I’ve been thinking a lot lately about whether or not to continue with the Yes, You Can Do It (YYCDI) blog. The stats, in terms of the number of posts I’ve written during the past two years, are pretty shocking. Here’s a comparison of the number of posts per year since I started this: This …
Tag: Anxiety
Good riddance summer, hello autumn my old friend
I’m conscious this post will divide people but I’m going to plough on regardless… I’ll be glad to see the back of summer, and I’ll welcome autumn and winter with open arms. There. I said it. I naively thought we were in this position 2-3 weeks ago, then the damned Indian summer hit and sent …
Lewis Capaldi showed that mental health issues can and do affect anyone
Last Saturday, I witnessed one of the most heartbreaking things I’ve ever seen. I sat down to watch Lewis Capaldi deliver yet another amazing Pyramid Stage performance at Glastonbury. He knocked it out of the park during his previous appearance at the festival and I fully expected him to do that again. Sadly, that wasn’t …
Use the 4-7-8 breathing technique to ease stress and anxiety
I listen to Dr Rangan Chatterjee’s brilliant Feel Better Live More podcast frequently, especially his short bitesize episode, and have been using this technique to deal with anxiety and panic attacks to great effect since first hearing it last month. Taken from his episode with Dr Andrew Weil, a pioneer in the field of integrative …
Breaking the stigma – do most of us have mental health issues?
I’ve been agonising for months over whether to write this post, largely as it may be misinterpreted, and people may have widely different views regarding the answer to the question in the blog title. However, a TV documentary we watched as a family this week made my mind up for me. More of that later. …
Don’t ever say you’re not good enough
I’ve made a last-minute change to the theme of this week’s blog. Last night, we had a long overdue catch-up with some good friends. At one point, they were asking their son to perform a couple of magic tricks he has been working on lately, though he was reluctant to do so, saying he didn’t …
I’ve lost a bit of my enthusiasm for the blog over recent weeks…
Since my very first YYCDI blog post, I’ve strived to make each and every post searingly honest. Today’s is no exception… For a few weeks now, I just haven’t been feeling the enthusiasm and passion I usually have for the blog. I’m sure this will be a temporary state-of-mind but, unfortunately, it’s where I’m at …
Is anyone else a little anxious about the world returning to ‘normal’?
There are glimmers of hope for us all at the moment. Here in the UK, the vaccination programme is progressing at pace. We have staggered dates for the ‘return to normal’ and the vast majority of people are counting down to June 21st, the hugely anticipated date when, hopefully, all legal limits on social contact …
Anxiety, live gigs, and why I continue to plug in and play…
There were signs of hope and encouragement for many of us in the UK this week. Hope that our children can settle into a normal school life again. Hope that we can meet up with friends and family soon. Hope that shops, pubs and restaurants will soon open again. Hope that we can give our …
Why my relationship with food is the most complex in my life and needs to change
I’ve written previously about food, primarily in the posts Using food & alcohol as a comfort blanket (Jul 2019 – link here), Time to change for good, starting with body fat (Sep 2019 – link here), Weight-loss update (Feb 2020 – link here), and The mental health benefits of exercise (Jun 2020 – link here). …