How having a hobby/habit makes you who you are

Hello everyone, hope you've all been keeping well. As this is the 1st off day I've got in what seems like an eternity, I thought I'd utilise this time wisely by talking about a video that I came across earlier in the week from MINDSET THERAPY.

The video consists of a deep & powerful message of how having a continuous hobby or habit makes you who you are. This video really speaks to me, as I happen to be 1 of these people who have a hobby & a habit (several in fact) that formats oneself into who they are to this day which helps them to transform into a successful individual.

Another way of explaining this meaning, is that you don't need dozens of educational qualifications to define who you are. Your intentions define who you are instead. It's not like you need to go for, or even obtain 11 different GCSE's just for the sake of proving to people that you are capable of doing something. Doing something out of pure passion & interest is what really speaks about you. The video below should hit you deep with thought. 

*Note: I was only able to get the link, as the website wouldn't let me paste the video : (*

https://linksharing.samsungcloud.com/7Iys0utkuoGx

My thoughts on the "Check in on those around you" video

Alrighty, although World Mental Health Day has come & gone, I still want to provide you all with a video that shares a silent, but powerful message. 

As the title states, I also want to share my thoughts on the video, as I want to spread the important awareness of checking in on the people around you. This is because everyone has a right to check in on people around them, as it helps to those people to feel wanted when they feel like they are alone by thinking that nobody cares about them.

Even though this video (below) is produced by Norwich City FC, it was also a collaboration with Samaritans for the purpose of raising awareness on World Mental Health Day.

  

What do I think of this video?

I think this video was very well presented, as its aim was to spread the importance of checking in on whoever is around you. In this case, the video consisted of 2 men at a Norwich City FC football game. The man on the right was clearly trying to enjoy himself. The man on the left was also happy, but not as much as the man next to him.

I actually found it heartwarming to see the 2 men looking like they're enjoying themselves at the game together, as if they were bonding in a friendly manner. 

This was where the deceiving truth lies beneath. 

The man on the right, was purposely PUTTING ON a happy face, just for the sake of the man on the left not being able to tell how he is actually feeling like INSIDE. And because the man on the left failed to notice by not checking up on him, he just presumed that man was having the time of his life, when really, he wasn't feeling that way on the inside.

If those 2 men were actors in that video, I'd say they had done a professional job at portraying their characters in it, as I'm sure it wasn't easy to play 2 people showing their presumed feelings on the outside.

The end part of the video showed the man, who was sitting on the left, walk silently over to where he was sitting during the football game. He was also looking sad while holding the man on the right's football shirt. This indicates me that the man, who was sitting on the right, must have done something to himself that made him not come back to the next game with the man on the left...

I thought the ending part of the video was just right to conclude it, as well as deliver the morale of the video itself. I'm sure everyone else can agree that the ending scene must have touched deep inside the mind, as you must be thinking to yourselves: "If only the man on the left was checking in on the man on the right, he would still be here now..."

That is the end of my view. Please do feel free to share your own thoughts on this video, and do remember to keep on checking in on the people around you. 

Take care.💚

A little something for #WorldTeachersDay

Hello everyone, I know I'm a bit late on this, but I felt like I wanted to share my say on World Teachers Day. 

What is my reason for this? This is because I happen to have a passion for education, and I personally feel like everybody has a right to be educated, regardless of who they are & what they are. Moreover to this point, education gives people opportunities to thrive & become successful in the real world.

This is why I want to provide an insight to what it means to be a teacher. Just to be clear, I am not an actual qualified teacher myself, but I do consider to obtain some teacher-like qualities.

World Teachers Day is purposely aimed at teachers all over the world. They work tirelessly hard to the best of their ability to provide education to anyone anywhere in the world. Asides from providing people with education, teachers will happily go out of their way to ensure that a person is well & happy. After all, a well & happy mindset is a healthy combination to the road of success. Well, in terms of success in education anyway.

With all of that said, teachers all over the world should be applauded for all of their dedication to provide education of all kinds. Some of which do not necessarily have to be in a school, college or university environment, as there are also TV programmes that have teaching in them. For example, Abandoned Engineering, as this programme contains history about old buildings that never got finished.

Imagine a world without any education, let alone any teachers; The world would be at a stand still. And quite literally, because if you think about it, no one would have any knowledge to get things done in the world to keep things moving.

My favourite life quotes

I thought about doing something relatively different for this kind of post; Since I personally think that everyone needs a fairly decent amount of hope from time to time. Which is why the above title explains my chosen topic.

*This is something which I very much struggle with already, and talking about it really does help*

 

*I also strongly advise everyone else to do the same, as one of my goals for this blog, is to encourage people to discuss their inner feelings more openly to a wider audience, so that they don't feel 'alone' by thinking they're the only ones who suffer from their demon thoughts*

 

(Courtesy of: https://www.facebook.com/officialknowledgeispower/)

How #Autism can REALLY help an individual thrive in life

This will be another highlighted post courtesy from a website. (The Sun)

Which will be illustrating how Katie Price's autistic son, Harvey, has recently been offered the amazing role of becoming a 'Train Announcer'.

We'll be looking at how having these autistic traits, can help you succeed, in terms of doing what you really love to do.

First off, let me just say... I'm autistic myself, so I can totally relate to how it works.

If you've been reading the same similar news, it explains how Harvey's form of autism allows him to remember, as well as memorize every single thorough detail in the National Rail train announcements, in which, a certain train route will be announced to help people travel from A - B on their route.

Overall, Harvey seems to have a strong interest about trains, and is also very passionate about how they work. With that said, he has an occupied intention to look up their history, routes and companies etc.

If anyone else who has these autistic traits, will only have room for one thing in their life - Success! In expansion to this, they have an interest, they look up ALL the information, facts and history of their chosen interest and will keep going until their brain has soaked up EVERYTHING they need to know about their chosen interest to be able to get involved in the type of career they've been aiming towards throughout ALL their childhood and young adulthood.

In addition, the article states that Harvey needs care 24/7, meaning, he sounds like he is low functioning on the spectrum. I need to point out this fact, because these autistic traits can be easily confused with having 'Asperger's Syndrome' (I might explain that in another post) Which sits on the highest end of the spectrum and again, allows people to be thoroughly detailed when having a certain interest, as well as chasing it down in order to succeed.

But having all of these complicated needs DOES NOT stop him from achieving his goals - Another type of message which needs to be spread out more.

That concludes everything I want to disclose on this post and please feel free to comment about any type of advice. See you all soon!

👇Here's the article link below:👇

  

 https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/13873712/katie-price-harvey-network-rail-train-announcer/

"Old habits die hard"

The phrase "Old habits die hard" means you're trying so hard to quit doing something that you keep doing, but at the same time however, you can't stop doing it... This can be seen as a good or a bad thing.

Let's talk about the psychological effects of how a habit can be triggered and how it can keep occurring. In addition, how we can overcome it! 

 
*Note to self* 

Everyone has to experience this at least once in their lifetime, as it is all part of how you function as a human being; by knowing that you've made a mistake, as well as being able to learn from it to help remind you.

I've been round that block time and time again.

Example 1

You always seem to like the idea of having maple syrup with every meal you have, but everyone says you can't keep having it all the time, as it's unhealthy for you and can increase your risk of getting diabetes.

Baring in mind, YOU also know this fact and desperately want to end this habit, but you can't, as you now have this feeling that no meal would ever taste the same, let alone great without maple syrup added to it... *The same feeling as learning how to cope with loss - Grief*

One way of overcoming it, is you could perhaps try using different sauces with every other meal you have. I.e. Ketchup, BBQ, Mint sauce or Mustard. These options can be considered as much healthier compared to a sugary filled sauce which could turn you into an unhealthy person. 

Contrastingly, you maybe consider that you want to eat healthier altogether, therefore meaning you want to eat less fats and more carbs, fruit/veg and protein. (Think about the 6-pack and ripped body you'll end up getting!)

Example 2

You are an alcoholic, you like the taste of alcohol, you crave on alcohol and you rely on alcohol ALONE to help make you feel better about yourself. 

Some might say this type of behaviour is called: "Drinking yourself away" because you feel so worthless by everything that has gone wrong in your life, therefore, you felt like ending it there and then, but it's actually known as "Self pity" as you are currently experiencing the moment of failure, as well as comfort in a not so nice way. There is a difference between the two feelings.

A very good and highlighting example of this would be to use your friends/family to help you feel better by talking to them via text or phone call. If you were to inform them about your recent depressed feeling, they will then take immediate action by giving you comfort, as well as reminding you of all of your past accomplishments to help bring your confidence back.

Again by thinking contrastingly, you could research about all the devastating consequences of how consuming too much alcohol can seriously damage your physical and mental health. This is just one of the many things that absolutely NO-ONE wishes to try and attempt doing with themselves.

Example 3

(An OCD related example)

You slowly start to begin to have this feeling of getting germs on you, therefore you feel like having to constantly wash your hands every 10 minutes would be the solution. However, doing so could cause damage to your hands by making them red sore and flaky. This will even have an impact on your mental health, as with thinking too much about catching germs can lead to showing signs of anxiety, as well as slowly developing a new fear of touching any surface. Thinking about germs and illnesses is a prone factor for the constant hand washing.

Find an activity or hobby to occupy yourself with to help distract these thoughts about catching germs or when to next wash your hands. More to the point, it helps to clear the anxiety and make you into a happier person again, which I'm sure your friends/family will be relieved to witness!

But when you come to the conclusion of this habit getting out of hand to cope with, talk to a friend, family member, teacher or counsellor about how this habit has gotten out of control and how you can overcome it. This way, they'll provide you comfort and support to encourage you to move forwards, but at the same time, to be your backbone when you feel like you're going in the opposite direction again.

That brings me to an end with this topic. Please do feel free to talk to me ANYTIME you wish to have a catch up or need cheering up. See ya soon!

Example 1 inspiration credit: An episode from a documentary called: Freaky eaters

Example 2 inspiration credit: Peter Barlow from Coronation Street       

Example 3 inspiration credit: Something similar which a friend of mine dealt with in the past  

My deep psychological review on the latest episode of Casualty

Wow... I've just seen the latest episode of Casualty, and it was filled with a mixed bag of emotions. Allow me to elaborate on those mixed emotions... 

 

Yesterday's episode (2/1/21) was highlighting the very reality of which ALL hospitals have been facing during the full-on lockdown back in March - May 2020 - COVID-19. To make this review easier on myself, I'll break it down by using questions for each point I make. Here we go...

Who were the main characters involved and what did they do?

The main characters were: Connie, Charlie, Ethan, Will, Rash, Jacob, Noel, Dylan, David, Jade, Marty, Robyn, Fanisha, Lev, Jan & Faith. They all played their roles in the hospital trying to comfort and save lives of patients with COVID-19. Connie (Amanda Mealing) was acting as the senior consultant by making sure that all her colleagues were doing their jobs, as well as telling them that she had faith in every single one of them. This is an encouraging message which she puts inside their heads to ensure them that they've got this, as we already know that COVID-19 is prone to making people severely unwell, which makes it very difficult to treat. Ethan, (George Rainsford) Rash, (Neet Mohan) Will, (Jack Nolan) Dylan, (William Beck) David, (Jason Durr) Jacob, (Charles Venn) Jade, (Gabriella Leon) Marty, (Shaheen Jafargholi) & Robyn (Amanda Henderson) were acting as doctors/nurses by treating, as well saving lives of the patients affected with COVID-19. Just like in reality, they provided comfort to their patients by starting conversations with them. Doing this helps them to keep focused on the bright side of life, rather than worrying about dying, as we all find dying scary, right?

How did the COVID-19 patients make us all react? 

There were at least 2 patients who were both doing really well at first, but then after a while, their breathing worsened by the effects of the virus getting into their lungs. This brings us round to say: "How did something like this manage to kill someone within a short space of time? This is how really serious catching COVID-19 is..." 

*A combination of sad, scary & shocked emotions used in this reaction*

One female patient was massively struggling to breathe at first by doing a face-time with her worried family. This immediately makes us react: "Oh no! Will she make it?" But right at the end of the episode, she comes out running to her family looking right as rain again. 

*Deep relief emotions are used here*

One other female patient who is pregnant, has been confirmed positive, but was not showing any breathing difficulties. As soon as she gives birth to her baby boy, Ethan thinks about what to do with the baby, as he becomes worried of skin-to-skin contact with a positive COVID-19 patient. He then makes the choice to give the baby to its mother. Towards the end of the episode, she is seen walking out of the ED with her baby son. This must be a real life insight as to what pregnant woman have to do to give birth during the pandemic, it must be difficult, as well as stressful.

Noel, (Tony Marshall) who is the receptionist of the ED, seemed all active at first, later however, he started showing COVID-19 symptoms and therefore, had be admitted. He was having a heart-to-heart conversation with Connie (to give hope for the audience) to help him focus on getting better, but eventually, his breathing worsened, which led to his unfortunate death... As it was so unexpected for everyone else, the aftermath brought a huge shockwave of sadness. Which also has an effect on the audience watching too.

What is the conclusion of this episode?

COVID-19 is real... Eventhough the NHS staff may seem like superheroes, but in reality, they're just ordinary human beings who do extraordinary things to make people better. Please follow the government guidelines and social distance wherever possible.

Thanks for reading and I shall be back soon with another post!

Nostalgia: The best feeling in the world?

Today, I feel like lecturing you all about this feeling called "Nostalgia." It creates a mixed bag of feelings when talking about a certain topic. Let me go through them all...

MUSIC: Say you chose to listen to a song you fully remember from a certain year, (for instance: Bruno Mars ft Mark Ronson - Uptown funk, 2015) you will then instantly get this message into your mind saying: "Ohhh, I remember this song when it first came out! It was such a big hit back then! I remember listening to this song loads of times when I was at a School Disco with my friends!"  Instantly followed by a series of flashbacks taking yourself & your mind back to that very moment where you remembered exactly where you was when you heard that song. More to the point, it allows you think about your childhood memories back when the song first originated.

FOOD & DRINK: *Same scenario as the previous topic* Another instance would be, you drink a can of coke, instantly followed by a series of flashbacks going back to your favourite moments as to where and when you drank coke the most. To be more realistic here, there is 'literally' no better feeling than to have a drink of coke on a hot sunny day by the seafront. And yes, I've encountered this feeling loads of times, so I know how to explain it thoroughly. With all that said, this is a feeling which mostly takes you back to summertime.

In terms of food, you eat something which you've ate during most of your childhood - E.g. Pizza. Immediately after consuming it, you get the same series of flashbacks taking you back to all of your favourite times where and when you ate it. It could be at a friends house, party or even somewhere abroad.

PLACES: If you had a favourite place of all time, which you also happen to have spent most of your time growing up in, you go back there, and suddenly... all of your previous memories (including childhood) come flooding back to your mind. You begin to process all the parks, convenience stores, supermarkets, retail shops and even houses/flats around you, to help bring back all the fun times you had whilst living in the area back then.

PHOTOS: When looking back at either a family picture, picture with friends or a picture of yourself at a location, your exact in that moment memory will instantly come back to mind whilst saying to yourself: "Ah, I remember that exact time I was there! I also remember really enjoying myself too!" This type of happy memory gives out a positive outlook for your adulthood life, as well as looking back on it to reflect on how far you've progressed from that winey child turning into a mature adult.

EXPERIMENT: If you combine all of these topics together... you'll create the PERFECT nostalgic memory!!!

Thanks for taking your time to read this blog. Please do feel free to let me know what one of your favourite nostalgic memories was and I'll be back very soon with another blog. Bye for now!

*DISCLAIMER* All of the chosen topics for this conversation were all based from MY childhood memories.  

My psychology on The Backyardigans

A week ago, I thought about feeding my nostalgia by watching a kids TV show I used to adore - The Backyardigans.

After watching it, I realized that it was purposely created to encourage children and their friends to develop and use their imagination, as well as to go out and 'play with your imagination.' As a former fan of this programme, I can 100% empathise with the logic used in the making of this programme and can totally relate to my said statement above - "Play with your imagination" Let me go into more detail about that quote...

When I was a child, I really thrived on using my imagination and I've always spent a large portion of each day trying to find more ways to expand it. (I can think of loads of other cartoons to use as an example related to this, but I'll save that for another post)  *This is where this programme comes into play* The characters in this programme first showcase their adventures by playing in their backyard in their neighbourhood; For example - Going on a mission to Mars. They then imagine themselves going to that very place with about 1 or 2 other characters to begin with. During the adventure, the other characters will pop up as either the bad guy(s), a land owner or even an animal - To be against or help out with the main characters involved.

But the one aspect which really stood out in this programme, is that they performed their own musicals in every episode, which seems to inform the watchers what is happening in the moment, as well as what are they going to do next. Of course, it can't be a musical without a bit of comedy involved! This helps to liven up the storyline in relations with how the aimed characters are going to react... It could either turn out good, bad or ugly - Get it?!

Obviously, there HAS to be a happy ending at the end of every episode of a kids TV programme, so the characters cheer, (whilst reflecting on their adventure) then one of the characters' stomach rumbles, one of the characters asks: "Is that your stomach rumbling? Are you hungry?" The hungry character reply's with: "Yeah, lets go back to my house for some cheese toasties!" I like how the creators use this realistic ending, as going on a long haul adventure makes you hungry, right? Therefore, this could influence children to do the EXACT same thing after they come back from their own little adventure with their friends to make the day more fun. I know I used to do this with my friends after we've played our little adventure as well. Anyway, the characters end the episode by performing another musical by reflecting on their whole adventure, with the song also telling them to stay tuned for the next episode.

So, that brings an end to my thoughts on one of my childhood shows, hope you enjoyed reading and feel free to let me know what you think!