Category: mental health
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5 Life Lessons To Take Away From “The Sopranos”
We’re grieving in our household because we’ve just completed the final series of The Sopranos. The Sopranos boxset available at Amazon. But before any hardcore Sopranos fans jump in with an “I told you so” assumption that our grief is linked to THAT final episode – trust me, it’s not. The old man loved the…
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There Is No Better Education In Love, Compassion And Empathy Than Having A Child With Special Needs
A few weeks ago we went to a fundraiser. It was a black tie event to raise money for the family of an old colleague of the old man’s whose son broke his neck and damaged his spinal cord in a freak rugby accident recently. Alex Noble is their son’s name, and if anyone feels…
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The Meaning Of Life And Why People Who Live In Hot Countries Suffer From Depression As Well
Kurt experienced a few personal setbacks a few weeks ago and because I know that many of you follow this blog because you too have young adults who struggle, I thought I’d take you through what we’ve learned from it. Obviously, I won’t go into precise detail about what happened, but suffice it to say…
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Running Doesn’t Get Any Easier, But Let Me Tell You What It Does Do…
This week, I’ve decided to guilt you off the sofa with another smug-assed update about my new running career. Photo from Unsplash. Catherine McMahon Cue drumroll: Last week, I reached my target of 4kms for the Mothers Day Run For Breast Cancer. In other words, my weekly jog/hobbles around the lagoon in our new suburb…
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9 Reasons Why Empty-Nesting Is So Much Better Than I Expected
Since Kurt left home – the last of our young adults to leave the nest – friends keep asking us how we are coping with our loss, how much we miss him, and whether we’ll get another dog? Photo by Caleb George on Unsplash And my diplomatic answer is a resounding YES – of course,…
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Empty-Nesting: You Know When It Is Time…
Photo by Mantas Hesthaven on Unsplash The old man and I became empty-nesters this week. Kurt has left the building. I swear he wasn’t pushed. We view our negotiations as closer to a manipulation that made sense – primarily, for him. Not once did we bring up the subject of our sanity in the conversation.…
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Managing Anxiety and Depression: The Trick Is To Find Happiness In The Small Things
After the cabin fever brought on by the Armageddon of a dodgy weather cycle in Sydney over the past 24hrs – totally unrelated to climate change, according to our government – it was a relief to get out of the house this morning. After almost a month of holiday excess, I decided that I would…
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The Secret To Surviving Long-Haul Flights With Anxiety
It wasn’t quite the Love Actually airport moment that I had anticipated when I spotted the old man waiting for me at the wrong exit of Sydney airport after my latest grueling long-haul flight, and I wasn’t amused. It seems appropriate to compare the torture of such flights to being forced to a Republican Thanksgiving…
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At 53, I Think That I Finally Have The Maturity To Embrace Yoga
You can call me “Madonna” from now on because, since my four-hour yoga retreat on Saturday, I am officially at one with my body, nature and the limitations of my pelvic floor. Unlike the majority of my mates, I’ve come a little late to the yoga party. I’ve struggled to find my inner or spiritual…
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And The Progress Prize For Best Father This Father’s Day Goes To…
I’d like to say an early “Happy Fathers Day” to all those men for whom fatherhood hasn’t been quite what they expected, perhaps due to their own issues, the pressures of “toxic masculinity”, or perhaps because, (as in the old man’s case), they produced a square peg. First of all, I should probably justify my…
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Living One Day At A Time And Being Content With What We Have
A successful designer, seemingly with the world at her feet, takes her own life. Her body is found in her New York apartment with a note that will devastate her family and change the course of her young daughter’s life forever. One thing is certain: she achieved success in the way that the west determines…
LOUISA SIMMONDS 