The Abuse of Alcohol – The True Harm

I recently read about a woman’s experience of alcoholism in her family detailing the abuse of alcohol and its ‘second-hand’ effects on her, and as I read I found my eyes darting as if not wanting to read and feel all that was being presented.

As I read the blog I could feel my own agony of living in a familiar feeling – my own household as a young boy would lurch from sunshine to violence through the use and continued abuse of alcohol. Even as I write this I can feel the questioning of that statement – it wasn’t every day, or every week – and this is how we can allow and not claim that even once is too much, and too many times.

Continue reading “The Abuse of Alcohol – The True Harm” →

Writing in a Journal and the Power of Honesty

I woke this morning feeling out of sorts – flat and weary, with a sore lower back. I began writing simply but honestly in my journal. I asked myself, “how could I feel this way when I had just woken from a full night’s sleep?” I asked how yesterday had been, what had been disturbing me, and what I had done when I had felt disturbed. I wrote down exactly how my body felt physically and more generally, I wrote how I felt. As I wrote I had more clarity on my weariness, and felt beyond the sense of flat, to sadness, to a feeling of being a little bereft. I wrote as honestly as I could about the things that had been happening that triggered those feelings.  Continue reading “Writing in a Journal and the Power of Honesty” →

Your Breasts… My Breasts… Just whose Breasts are those, Anyway?

  • Why, they’re my breasts – I’m your baby… and if you let me I’ll suck them ‘til I’m 5 years old.
  • No, they’re mine – I’m the soft porn in the ads and the page 3 girls in the daily paper. Those breasts can sell anything!
  • No, they’re my breasts – I’m the X rated porn industry, one of the USA’s greatest exports.

Continue reading “Your Breasts… My Breasts… Just whose Breasts are those, Anyway?” →

How to Study without Stress… Yes!

I am in the middle of my exam period of the first semester of my first year in the study of dentistry. I have been pondering on how to study without stress and maintain a healthy lifestyle, just like in the days when I do not have exams going on.

I always keep caring for myself during the exam period at University; it does not make any sense to me to stop with everything I am normally doing and only focus on studying and eating TV dinners as I see many of my fellow students do. Continue reading “How to Study without Stress… Yes!” →

Communicating with, and Talking to People – No longer Calibrating my Expression

I am becoming aware that when I am talking to people I adjust the way I express and communicate according to how I feel the listener will receive my words.

When I’m talking, I often hold back and don’t fully express what I want to say because I am afraid of the person’s response, or how they may feel, or what they will think of me – this last one in particular is a big one for me. Continue reading “Communicating with, and Talking to People – No longer Calibrating my Expression” →

Developing Confidence in Myself and My Business

Two years ago I started my own business. This was a really scary thing for me at the time. I was 19 and just fresh out of school so still developing my confidence, both on a personal level and when it came to me in the world of business. My school friends were all still very much a part of my life, affecting every choice that I made so I felt as though I was still there at school, kept in a bubble. I made a slight commitment to build my business but was still very much affected by everyone else’s opinions. I did naturally work well with people so of course I did well with my business… but something happened. After two months and business going great, with lack of support and negativity from my friends on what I had chosen for myself, I freaked out… Continue reading “Developing Confidence in Myself and My Business” →