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Panic Disorder and the Gun to my Head

February 25, 2013 in Health, Mental Health

I’m asleep, deeply asleep. Suddenly, I’m awake, having sat bolt upright in the pitch-black darkness of my room.  What is happening? Why is my heart pounding so hard that I fear it may actually explode? It’s then, and only then, that I feel the cool metal of the gun that is pressed to my temple. Ice cold. My heart races, although there is no light, the room spins and I’m powerless to overcome it. I begin to hyperventilate, breathing heavily and unsteadily, gasping for air. I assess the situation quickly: I was asleep. I was alone.  Now I feel the [...]

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The Disaster Spiral

January 10, 2013 in Health, Lifestyle, Mental Health, Money

Around December every year, and a few times throughout the year if we’re honest, I tend to find myself caught in the disaster spiral. If you’re unfamiliar with the disaster spiral (lucky you!) it’s when you go from a rational thought that’s a little bit stressful to complete disaster in only a few steps. For me, particularly around the holidays, it goes like this: We have too many people to buy Christmas presents for. We have to pay for Stepdaughter to visit. We’re going to spend too much money. We don’t have any money. We can’t afford to go overseas. [...]

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Sorry, I’m Too Busy To Have A Breakdown

October 30, 2012 in Health, Lifestyle, Mental Health, People, Self

A few months ago the wheels fell of my life a bit. Honestly, they fell off in a pretty big way. It all started when my partner unexpectedly broke up with me. Suddenly I was living alone in a suburb where I had no support network, and the closest friend lived a good 30 minutes away. There was no way I could afford the place on my own so money became a sudden stress and I was in a rush to find somewhere else to live. I was grieving. Hard. I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t sleep, and just getting dressed [...]

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A Break Up Taught Me How Strong I Am

October 15, 2012 in Dating, Health, Mental Health, People, Relationships, Self

If we’re to believe everything that books, magazines, movies and morose teenage love ballads tell us, a break-up is just about the worst torture that a heart-possessing human being can live through. So when my boyfriend broke up with me recently, I put down the phone with bated breath, waiting to be seized by the urge to write bad poetry on tear-smattered pages. I waited. The urge didn’t come. But hold up – I’m starting this story all out of order. Let’s go back to the beginning – the months before I was dating J. As 2012 rolled in I [...]

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The Dogg, The Lion & Monique’s Celeb Top 5

August 3, 2012 in Celebrity, Comedy, Entertainment, Film & TV, Mental Health

Hello my wonderful readers and welcome to another highlights edition of my celebrity news for the week. Funnily enough, it’s been a bit of a slow week in Hollywood this week and I’m guessing it’s because all the celebs are just paying attention to the Olympics, but my Celeb Top 5 stops for nothing and no one. Surprisingly this week, I don’t  have any movie news for you, but I do have couple and baby news which I know you all love. Now, on to the artist who has decided to change things up a little… 1. Snoop Dogg is [...]

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Eating Alone: Uncomfortable or Bliss?

July 31, 2012 in Entertainment, Food & Recipes, Lifestyle, Mental Health, People, Self, Technology

Eating alone can be quite confrontational, especially for those who are not secure in themselves or who do not enjoy their own company. There’s a lot of stigma to eating alone, the implication that there’s somehow something wrong with it. That it makes you a sad person who has no friends. I’ve been a victim of this way of thinking. On Sunday I had breakfast out on my own. It’s not something I’d normally do and while I went to the cafe we go to every week for breakfast as soon as I sat down they brought over two menus [...]

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Is There A Link Between Creativity and Mental Illness?

July 23, 2012 in Entertainment, Health, Lifestyle, Mental Health

Are all great artists, be it painting, writing, music etc. tortured, haunted, pained? Does this lead to a higher quality of work being produced? “My afflictions belong to me and my art- they have become one with me. Without illness and anxiety I would have been a rudderless ship.” Edvard Munch. I clearly remember the first time I saw ‘The Scream’  (painted 1895) by Edvard Munch. Why did that particular painting affect me so personally? Because I saw myself in the distortion, the craziness, the eeriness, the chaos. I sympathized with a human figure that was obviously suffering tremendously, but [...]

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My Driving Phobia (or the day I cried like a girl)

May 18, 2012 in Health, Humour, Lifestyle, Mental Health, Stories, Travel

A few nights ago I was curled up with a copy of Kerri Sackville’s new book The Little Book of Anxiety as my kitten, Lola, started biting the corner of the pages. I tweeted this and wondered should I be worried? That’s when I realised that I, too, live with my own little anxieties about stuff that perhaps normal people wouldn’t worry about. I live in my head a lot. I talk to myself (sometimes out loud) and weigh up situations that most of us wouldn’t bother even thinking about. My friends call this place Roseland. I sure have racked up a few thousand [...]

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