing great at work, at home, balancing your life and then suddenly everything gets picked up, shaken and lobbed out the window, with the upbeat ring of “oh, go on, it’s Christmas”. For people that
Home for Christmas
No matter how much you like your family, Christmas, gift buying and giving, eating – Christmas can be a pretty anxiety inducing time of year for even the calmest of people. And I certainly am not the calmest of people. December is a month of the year where you can be in full swing, doing great at work, at home, balancing your life and then suddenly everything gets picked up, shaken and lobbed out the window, with the upbeat ring of “oh, go on, it’s Christmas”. For people that
Home for Christmas
No matter how much you like your family, Christmas, gift buying and giving, eating – Christmas can be a pretty anxiety inducing time of year for even the calmest of people. And I certainly am not the calmest of people. December is a month of the year where you can be in full swing, doing great at work, at home, balancing your life and then suddenly everything gets picked up, shaken and lobbed out the window, with the upbeat ring of “oh, go on, it’s Christmas”. For people that
Anxiety and travel
I found myself in the awkward position last night of just not knowing what to do with myself. I didn’t want to go to sleep super early in case I didn’t sleep through. I didn’t really feel like eating. I didn’t know if it was sensible to use energy on exercise. Then suddenly I’d had two half hour naps and was getting ready for a swim. I am aware I have an exercise addiction, I don’t really have a leg to stand on to deny that. But it’s better than a drug addiction, right? This
Anxiety and travel
I found myself in the awkward position last night of just not knowing what to do with myself. I didn’t want to go to sleep super early in case I didn’t sleep through. I didn’t really feel like eating. I didn’t know if it was sensible to use energy on exercise. Then suddenly I’d had two half hour naps and was getting ready for a swim. I am aware I have an exercise addiction, I don’t really have a leg to stand on to deny that. But it’s better than a drug addiction, right? This
Anxiety and travel
I found myself in the awkward position last night of just not knowing what to do with myself. I didn’t want to go to sleep super early in case I didn’t sleep through. I didn’t really feel like eating. I didn’t know if it was sensible to use energy on exercise. Then suddenly I’d had two half hour naps and was getting ready for a swim. I am aware I have an exercise addiction, I don’t really have a leg to stand on to deny that. But it’s better than a drug addiction, right? This
Anxiety and travel
I found myself in the awkward position last night of just not knowing what to do with myself. I didn’t want to go to sleep super early in case I didn’t sleep through. I didn’t really feel like eating. I didn’t know if it was sensible to use energy on exercise. Then suddenly I’d had two half hour naps and was getting ready for a swim. I am aware I have an exercise addiction, I don’t really have a leg to stand on to deny that. But it’s better than a drug addiction, right? This