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4 Books That Helped Me Feel Less Alone as a Mum

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After having my child, I went through a bit of an identity crisis. I didn’t know who I was anymore. I sort of was the same person, but I also wasn’t. I cared about different things; I prioritised someone else’s needs over mine. If I am honest, I refused to notice my own needs for a very long time after becoming a mother. I almost didn’t know how to do it. Or my physical and mental load was suddenly so high that I struggled to acknowledge that I had other needs. I have stopped going to yoga classes, buying clothes or even looking at clothes for myself. I won’t even mention evenings or nights out, because I was a mum now. I felt lost. I didn’t know how to explain my feelings and experiences to my husband. And then he struggled because he saw something was up but could not help me. I had other mum friends that I could speak to, but I remember concentrating on their needs, not even thinking of mentioning how I felt. And then one day I accidentally listened to a podcast by Giovanna Fletcher...
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My List of Inspiring Women over 50

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It was my birthday, and I don’t know about you, but on my birthdays I philosophise about, well, getting older. Despite feeling young and having two young children, I know that time is going forward. I don’t want to sound morbid or melodramatic—that’s not the point - but I am not getting younger. One thing that I’ve realised is that when I was younger, I could easily create role models for myself because TV and films were full of beautiful young women doing amazing things. And when you get older, you don’t notice that many older women doing amazing things. They’re either not very visible, or one day there and then gone from our screens. How many TV presenters over 50 can you name in 5 seconds? Or singers or actresses that are still going strong? Many try to defy ageing via surgery or by seeking roles meant for much younger women. Others vanish. And then I realised that I only notice what I pay attention to. I concentrate on younger women out of  habit , so I see them more. But I’m s...
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18 Whimsical Habits to Turn an Average Day into Your Dream Day

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Do you ever feel like you live in your own version of the Groundhog Day?  Every day you get up and you do something. Every day, you tire yourself out, but in the evening you realise that you have achieved little: the laundry basket is still overflowing, the garden is drowning in weed and your hair is still unwashed. And most importantly you feel unsatisfied, sad, tired, grumpy. Add your own here. I wonder if it's because you are trying to live your life as if it's some sort of challenge course: You need to run fast towards that finish line You need to jump over myriads of hoops and loops You need, you must, you ought to But in reality, you need to feel content with your life. You need to go to bed with that  sense of overall satisfaction  dreaming about all the things you are yet to do.  A hamster wheel sort of life is not for us. Let's leave it for our furry friends. We need to live life to the fullest. And that's what I want to share with you today -  tips and...
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Quick & Easy Breathing Exercise To Help You Regain Focus

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Try practising a three-part breathing exercise anytime you need to add clarity, refocus your attention or relax after a bout of stressful activity. Breathing is natural for all human beings. But how often do we notice our breathing patterns and slow down to adjust them so that they benefit rather than hinder us? The simple breathing exercise recommended in this post is part of the self-care routine and  psychological  self-care in particular. It helps us to look after both, our body and our mind. And if we have a healthy body, we can build a healthy mind, so win-win from whatever side you look at it. How will breathing exercises help us regain focus? Focus is like an unruly toddler. One minute they are playing nicely with the toys, another they are running around the room throwing tantrums and ignoring any requests for order.  The trick with the toddler is to switch their attention as quickly as possible so they comply with your requests. The same goes for our wandering m...
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Quotes to Be Your Best Self

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I haven’t always appreciated quotes. As a literature graduate, I often found them pretentious or boring. And let’s be honest — some of them truly are. But then one day, I was in a queue to see my dentist. On the cover of a magazine in the waiting room was a quote by Chekhov: “There is nothing more awful, insulting, and depressing than banality.” I read it and moved on. But sitting in the dentist’s chair, I kept coming back to it — partly for distraction, partly because it struck a nerve. Quotes are little capsules of wisdom. One or two lines can shift your whole perspective. They might encourage you, challenge you, or help you feel less alone. How do quotes achieve this educational motivational effect? Quotes could feel very powerful due to a ' coaching factor ' - when someone or something validates us, we believe in ourselves too. And even though a written quote is not real or alive, it still carries the energy of that spoken word, the word of advice and encouragement.  Affirm...
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