As a child, I firmly believed in magic.
Category: Anxiety
Using Anxiety Against Itself: The Power Of Failure Modes
[Today, for a change, a serious discussion. No jokes!] Let’s borrow a concept from the world of engineering and talk about Failure Modes.
The Insultingly Simple Guide to Breathing
Breathing has become strangely fashionable in recent months. Not only is everyone doing it, they’re talking about it a lot too: “Just breathe”… “Focus on your breath”… “Breathe your way out of a panic attack”… “Our most powerful weapon against anxiety is our breath”…”BREATHE YOU FOOL, BREATHE, QUICK, THEY’RE COMING, WE HAVEN’T GOT MUCH TIME”…
I Am Seriously Not My Thoughts
Just a short post today, following on from the idea that it’s useful to see ourselves as separate from our thoughts. How can we know that we are separate from our thoughts? What does it even mean to not be your thoughts?
Who Thinks My Thoughts?!
One day at school we had one of those special days when we abandoned normal lessons and had someone else take over. I guess the justification was to broaden our minds, but, looking back, it was probably a handy excuse for our regular teachers to catch up on marking and planning while we were handed…
Several Ways To Enter A Shower That Is Initially Too Hot
I have a recurring problem. Actually, I have many recurring problems. But today we’re going to discuss a particularly tricky one: What is the best way to enter a shower when it’s initially too hot… but will be a perfect temperature after your body has adapted? The answer may surprise you!
It’s Okay To Need A Little Help
This post was originally written for tinybuddha.com. You can find the original post here It’s 2004, and I awake in a student college in Melbourne, Australia. This comes as no surprise, because, at the time, I lived there. I groggily stagger to the shared bathroom on my floor, to perform my morning washing routine. There’s…
Lies, Damn Lies, and Oh God Why All The Lies: Part Two
So, last time, I claimed that truth is important. In fact, I argued that truth is crucial, and that anything less than the truth is lies, and that not being in tune with reality is disastrous for us and our happiness. Today I’m going to argue the opposite…
Lies, Damn Lies, and Oh God Why All The Lies: Part One
One night at university, my friends and I came up with a game. Each of us would tell one lie, and whoever convinced the most people to believe it would win.
I forget what lie everybody else told. But mine went on to become legendary. It was this…
Laughing at Anxiety – Or With It – Or Something
[I originally wrote this article for the Huffington Post – click here to see it in its natural habitat] Laughter is the best medicine. (Unless you’re trying to treat insomnia, in which case laughter is at best highly inconvenient or – more likely – annoying beyond belief.) But how useful is laughter for the anxious?…