Loved Lately

My last favourites post was back in April and I've accumulated quite a few things to talk about since then so I figured it was time for another. I think I've finally decided to give up on the whole 'monthly favourites' thing and to just share things as and when I want to as I'm quite a boring little creature and don't always have new things to talk about each month!  

4 Distraction Techniques for Anxiety



Enduring my anxiety can be oh-so difficult at times but I'm steadily building up my arsenal of distraction techniques. Today I thought I'd share them with you.

The Sunday Post 09



 { This week :: home comforts and self-care. }

Art Therapy At Home 2.0

It's been well over a year since my last art therapy session but I still rely on the practice to keep my anxiety in check. There's something very freeing about art therapy, and I find it can help release stopped-up feelings as it doesn't require you to actually try and articulate your emotions in a way for someone else to listen to or understand. Today I thought I'd share another load of little work books I use whenever I have a little art therapy session by myself at home. If you haven't checked out my original Art Therapy At Home post then definitely do so as it features some more artistic and creative ideas for art therapy as opposed to the more structured work books in this post!

The Sunday Post 08

I've been feeling particularly tired and anxious this week and I couldn't really pinpoint why - at least until I sat down to write this post and realised I've been out almost every day this week. Can you believe it?! I often feel like I've not made any progress with my anxiety this year and yet when I compare a week like this one to a week set in January/February it's pretty apparent that some progress is being made. Funny how these things work, isn't it?

Let's Talk About Nephrotic Syndrome



I like to use my own life experiences to help others. I'm constantly nattering on about my anxiety and depression, both to help myself and to raise awareness and reduce stigma, plus I opened up a little while ago about my dad's cancer story. I find that sharing experiences not only helps me to endure them - I almost use it like a sword and shield - but I like to think that it helps others too, even if it is only in a very small way. Today I'm going to talk to you about another health issue, one that plagues my favourite little human in the entire world - my little sister, Leigh. She is eight years old - nine next week! - and she has Nephrotic Syndrome.

 

Nephrotic Syndrome ; noun.

A kidney disease, characterized by oedema and the loss of protein from the plasma into the urine due to increased glomerular permeability.

3 New-To-Me Blogs

I've always been a sucker for a lifestyle blog. There's just something so special about getting a glimpse into the everyday life of someone else, I don't know, I find it oddly comforting. Whenever I'm feeling particularly anxious or overwhelmed I'll seek refuge in the archives of my favourite blogs (Daisybutter & Vivatramp being my most frequent visits) rather than lose myself in a TV show or movie. My list of favourites has always been particularly small, though, because as you know I'm a lover of the familiar and find it difficult to find new things to love. I've been making more of an effort recently, though, and am happy to report that I've discovered three new blogs that I adore!

The Sunday Post 07

Grab some snacks and get comfy pals, this is gonna be a long one!

August Goals



Before we delve into this month's round of goals, let's check back with my July goals, shall we?

one. Get to grips with my new diet. Tick. I've now been gluten- and dairy-free for over a month and I'm so grateful for the way it's changed my health. My acid reflux and IBS issues are still present but they're not as extreme or urgent as they were before I cut these things from my diet. Now that I've been without them for so long I really don't crave things like cheese, chocolate or bread at all. Now I'm more likely to crave things like carrots, sweet potato fries or stir-fried brown rice which I find quite funny. I still haven't quite mastered eating out and there's still a huge amount of anxiety surrounding every meal I eat but it's getting easier.

La Luna



It's been a while since I dedicated an entire blog post to my little sidekick but I recently stumbled across a bunch of photos of her as a kitten and I was suddenly struck by how tiny she used to be and how giant she has become. She's now two years old and is definitely in her rebellious teenage phase. I thought that she was mischievous as a kitten, but gawd does she drive me insane now.