Summer 2007. I am 21. I am waiting to start an MA in Creative Writing, which I still can’t believe I got on to. In the meantime, I have gone to the Edinburgh festival to work as a venue tech. Mum said I should get out of the house – I was just moping about […]
self care
Anxiety and Me, Summer 2016
Warning Signs Crying at your desk Identifying with the word “hunted” Repetitive thoughts, repetitive thoughts, repetitive thoughts Catastrophizing A sudden, searing conviction that someone you love hates you Suddenly feeling either very hungry, or sick Not being able to sleep without the radio on Not being able to sleep Being unreasonably upset when an inconsequential […]
On The Other Hand
This morning I woke up at 5:30 to the news that we have voted to leave the EU, and that as a result, the pound had dropped to its lowest point since 1985. Worse, a lot of my friends, born in other countries, no longer feel welcome in the UK. Our Prime Minister (much as […]
Times of Trouble – Poetry Can Help
I have this one poem that took me three whole years to write. I started it as a note on my phone, when I was waiting, drunk and maudlin, for the last train to take me back to Didcot. For the next few years, every time I felt especially low, I’d open up the file […]
Self Care – Being Your Own Seven Year Old
A few years ago I was reading some article on dieting, as I am wont to do, when I came across the words – “An adult woman seeking to lose 1-2 pounds per week requires 1,400 calories per day, the same amount as a seven year old child…” I will not recount to you the […]
Facing Friday – Self-Kindness
It has come to my attention that, over this past week, I have been being unkind to myself. On Monday, despite being omgreallygoodIwenttothegymFOURTIMES I stayed the same weight as the week before – a week I had used to consume everything I could get my grubby mitts on. On Tuesday I got up for yoga […]
Weight Loss Is Not An Anti-Feminist Act
About two years ago, I decided to lose weight. Nothing unusual in this. I have decided to lose weight about once a year since I’ve been – what? Seven, maybe? I can’t even remember. But this time, rather than launching myself wholeheartedly into a punishing regime (5:2, Cabbage Soup, Slimfast, Atkins… that one I made […]
Blogmas Day 17 – This Is Not A Review Of The Year
Last year lots of “big” things happened to me. I bought a house, I took a show to Edinburgh, I lost three and a half stone, I got engaged, I got a pet, I got a promotion. Loads of things to put on facebook, straightforward things that people can like and comment “Yay!! Congrats :D” […]
How to Cure Readers Block
I have, right now, three unfinished books piled up next to my bed. The last fiction book I finished, read all the way through, was in March. This happens to everyone occasionally, and it is so, so upsetting. I think readers block is so distressing because for a lot of people (ME) the idea […]
How to Meditate
A lot of people want to start meditating but aren’t sure how or where to begin, or what meditating really is. This confusion is because it’s a difficult question. Lots of people mean lots of different things by meditation. What I mean is sitting very still and emptying my mind. I do this because it […]