Once I stopped battling anxiety, it lost its power over me

I have written my first post for another site - EveryDay Mindfulness, and I'm feeling so proud to see it on their beautiful site. I hope you like it! From autopilot to mindfulness – the battle against anxiety is finally over This time last year I was battling anxiety. Year after year I’d been keeping my…

Something old, something new…

I've been thinking a lot lately about how things come to a natural end, and how this isn't necessarily a bad or sad thing as it inevitably makes way for something new. I spend a good deal of time standing at the bus stop, under a canopy of trees. This gives me the time to…

Me, social anxiety, and a little night out (in context)

To put this in context – I don’t go out much. I go out with my boyfriend, and occasionally my best friend (she lives in another county), and very occasionally with my boyfriend’s family (my family live in Scotland). This is really hard to write as I know that people I have kept this from…

Me, social anxiety, and a little night out (self-help books)

Over the years I have tried so many self-help books that I’ve lost count, I don’t even want to know how many there have been. I’ve tried Claire Weeks and her “Pass through Panic” CD, the “Linden Method”, Paul McKenna books and CDs, online CBT courses, you name them – I’ve probably tried them. I’m…

Me, social anxiety, and a little night out (the counselling)

  As some of you will know, in the summer of 2013 I spent 3 long weeks in my bedroom, racked with anxiety, knowing that something had to change. And that I have managed a big step recently, a little night out. This is the latest instalment in how I managed it.... I contacted a…

Post-it notes and positive prompts

When my friend was learning Italian, post-it notes sprung up around the house in the strangest of places. I soon knew the Italian word for a myriad of kitchen appliances. I couldn’t help it, the words were all around me. Now imagine if you replaced the Italian words with the words of positive emotions that…

Act yourself confident aka a week in the life of Amy Pond

How many times have I looked at people and wished I could be that confident? And it isn’t just the confidence, it’s everything that comes with it, mainly, the opportunities. Whenever I see an opportunity, I automatically run through all the things that could go wrong before it even becomes a possibility. By the time…

Starry moments: day 19

Today's moments that made me smile: Waking up in the arms of the guy I love, that feeling of belonging, and of not having to go to work! Bliss. An invite for another crafty wedding afternoon. I love doing crafty bits, but never quite find the time. This way I know I will make the…

Starry moments: day 18

Some bullet points today, a great day means less time to blog (I'm stll trying to get that balance between finding time to blog about life and actually living life!) A great Pilates class, and chatted to two lovely women before and after class. Shame my class is at a different time next week, but…

Starry moments: day 17

Today was a HUGE starry moment in my relatively small world. For most of you, the next bit will probably sound odd, as in, what's the big deal? But for anyone with social anxiety - get this - I went for drinks and food with people I don't usually socialise with, in a pub I'd…