Category: Self-love
-
7 Essential Truths About Ageing – and Why It’s Not That Bad
Western society expects women to challenge the ageing process at every turn, whilst other cultures embrace it. We celebrate youth, influenced by celebrities like the Kardashions, under-nourished catwalk models, older men who date younger women – but thank you, Keanu Reeves, for bucking the trend – and actresses who “have work” to remain employed.
-
Life Lessons: Measuring Success Beyond Society’s Standards
At some point during the last few years, I experienced a light bulb moment and finally realised who I want to be during this next stage. I realised when I looked back, that society had indoctinated me to seek its narrow definition of success – where, ultimately, materialism is the most popular measure, in the…
-
Anxiety and The Hidden Power of Uncertainty
The worst advice someone can give people like me is to stop worrying. Not only is that reductive, telling me to stop worrying makes me worry about why I worry so much. I am an Olympian in overthinking, and controlling my spiralling thoughts is just not that simple. It is also exhausting.
-
11 Life Lessons My Dog Taught Me
Prior to our vet’s final visit to our home, I cradled our fifteen-year old dog Luna in my arms, sobbing uncontrollably. I thought I was prepared, but in that moment of our total vulnerability, it was all too much. It felt wrong to end her life this way, and when her body went limp, and…
-
9 Surprising Truths I discovered About Myself In 2020
Compared to many people, I was fortunate to emerge from 2020 relatively unscathed. Admittedly, certain elements of our brief lockdown in Sydney tested me, but because my job carried on pretty much as usual (and I don’t get out much anyway), there were few noticeable changes in my day-to-day life. However, I don’t think anyone…
-
I’m An Empath, So Why Can’t I Cut Myself Some Slack?
I’ve been really grumpy over the past few weeks. I can tell I’ve not been my usual happy-go-lucky self because I’ve seen that fear in the old man’s eyes each time we pass each other, and he has been uncommonly brave and accused me of being “unreasonable” several times. Photo by Dale de Vera on Unsplash We’ve both…
-
I won’t be getting sober anytime soon but I am “drinking smarter”
Photo from Damir Spanic on Unsplash I was a grown-up last weekend. The old man and I went on a date night to a swanky restaurant and I chose to drive. In my last post I talked about the necessity of making choices in middle age, and prior to last night, I would have looked…
-
Middle Age Is About Making Important Choices
I knocked back some paid work last week. Not that we’re rolling in money and I can pick and choose the hours I want, but this time my choice was based on my health. I knew that working five days a week in three different fields would have undone all of the good I got…
-
Empty-Nesting: How awesomely liberating is it doing exactly what YOU want now?
It’s my birthday next week, and as has been our agreement for a number of years, the old man and I have a process in place for the event when it comes to presents. It goes something like this: I negotiate a budget (that usually works in my favour because he pretends to feel some…
-
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…
-
New Years Resolutions: Page 1 of 365
I didn’t begin page 1 of the next 365 with a run or yoga. Instead, I lay in bed for as long as I could, and when the pain in my head refused to go away, I was grateful for Berocca. On page 1 of 365, it wasn’t goals on my mind, it was food…
-
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…
LOUISA SIMMONDS 