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 Shappi Khorsandi's book: Scatterbrain (ADHD awareness & insight post)

Evening all! I hope you're enjoying your week so far. As for me, it's been boring so far. Mainly because I had been stuck at home for 3 days due to having a cold, and not being allowed out.

As of such, I thought about doing some more research on ADHD during the time being. However, what actually prompted me to do some more research on this, was because I specifically wanted to find the link to being a scatterbrain & having ADHD. This was where I had stumbled upon a search result on Google, which consisted of a book on the Amazon website with the very title: "Scatterbrain: How I got off the ADHD rollercoaster" I then immediately thought to myself: "Ah, this must be the right research source I am looking for!"

And sure enough, it certainly didn't disappoint...!

This book turns out to be Comedian, Shappi Khorsandi, talking about her experiences with ADHD. It also turns out that she was undiagnosed with the said condition, and reflects on her own behaviour in the past while being undiagnosed.

(Please do feel free to comment about my picture design!)

Rather than keep using rhetorical questions to form my thoughts, and guide me through what I am going to say, I'll just get stuck in.

I don't know about any of you, (and you may agree or disagree with me on this) but I have always seemed to find ADHD personalities & characteristics highly amusing. And I sincerely do not mean this in an offensive way at all. I think this is because of of the unpredictability that ADHD behaviour brings to oneself. A common example of this would be willing to start something, but unable to get that something finished. Especially within a set timeframe. Like Shappi herself, when she was writing her book, as she highlighted the crazy things she has done when the deadline of her book was looming upon her. This is where the scatterbrain effect gets linked with this type of ADHD behaviour, as it makes you think that you have the capacity of doing so many things while within a set timeframe. But in reality, this just puts you off your primary focus, because you have scattered thoughts/ideas running around in your mind as if each of them are running their own marathon. Again, this is 1 of the reasons why I personally find ADHD amusing. 

Another thing from the book which spoke out to me, was how much focus control there is involved in ADHD focus, (hyper focus) but also the lack of focus on normal focus. It would be stereotypical of people (who do not or have a lack of understanding about ADHD) to label them as "incapable" just because they do not maintain focus like normal people. It has been proven that many people with ADHD ARE very capable of focusing on something, but in their own time. Especially when it comes to something that they are deeply interested in. If this can work for Shappi, then it can work for anyone.

Back onto the scatterbrain topic, having difficulties with controlling your emotions can create scattered thoughts into your mind. Like with most ADHD people, they may experience an overload of excessive thoughts running around in their mind, and they get to a sudden point where they need to blurt how they feel out loud, as this helps them to let of steam inside their mind. Sometimes, these thinking out loud thoughts may become too compulsive for other people around them to hear, as well as being around that ADHD person, so they feel like they are just trying to gain much unnecessary attention as possible. But in reality, that person really cannot help what they are doing.

Does living in your thoughts help you escape reality?

A fairly quick, but interesting post tonight.

As the Rhetorical Questionized title says, I've pretty much more or less spent today 'Living in my thoughts'.

Only because today was a purposely nothing day, so I thought thinking would help me to keep my sanity.

Don't take the above sentence the wrong way, as just casually thinking can very easily turn into overthinking. If you can relate to the stresses of overthinking, then you can understand my point of view.

To justify my unexplained reason in the 3rd paragraph, I felt like thinking about my good times in the past. This helps me to take a momentarily break from my present reality, as I think about my successful moments that were worth applauding for. I like to use moments like these as self motivation fuel.

Furthermore, I utilise that break from reality, in order to stop any negative thoughts come into my head, and potentially, waste my day feeling worried about silly scenarios which will never happen.

*A pictured definition of what my mind was like today*

One thing you all need to bare in mind is, your mind is like a magnet, in which, it has the capacity to play tricks on you. 

Best feed it with success and positively, regardless of how you want to take a mental break from reality.👍🏻👍🏻

Why is #Anxiety linked with #MentalHealth?

Disclaimer: This will be a follow-up post, in relations to my previous special post. See here: Just a little something for #WorldMentalHealthDay 

Hello and Happy Friyay! Yes, I've been in a great mood this week and I've hope you all been the same way too throughout this week. 

As of such, I've been wanting to talk about for awhile (until it was actually the most convenient time to talk about it. I'll explain in a bit) why Anxiety is linked to Mental Health.

From where I stand, I see this topic of discussion somewhat personal to me, as I suffer from Anxiety time-to-time, hence my reasons for a lengthily break. However, as I'm sure you all know by now, talking to an audience by writing/typing really helps me to feel better about myself, as well as taking a huge weight off my chest. 

Whenever it DOES happen, I start to think about the worst case scenario('s) in regards to what's going to happen? Or will it even get better? In shorter terms, all of the mentioned can be referred to as 'Overthinking'

Reason and being the most foremost as to why it links with Mental Health, is because you will be thinking of too many things at one time, (basic definition of overthinking) causing your mind to overload and therefore not being able to cope with anything for a short period of time, as your potentially putting yourself off your own focus.

Well, I say a short period of time, as it never lasts forever, but in reality, it all really depends on how long YOU go through it all.

The best advice for trying to avoid your Anxiety by overthinking too much, is to take everyday as it comes. Do everything one step at a time, so your mind will be able to adapt to the one priority you intend to prioritize first, in order for you to succeed at trying to accomplish something. My biggest example of this would be coursework. With that said, I'm sure many of you can relate to that too.

Furthermore, keeping with the "Do everything one step at a time" strategy will make life a hell of a lot easier for you when you try to get any work done, as well as making you feel good about yourself when you acknowledge that's the strategy to success.

I hope I've taught you all something, by gaining a more in dept understanding of why that link is strongly paired between the two factors. 

Bottom note: Research definitely helps to gain more knowledge.

Thank you for reading, please do feel free to notify me and I hope to publish again soon!  

Why does eating a variety of different foods give you different thoughts?

Hello one and all! It's good to be back blogging once again.

Only because I've been keeping extra priotized with revision for my course this academic year lately, which can be quite full on at times.

Anyway, hope you're all doing well and enjoying the autumn so far.

This is a topic I've been looking into this week, so I thought about distributing it out to you guys, as you may find it interesting, as well as being able to take away some learned information too.

Now, you're probably thinking to yourself: "Why this picture?! It looks crazy!"😂

But... I can only assure you, this is a pictured definition of what foods THAT person is thinking about, when THEY'RE in a calm mood.

As for myself, I like to think about egg when I'm in a calm mood, as the taste of it makes me feel healthy and nutritious. It's also good for you in general.😊

What thoughts go through your mind when eating different foods?

Let's say, you like to crave on pizza, therefore meaning, eating pizza gives you these good thoughts that you never want to let go, such as: "Ahh, this is the life. I hope it never ends"

The problem is, if that inner message keeps on repeating itself over and over, it will eventually tell your mind, that pizza is the only thing keeping your happiness sane. It then becomes an addiction. You can choose to do this with any type of food.

In contrast, try another piece of food which make you experience a more positive emotion, such as nostalgia. You may like to have something, you haven't had since you were a kid, and it happens to be something you liked to eat a lot back then. I also like to do to this from time to time, and it feels so refreshing to your mind!

Or, you might want to feel energized, by eating a banana, cereal or even a protein bar. (Grenade) These foods will tell your mind to find a way to be active for a long period of time, so your mind will therefore tell you to use that fueled energy, by running it all out. I guess you can refer this as to hyperactivity.

Final conclusion: It is always a good thing to experience a variety of thoughts and emotions, when having different foods, as they keep a steady line on your health and wellbeing.

Just in case if you're not familiar of the saying: "Eat well for less" This is the definition displayed on the iconic food plate.

I've pretty much covered everything now.

Thank you so much for taking your time to read through my extensive post. Please do feel free to comment down below or talk to me in person.

Have a great weekend!

My helpful research source: Food and Mood

Why does social media influence people into the way they are?

Hello my fellow readers, hope you're all enjoying your weekends so far. As for me, I've been a tad busy recently, due to me starting back at college again, so I'm currently keeping myself prioritized with upcoming coursework.

However, this week, I've been writing down ideas on what my next post should be about, then I thought about making some kind of follow-up post from my previous one about social media. 

Link here: The psychology behind social media

What I've found on the internet:

Just last night, I've done some research on how can sociology can play a part in social media influencing, (I'll discuss about that in the next subheading) and one of the key factor which plays a huge role is something called: "Gaining empathy from one-another"

This is now very much commonly used by people on their socials, (namely Instagram) to attract likes and comments by their friends, as this is their own way of showing they require attention from their friends or close friends, (if necessary) in the EXACT moment that publish has been created on their social media. Here's the link to my research source: Mirroring

How can sociology be used within social media influences?:

For those of you who are not familiar with the term 'Sociology' it is another one of those scientific human behavioural studies, which mainly focuses on how humans typically behave in social situations around us. A prime example of this would be, how do we typically behave around our families and why do we behave the way we do around them. You could otherwise say, this all comes under the overall psychology umbrella. If you know what I mean.

What I'm seeing a lot on Instagram nowadays, and I'm not just aiming at friends/family either, is people never intending to post anything, yet they still have the intention of posting eventually on there, but this is to just simply gain lots of likes and comments from them, especially their close friends, as they will always be the ones who will support those individuals from day 1 - until the very end.

Let's say, you live in a family of people who have Instagram, but never actually post anything on there, unless it's a special moment in their lifetime, in which, it could be birthdays, in memory of someone or even a major celebration etc.

If your only posts were to be about the above listed things, therefore, you'll be hoping to get as many likes and comments from nearly everyone who follows you on there, meaning, they say lovely things to you, or even just use emojis as a substitute. (Depending on if you're a lover of them or not, as not everyone like the idea of using emojis in their communication)

To flip this point the other way round, if you see a friend/family member do EXACTLY the same thing as what you do on Instagram, you'll be the one who gives out all the likes and comments, in order to help them feel good about themselves in life.

If you were a celebrity, that would be a different scenario all together, as you NEED to post things on your social media, as it's YOUR job to keep the public updated about every single thing you get up to in your famous life, so you'll be able to make a living out of it. This way, other celebrities will give you lots of likes and praise, to help you to keep moving forwards with your career.

If I have to conclude all of this in my own way, it would be, that I see people now enjoy echoing on-another, so they can fit within their own form of society. Bare in mind, I'm not saying this is either a good or bad thing, as you may very well now, that I'm just curious to know how these things work and why.

Lastly and foremost, everyone has an individual right to be themselves on whatever social media. I want to put this message out there.

That's all for this topic.

Thank you very much for reading through. Please do feel free to let me know what your thoughts are in the comments or in person.

Bye for now!😊

The psychology behind social media

Hello all, Happy Sunday! I hope it's been a good one for you, especially with the hot weather today.😎

Since my last post, I've been keeping myself occupied, by staying off the internet and going out walking, which is what will be bringing up today's topic of social media.

What is social media?

Social media is a multi-communication app, which allows us to connect with friends and family, by making your own posts, pictures and stories to share online with them.

Even though, it may be fun and enjoyable to use for posting about your happy moments for everyone to see, such as going out travelling, clubbing or just hanging out with your friends and family etc. It can otherwise be very well known for "Controlling your happiness" (This is a quote, which has been taken from a friend of mine's documentary that'll be displayed at the end of the discussion)

Going back to my last point, social media sometimes has the capacity to control your happiness, especially when you're feeling depressed and bored, by saying to yourself: "Do you know what, I feel like just scrolling through my social media feeds, to see what everybody else has been doing, so that it makes me feel happy" 

Doing this, only shows that you have no interest on focusing on yourself, by looking into other people's lives on social media, which will then lead your mindset to start "Comparing yourself with other people" (Another quote taken from the upcoming documentary) As you judge yourself where you stand in your life progression, against other people in theirs. This is when your mind starts saying: "I feel like I'm doing A LOT better in life then these people, as I've got many pictures, as well as posts on there, which always gets likes and comments. Whereas, this person is boring, as they can never be bothered to post anything"

Don't get me wrong, whenever people like and comment on your posts, it does feel "Rewarding" (Another quote) to you, as those people do genuinely appreciate what you are doing in the making of that post, as well as yourself for that matter, as it makes YOU appreciate what you actually physically do in life, in order for you to receive that amount of praise. I always feel the same way too when this happens on my social media.

Finally and foremost, it is NEVER a good idea to spend lots of long hours on social media everyday, as it drains all of your productive time, which you could be physically doing something towards your goal or hobby, as these are the things you're interested in to make you become into a successful person one day in your life. Plus, it drains your mental health, by constantly looking into your eye-damaging phone screen, so that it brainwashes your mind, by making it think there's nothing fun to do in the outside world anymore, and you'd rather be indoors constantly surfing the internet 24/7, as this becomes your new favourite form of entertainment.

I think I've pretty much concluded everything in that topic now.

Thank you very much for taking your time to read through this long and extensive post today, and as promised, here is my friend's awesome documentary about his outtake on social media.

The topmost reason I wanted to share it with you all in this post, is that he words every single thing about my OWN use of social media, meaning, I couldn't word it any better, as he explains everything. I'll leave you to enjoy.

Documentary: Detached

If you want to see of more of what my friend does, then click on: Nicholas Stone

Why do people get overhyped about football?

Wow... 7 months I've been blogging now! I'm so honestly amazed of how I've managed to stick to it for this long. 

*Inserts applauding noises here*👏🏻

Anyway, I hope everyone is enjoying their week, as well as the Euro 2020. Yes, I say that, because we are now through to the quarter finals, where we will be playing Ukraine on Saturday.😄

Since we're on the topic of football, I thought about specializing this post for just such an appropriate occasion.

I just like to justify that football is NOT for everyone, so I honestly see no need for people to criticise one another, just because it's a popular sport worldwide. (Almost)

What is it about football that makes it so popular?

For starters, they began making European and almost worldwide tournaments back in 1888 by a guy named: William McGregor. Link here: https://www.google.com/search?

Secondly, as the ever-growing tradition became so successful, It attracted many fans from all over the globe! At this stage in time, the sport lovers will now vision football as "The best thing ever" As of such, they feel the need to brag to other people face-to-face or on the internet that you MUST know about football.

Finally, the players make a HUGE impact on their fans, by playing in the games, influence people on social media and even appear on adverts to gain more popular with the public, as well as the advertising company they appear on. This encourages the public and fans to know more about them, due to the high law of attraction they are gaining.

What thoughts and emotions run through your mind during a football atmosphere?

Let's say you're a mass Chelsea supporter (My supported team btw) and you love going to every single game at their home ground to see them play.

During the game, you would be sat there feeling tense, as you don't know who is going to score yet. This phrase is known as 'The waiting game' The more tension you build, the more your heart starts beating.

If your team was to score and win the game, your mind automatically gets these thoughts of joy that your team had achieved something that day, feeling very proud of their progress. Also, you feel relieved that they've managed to score in the first place, by lifting a heavy weight of your shoulders l.

However, if the opponent team was to score and you lose the game, you automatically gets these thoughts of frustration and anger that the other didn't deserve to score, due to them playing dirty or your team were genuinely playing poorly. Whilst these thoughts happen, you can physically feel the tension running through your body like electric and you need something else to take your mind of it.

This can also be the same scenario when you actually go out and play football for real.

So realistically, your thoughts and emotions are playing on a seesaw when it comes to watching and playing football, as you don't know which way the game will make them tilt to. If this makes sense to anyone?

As I happen to like football, I know what I am talking about here.

Thank you so much for reading through my what ended up being a long post today.😅 Please feel free to comment or let me know in person whatever your thoughts are on this topic and I'll try to post again over the weekend. See ya!

"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!