To be accountable is to take responsibility for our own lives – our choices, words and actions. It involves being open to experience and being willing to accept our fallibility as humans. It means acknowledging that we will, and do, make mistakes – say the wrong thing, do the wrong thing or make a poor choice – and embracing these errors as opportunities to learn about ourselves and therefore grow our empathy, wisdom and resilience. [Read more…]
At the time of writing, much of the planet is facing a ‘second-wave’ of COVID-19. The global economy is being challenged, the poor are getting poorer, the sick, sicker, and all our perceptions of thinking we have any level of ‘control’ are being fractured. But, is the outlook really all doom and gloom?
In this powerful piece, our in-house therapist, Penni Osborn shines a light on the origins of anxiety, highlights ways in which anxiety can manifest and offers suggestions on how symptoms can be managed.
Now, more than ever, anxiety is making its stomach-churning self known. In these times of such uncertainty, it has latched onto our fear receptors and is making even those with the strongest of constitutions struggle with its message of impending doom. So, what can be done? How can we manage something that makes us feel, at times, so helpless and afraid? [Read more…]
We welcome Stefanie Simyone who looks into the topic of loneliness, something that we can all experience from time to time. Stefanie is a freelancer and mother of two who after experiencing a toxic relationship, worked on how to put it all behind her by helping others to become self-aware and build healthier relationships.
Some behavioral experts believe that the discomfort associated with loneliness is a “wake-up call” that warns us of social isolation. In ancient times, a person had almost no chance of survival on their own. Why do we still fear to be alone?
We welcome back Rebecca Brown, a translator and avid traveller, a book worm and horror flick enthusiast. Her job has given her the amazing opportunity to travel to dozens of countries around the world, and then write about them on Rough Draft. This time around, Rebecca covers how walking can help us to manage our stress levels.
The physical effects of walking are well known to us all – it increases our cardiorespiratory fitness, bone and muscle strength, as well as endurance. At the same time, walking contributes to fat reduction and better weight management, thus reducing the risk of many chronic diseases.
As we take our first, hesitant steps towards a ‘new normal’, Penni Osborn shares with us a poem; the sentiment of which we feel resonates not just at this time, but for all time.
As we are aware, continuous learning throughout life is essential to keep “those cogs” active. This can, however, be a challenge at the best of times and never more so than at a time when we are now considering that a ‘new normal’ may be on the horizon. We welcome back Marquis who takes us through 6 areas to consider for our wellbeing that contribute to our brain health.
Having a healthy body means more than just maintaining a good physique. Apart from eating healthy and exercising regularly, it’s also important that you keep our mind in good shape. So, whether we are into athletics, sports, performing arts or pure academics while in college, a healthy brain is important. But, what can we do to maintain a sound mind? [Read more…]
For so many of our global society, we are experiencing something quite unique. An unseen and invisible disease on a scale almost inconceivable. Many will quite naturally experience emotional and psychological turbulence at the disruption of established patterns and routines which so readily provides us with a (false) sense of control and order.
We are all participants in what will likely become referred to as an extraordinary chapter of history. [Read more…]
Huge thanks to our resident guest author, Tim. In this piece, he opens up for discussion and consideration the hot topic of COVID-19 and the impact on our wellbeing the global shutdown can create.
If you’re hoping for a universal aspirin then it’s a pretty daft question, really, because it can and it can’t. It can’t stop you from becoming infected with COVID-19, nor can it mitigate the infection should we be unlucky enough to contract it. But we can look at the things we can do mindfully to make our lives easier.
By staying mindful we can keep ourselves level headed and calm. [Read more…]
With the new year upon us, many of us are thinking about the things we’d like to change or do differently. This is a lovely infographic taking us through the steps to decide if we need to make the drastic move of quitting our job or if we can work around any challenges we might be facing.
If you do decide it’s time for a change and would like some guidance click here.