Woman Holding Flower in Front of Stomach
2021, Health & Wellbeing

My A-Z of IBS

It’s another IBS Awareness Week post! I’ll be honest, I struggled to come up with an idea for this one, so I turned to Google for some ideas. I’m glad I did, as I came across a blog by Becky Excell, who writes gluten free recipes following her diagnosis of IBS. In particular, I came… Continue reading My A-Z of IBS

IBS Awareness Week
2021, Health & Wellbeing

A Total Shit Show | The Realities of IBS

Three guesses what today’s post is about. My regular readers will know that over the last couple of months, my life has essentially been dominated by IBS, and quite frankly, I’m fed up with it. So, as April is IBS Awareness Month, I’ve decided to address what it’s like to live with this little bastard… Continue reading A Total Shit Show | The Realities of IBS

Jacqueline Wilson Books
2021, Books

How Jacqueline Wilson Sparked My Love of Reading

World Book Day is the yearly event that celebrates a love of books. The charity’s mission is to ensure that every child has a book of their own so they can discover the joys of reading, and it was an event I loved taking part in when I was at school. As a child, I… Continue reading How Jacqueline Wilson Sparked My Love of Reading

2021, Mental Health, OCD, The Therapy Diaries

The Therapy Diaries 7 | High Intensity CBT

It’s hard to believe I’m on part seven of my Therapy Diaries series. Take from that what you will - I’ve had A LOT of therapy. Anyway, at the present time, this is going to be the last in the series! During my last instalment, we actually rewound a few years and went back to… Continue reading The Therapy Diaries 7 | High Intensity CBT

2021 Goals
2021, Goals

My Goals for 2021

I debated whether or not to put together some goals for 2021. Not only did most of us end up writing off our goals for 2020, but we entered the new year with such uncertainty behind it (although as I write this, the UK is set for ANOTHER national lockdown at midnight), so it didn’t… Continue reading My Goals for 2021

Writing in Notebook
The Therapy Diaries

The Therapy Diaries 6 | The University Years Part 2

My regulars will remember that I recently launched a spin-off to my Therapy Diaries series, where I look back through my notes from my group therapy sessions in my final year of university. This was part of my counselling module that aimed to develop self awareness and to also practice the basic skills we would… Continue reading The Therapy Diaries 6 | The University Years Part 2

Writing in Notebook
2020, Mental Health, The Therapy Diaries

The Therapy Diaries 6 | The University Years

I recently brought back The Therapy Diaries - looking into my experiences of the different forms of therapy I’ve had over the years. In the last instalment, I wrote about the long waits and numerous assessments I had before I finally had my CBT for OCD. However, today, I’m going to rewind a little -… Continue reading The Therapy Diaries 6 | The University Years

Hand Washing
2020, Mental Health, OCD

Contamination OCD & the Coronavirus Pandemic: Surely It Should Be Over By Now?

It’s been a while since I did an OCD-covid related check-in, so I thought with it being OCD Awareness Week this week, it would be an idea to post one. A lot has happened since my last OCD update - I’ve been getting out a lot more, I’ve seen a few more friends and fam,… Continue reading Contamination OCD & the Coronavirus Pandemic: Surely It Should Be Over By Now?

Blue - OCD Awareness Week 2020
2020, Mental Health, OCD

What Is OCD? | OCD Awareness Week 2020

October is a big month mental health wise. Not only was last week World Mental Health Day, this week is OCD Awareness Week. Spoiler alert: I have OCD. To put it politely, it’s a complete and utter ballache. I’ve written quite a few times now about how my brain works with contamination based OCD, and… Continue reading What Is OCD? | OCD Awareness Week 2020

Leaves & Wood Flatlay
2020, Mental Health, OCD, The Therapy Diaries

The Therapy Diaries 5 | Long Waits and Too Many Assessments

After a bit of a break, The Therapy Diaries is back! While we’re coming up to my most recent brush with my local mental health service, I felt that I wanted to do a post around the journey that led up to it, as it was certainly a stressful one. Of course, my previous experience… Continue reading The Therapy Diaries 5 | Long Waits and Too Many Assessments