A Guide for Anxious Humans
They’re building something over the road. For months, piles of earth have appeared and disappeared, punctuating my days with clanking and drilling and the beeping of huge machines reversing.
It might sound like I’m about to complain, but I’m delighted. At the time of writing, it has been exactly fifty days since I…
As I write, it’s day fifty-one of not seeing any other humans. And, just in case you’re reading from the future, I should stress that that’s not purely by choice. We’re in lockdown to avoid spreading a deadly disease.
During lockdown, I’ve experienced many feelings. I’ve been through the ups and downs, the…
Once upon a time, my parents took me to the zoo. This day is full of memories which have stuck with me ever since—the sunshine, the excitement, the ice cream… even holding hands with my dad, watching eagerly as he unfolded the map.
One of the sharpest and most vivid memories is of…
“Never again.” – Neil Hughes, after writing one book… and before writing another book.
After winning four Olympic gold medals, Steve Redgrave famously said that if anyone found him close to a rowing boat again, they could shoot him.
Four years later, he won a fifth gold.
” This is one of those books that I’m sure will stay with me for a while, if not for the rest of my life. There’s just something so unique and real about it and I just felt very connected to the themes it presented. ” – review The day has finally arrived –…
[This story was originally shared via the Neil Hughes Occasional Email Experience. Sign up for stories like this in your inbox.] Image via Max Pixel, licenced under Creative Commons CC0 A story about life revelations in three parts: I: Hit In The Face Last week I got hit in the face in a pub toilet…
You may remember that aaaaages ago I gave a TEDx talk about anxiety and custard. Since then I’ve been asked “when is your TED video up?” approximately… a lot of times. Finally, I can answer that question. (Although you’ve probably guessed.) It’s up now. It contains me. Silly doodles. Stupid jokes. Honesty. Ideas about being…
Recently I got a haircut. And, as you might expect, nothing particularly surprising happened. But, as I was paying, the hairdresser asked a question. “Do you have 50p by any chance?” Immediately I sprang into action. I searched rapidly, poring through my wallet, tipping coins into my hand and picking out the right change for…
My anxiety sometimes manifests as health anxiety, and that’s taken me to some unexpected places.
Anybody who has known me for even a short time knows I am attracted to ridiculousness like a moth attracted to fire. Where the thing on fire is a cow dressed as clown. (Of course, it’s possible that ridiculous events are attracted to me, and not the other way around. I’ve never been able to…
