A little something for #WorldMentalHealthDay

Evening all, I hope you've been well doing whatever you've been doing today. This is especially because it is an important day. (In my opinion anyway)

As the title states, I want to share my say on World Mental Health Day with you all on here. This is because of 2 valid reasons. Firstly, I personally deal with anxiety from time-to-time, which can sometimes interfere with my daily life. Secondly, it is important for me to show my respect for this important world day, as I currently have 2 voluntary jobs with MIND & Samaritans.

As of today, as well as everyday, there are people all over the world who battle with their mental health. (Myself included)

They may act as though they are fine on the outside, but in reality, they could be feeling insecure in the inside. It can be very deceiving.

Also as of today, too many people are choosing to end their lives due to feeling alone with their mental health, or due to being let down repeatedly by the mental health system. I cannot even say the accurate amount of times I have seen this across social media & on the news... It's so depressing.

Now more than ever, please provide a open heart & mind to anyone everywhere. By doing so, you could may well save someone from choosing to end their own life.💚

#Anxiety and living in different times

Something that I literally just came up with at the top of my head tonight.

Personally, I'm not one for being against any of which one, but I'm just interested to know why. I am wary of the amount of people there are out there (including the people I know) that tend to live in whichever moment their mindset tells them to. Some may have the mindset capacity to live in all of them. Then again, everyone is different like that, so there is no misconception whatsoever. I'm just casually spreading my anxiety awareness to everyone.

However, if anxiety was to play a part in what I'm talking about, it would be that it has to tell oneself's mind to be stuck in that mindset with no reason as to why not. Before, anyone here jumps the gun, as to say: "Do you know what you are talking about?" I actually do, because my anxiety buffers to living in each of these moments due to me overthinking about things that I cannot change or things that are likely 99.99% (being creatively mathematical here) not going to happen.

What helps me to manage this? To put simply, I very much enjoy living in the now moment. I find it an even balance of how I live day in day out, as it benefits my anxiety from going to far ahead or being stuck somewhere from what happend 6yrs ago that I couldn't do nothing about which would still remain that way now.

But if I'm talking about different people out there... What is it about them that they enjoy living in which moment of their life? For all I know, it could be anything. Are they still reeling from the past? Do they just want to be in a world when they finally change the world? Does reliving in a certain time make them feel better about themselves? Do they rather go by the phrase: 'Life is like a box of chocolates. You'll never know what you're gonna get.'? The reasons are endless...

Whatever moment works for managing your anxiety, there is no right or wrong discrimination.

You are blessed because...

Just a quickie, but the title says it all.

My main objective of this post, is to spread the message, and make people feel better when they're feeling down in the dumps. This is what is known as: "Common decency"

 

To all of my readers out there...

• You are blessed because... You have a loving family.
• You are blessed because... You have a roof under your head.
• You are blessed because... You have friends that look out for you.
• You are blessed because... You have education.
• You are blessed because... You have food and drink.
• You are blessed because... You can achieve anything you want.
• You are blessed because... You have feelings.
• You are blessed because... You are a human being.
• You are blessed because... You have clothes to wear.
• You are blessed because... You have entertainment around you.
• You are blessed because... You have many places to visit.
• You are blessed because... You are able to make decisions in your life.
• You are blessed because... You can NEVER be too old to do something.
• You are blessed because... You realise that happiness is your top priority.
• You are blessed because... You have so much talent.
• You are blessed because... You are kept healthy and well by the NHS worldwide.

I hope this post will bring a ray of sunshine to everyone's day and I shall see you all very soon!💞 

Why do people tend to rage over video games?

Personally to me, this is something which I've ALWAYS found funny about, so with that said, I intend on sharing my thoughts, as well as probably giving out some facts and advice to help you readers or other people you might know that can't help raging over video games.

Fun fact for you guys:

I used to rage over video games when I was a lot younger! Before I even knew it, I eventually grew out of this habit! More to the point, I no longer have an interest in video games.

How do video games cause rages?

They usually occur when one tries so desperately to complete some kind of mission without messing up or trying to win something, so it makes them feel accomplished at the end by acknowledging they have something to brag about to others to make them feel jealous. 

But, in order to do so, they have to insert full-on-concentration mode, as this method helps them to just focus on winning the game. This method is known to cause 'square eyes.' 

If one does lose at a game, in which they've been constantly focusing on for a long period of time, they will typically end up raging so heavily about it, as they've tried ever so hard to maintain their focus at winning the game, just for the sake of feeling proud and accomplished at the same time. It is especially worst when they play against one another in a battle game, as that other person might have the intention of winding that person up to be able to claim bragging rights over them.

What goes through a person's mind when they rage?

Here comes the interesting part... When one starts heavily raging at a loss of a video game, they get these thoughts of anger, frustration and upset, as they then feel that this is the absolute WORST moment of their life, so they start saying things like: "That is it! My life is over!" "I'm gonna kill you!" "Shut up and die!" "You know what... F*** this stupid game!" 

*I sincerely apologize if I sounded too over the top there. This was to thoroughly explain my point*

After their raging moment, they experience this feeling of wanting to get 'revenge' on the game by keep trying ever so hard to beat it, so therefore, they try hard even harder! However, this will only make them angrier.

 

How can you help yourself or others to keep calm?

One of the best ways of telling yourself or others when getting angry at video games, is by just simply saying: "It is just a game" With that said, there is seriously no real life accomplishment at winning video games, as it is all a creation made from a group of people. Plus, it is all based INSIDE of a computer/TV screen, meaning, nowhere to be found on planet Earth.

It is nowhere near the same accomplishment as winning a 400m race in the Olympics or winning an art competition, as these are all real life events. Does anyone see the difference?

Perhaps you can inform your rage gamer about all of the real life accomplishments you've managed to achieve, as this could inspire them to be just like you or achieve something of their own in the real world. These options will be better for their eyes as well! And... Feeling proper proud about achieving something too!

Thank you so much for reading through. Please feel free to tell me about a similar experience you might have had with this topic or other kind of advice to help out one another. That's all for now guys. I shall see you soon!

The psychological benefits of taking a break from the internet

Well, I'm back from what I've just stated in the above title: "Taking a break from the internet" This was because I wanted to be more productive with my spare time, rather than spending long hours surfing the wonderful world of the internet.

More to the point, I feel like advising you guys about how taking a break from the internet can really make you feel more engaged with yourself, otherwise more positive.

*Hence as to why I had a decent day yesterday*😁

My main objective of this topic, is that everyone who reads this post, will feel encouraged to follow my discussed examples when they decide to come off the internet for awhile.

How does spending long hours on the internet make you feel?

For me personally, I always feel completely normal. However, DO NOT be deceived by that statement!

Let's say, after about 3 hours later of casually surfing the internet, you start to experience this feeling of your mind going 'blank' which means, you've wasted all of that time just looking up random stuff (if you like) that has now overpowered your important train of thought. To put it in more basic terms, you can no longer think straight.

This is what most people refer to, as it's their way of feeling 'normal' but the reality is, this will only make you feel depressed, by not wanting to do anything productive in your life.

What productive things can you do to take a break from the internet?

One of the things I've been doing lately, is going out for long walks in my local area. By doing so, will help to take your mind off with whatever is bothering you, as you focus on how many miles you intend to do, as well as getting to your chosen walking destination. Don't forget to focus on how brilliant you feel about doing it too!

Learn how to play a musical instrument. In my case, I've been improvising at my drumming skills. Even though I don't actually own a drum kit, I just use any surrounding hard surface to tap my hands on and create different rhythms.

Improve your reading skills, by reading actual books. (Not a kindle tablet) I have various books in my room, which I use to either use to educate myself or to get myself 'lost' in the author's story. What I mean by that expression, is focusing on what the story is about.

Do home-based workouts to help increase your current level of fitness. (See: The psychological benefits of working out regularly  For further explanation)

This brings an end to this topic. Thank you for reading through, I really hope you've learned a lot by reading these chosen examples and please feel free to talk about any similar experiences you may have.

I shall see you soon.

   

Lockdown... A whole year of reflection

Yes, the title illustrates this post as a whole. Also, I promise you, this will be the last time that I talk about COVID-19 and the lockdowns, as I'm sure most people have had enough of hearing those words by now.

However, today of all days, was simply just too important for this topic to go unmentioned, and here's why...

Today, (23/3/21) marks the 1 year anniversary of the EXACT date that the UK got slammed into a full on 'Lockdown' due to COVID-19 killing hundreds of people per day. (23/3/20)

Meaning, we were instructed to "Stay at home" as non-essential, restaurants and education places were forced to close for the foreseeable future. 
    

However, supermarkets and pharmacies had to remain open, as buying groceries and medicine was important for maintaining our well-being and health.

The only time we could leave home, was to go out for daily exercise once a day. (Back then, it was only within walking distance)

                                                                 

How did living in lockdown make us all feel?

I can imagine for most people, it made them feel lonely, bored and frustrated during the 1st month, with not being able to normally socialise with anyone, as well as not being able to go anywhere. To summarise all of the above with one word, we was all experiencing this feeling of "Isolation" as we had to "Stay home".

To share a personal insight with you all, I too, was struggling to cope to terms with being in lockdown for a short while, as I was constantly feeling bored all of the time with being stuck at home. I also didn't like the idea of my freedom being snatched away from me, as I love to go out and explore different places, this includes my education and time with friends face to face being snatched away from me. I eventually got SOOO bored, that I honestly had no idea with what to do with myself during my time in isolation, as I was doing the same routine over and over again. Further explanation in next subheading...

How did I utilise my time in lockdown?

One of the things I did to break my habitual routine, was watching every old episode of Coronation Street from 2008 up towards where I am now. I had to say, I found it very interesting how the cobbles' scenery was so different that long ago!😂 (Still laptop related) I was scrolling up and down the roads of different places on Google Maps to get from A to B. This significantly helped me to get better with my Geography!

Asides from my laptop, I thought I'd improve my cooking, by making a 3-course meal originated from various countries. Also, with cooking puddings too. I actually found cooking very therapeutic afterwards!

During the warm weather, I would sometimes go into my back garden to do a bit of sunbathing, to help me take my mind off the current COVID-19 related news. This also helped me to get my "Relaxation" mood on. Other times, me and my brother would help out in the front garden, by getting rid of all the weed and the bamboo (Don't ask, I had no idea why we had bamboo growing in our front garden?!)🐼😂 Anyway, this was a refurbishment task which we all decided to do, as our front garden was literally looking like a jungle.

Bonus fact: This was the VERY reason why I wanted to create this blog. 1: Because I am very passionate with sharing my psychological knowledge with you all. 2: This is just something which keeps my occupied during my free time.

What have we learned during our time in lockdown?

Ever since day 1 of lockdown, we have learned to help our minds to adapt to this sudden change of how we interact with ourselves, as well as one another from just one household. By doing so, it is very important that we check up on others by texting: "Hey, how have you been doing recently?" This kind of thoughtful message could really make someone's day, by making them think that their friends and family actually still care about them whilst in isolation. This is something which I like to do time and time again, as I am a caring and considerate person.

We have also learned that staying at home, doesn't give us an excuse to sit around and do nothing all day long. In exchange of that, we encourages ourselves to find more ways of unleashing our hidden creativity inside us. You'll never know, this may well could become your new favourite hobby!

Most importantly, we have learned that this ENTIRE nation has the capacity to come together and be willing to help out one another during these dark times. A heart whelming discovery to us all.💗

As of now, a whole year on from our first lockdown, we have been very successful with making the vaccine and giving them out to the public, that I believe half of the UK adults have been vaccinated already!

Thank you ever so much for taking your time to read through. Remember, stay safe and follow the guidelines. Hopefully we'll be out of this tunnel by the 21st of June!🤞 Bye for now.

  

How does each colour give you a variety of different emotions?

Hi all, I thought about sharing this psychological fact with you, since I'm currently in the process of building up my thoughts for an upcoming bigger post.

Which consists of how thinking about a certain colour can make you feel like. This is something that I experience a little bit with already. I'll share my examples...

BLUE - chilled, cool, energetic, calm, cold, wet.

RED - evil, scared, love, hot, angry, fierce, blushed.

GREEN - healthy, fresh, wild, environmental, scientific.

YELLOW - happy, cheerful, bright, dangerous, summery.

PURPLE - beautiful, creative, musical, hyper.

PINK - love, girly, (not stereotyped) kind, crazy, sweet. 

ORANGE - Tangy, (food & drink related word)  

GREY - old, misty, depressed, historical, dull. 

WHITE - wintery, clean, plain, confident. 

BLACK - intelligent, sporty, shy, dark. 

BROWN - chocolate, dirty, natured. 

I'll say no more, here's the pictured example for you to glance at. This time, with added branded logos to help expand your imagination and feelings.

That's all for now. Please feel free to let me know if you experience this type of similar thing and I'll be back soon.😊

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/)

10 steps to a positive body image

This is an interesting topic of conversation, in which, I came across recently. (Courtesy of my College)

I personally feel like we need to be spreading these messages out more to the world, as there still could be THOUSANDS of people putting themselves down due to their dissatisfaction of their body image. It is deeply important to justify that we are human and we can only function with positive energy. 

Take a look for yourself and have a good long reflect.

  

Just remember - You are ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT regardless of who you are, what you do and whatever you're background is.✊

I rest my case.

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!

2020 in review and looking forward to 2021

I'd like to take a moment of my time to wish everyone a very Happy New Year despite the pandemic conditions we're currently facing. With that just said, I want to do a review on how the year 2020 went and what to look forward to in 2021.

Ditto to what everyone has been saying: "2020 was a challenging year for everyone on planet earth." (Well, at least 3 quarters of it has been) 

So instead of criticising why this year was so bad, let's highlight all the positive contributes that we did as a WHOLE country: When we went into full-on lockdown on the 23rd of March, we had to 'STAY AT HOME' Meaning: We cannot meet up with anyone, go to work or a place of education and only go out for essential shopping & exercise once a day. It was a depressing 2 months for everyone I'm sure, but one of the two attributes which really stood out in this dark time, was when staying at home gave us all a chance to spend more time reflecting on ourselves - For example: How can I improve myself in life? Answer: Do something creative. (Like what I'm doing) This helps to take your mind off all the tragic things which COVID-19 is doing right now and makes you focus on moving forward with your creativity.

The other, and most big attribute, is how every single person in this country is capable of forming together as a whole and helping one-another get through this difficult time. One example of this would be texting/calling your friends or family members to check how they're coping with life - One of the many social issues that gets talked about so often, due to the amount of suicide risks increasing since locking the whole country down. In addition to all this, we showed our appreciation for the NHS by clapping for them every Thursday evening until the 28th of May. This helps spreads the word to them that they're doing an absolute boss of a job with trying to keep people alive, as well as making them better again.

During the summer, the outlook was getting better and we were allowed to live an 'almost normal' life again. Meaning: We can see friends, go somewhere to eat & do shopping or even go on a short holiday elsewhere in the country.

However, come October, the infection & death rate rose up again, which led us going into a mini month lockdown in November. So we began using our learned social skills again. Shortly after that, we only came out of the mini lockdown before the infection & death rate REALLY surged up 3 weeks later, which meant, those living in tier 4 restrictions couldn't have a normal Christmas & New Year. (Which is what happened to me...) But in light to all this, it gave us a chance to spend it in our little 'social bubble' with our families whilst saying: "Everything will be ok, we will all get through this together" This will help us to keep positive.

Final paragraph on the subject, let's all go into 2021 with a positive outlook. Don't make any big plans while getting your hopes up about them, because they may not happen for a long while, which can only lead to disappointment, frustration and anger - You don't want this to reflect on your family don't you?

That brings me to an end with this informative and helpful blog. Hope you all enjoyed reading and please feel free to talk to me about how you are feeling in relation to these current circumstances.

Take care, and remember - Everyone is in this together.✊💞     

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.