News: mental health awareness
Creativity
I remember being about eight or nine years old and dreaming of being a writer and a poet. I'd create these poems and submit them to the children's section of our local paper. My mom would tell me that I would have notebooks upon notebooks filled with poems, short stories, and ideas for novels. Thinking back, I think I can even recall where in my room I kept all these notebooks. My parents would keep the clippings of written work that would be published in the ‘kids’ section, which I assure you were not particularly brilliant, but they were all unfettered and unbound creative work. Looking back now, I can’t help but feel a bit jealous of my childhood self, thinking about how easily all the words and ideas flowed out from my mind onto the very many pages.
Laughter, song, and dance
This week’s challenge was to ‘let go of being cool and always in control’ and the first thought that came to mind was one of the Friends episodes - The One With the Routine (Season 6 Episode 10). Yes I’m a 90s kid, but I don’t know what possessed my friends and me from trying to recreate The Routine - we even recorded it! It was meant to be a quiet girls’ night in, spent in our pyjamas as we shared a gorgeous grazing table and watched episode after episode of Friends. Recreating a goofy dance routine wasn’t part of the plan!
Ph.D. guilt
I recently came across an old blog post written in 2014 by a Ph.D. student. The title was, ‘Ph.D. guilt and shame’. Even without fully reading the post, I felt as some of my experiences as a Ph.D. student were validated.
Connection
One stigma I easily associate with mental health is the one associated with seeing a counsellor.
Mastering the art of relaxation
Have you ever looked at your cat and felt jealous of how chill they could be?
Checking in with friends
It can be hard to ‘check in’ sometimes when you’re not sure if the other person is wanting more privacy or to be left alone. Should you address this in person? Or as a text? What if you offend them? Do you ever feel like you might say something wrong?
