How to deal with transitions in life

Review of The Lonely Century by Noreena Hertz

by Suzie

The Lonely Century is a book that argues we are living in an age of extreme loneliness. Noreena Hertz has done her research. She points to colleges that are needing to teach students how to interact with other people face-to-face. Elderly Japanese women who are committing petty crimes in order to be sent to prison,...

Health Reviews Wider world

capitalism mental health

September 29, 2021

Yoga Practice: Re-Focusing on Sun Salutation A

by Suzie

I first started doing yoga some 15-20 years ago. I borrowed a (mostly text-based) book from the library, which gave me a guide to various poses as well as introduced me to some basic concepts around breathing (helpful) and Vastra Dhauti, in which a cloth is passed down the digestive tract to the stomach in...

health self-care

September 23, 2021

This is the way the world ends (the world will be just fine)

by Suzie

I recently read N.K. Jemsin’s Broken Earth trilogy*. An epic sci-fi/fantasy, it was gripping and fantastical. One of the points she makes is that apocalypses are happening all the time, somewhere. We talk about climate change (nuclear winter, over-population, etc.) as being the end of the world, but what we really mean is that it...

Health Wider world

climate change mental health weekly reflections zen

August 15, 2021

Today I got stabbed: the wonder of vaccines

by Suzie

Today I got my second shot of the Pfizer vaccine. The whole thing was extremely efficient. I am expecting to feel a few side-effects later, but it’s worth it to know that I have vastly reduced my chances of being hospitalised with Covid-19, as well as generally reduced my chances of catching it and passing...

Health Suzie

covid modern medicine

August 14, 2021

In gratitude for a lovely Saturday

by Suzie

Today was a beautiful day. The sun was out, there was a gentle breeze, and my spouse and I set ourselves a rather arbitrary quest to go and buy bubble tea, which necessitated us walking some 3 miles down the river into town and then some 3 miles back. People often wonder why I don’t...

Blogging Health

self-care weekly reflections

May 28, 2019

Eat better, feel better: the best diet for depression

by Suzie

Let me start with the bad news. You can’t cure your depression by eating a stalk of broccoli. Sorry. And, as I talked about in my post about how clean eating fed my depression, trying to achieve a ‘perfect’ diet can make depression and anxiety worse, not better. Now for the good news! There is...

food mental health

Self-Care Checklist for When You Are Sick

April 21, 2019

Self-Care Checklist for when You Are Sick

by Suzie

I thought I would add a self-care checklist for when you’re sick to my library of self-care checklists! I’ve written a couple before: there’s my self-care checklist for depression and my quick self-care checklist which is more general. However, the past couple of weeks I’ve had both a rotten cold that has gone to my...

health self-care

What is a gratitude journal and why should you have one?

January 28, 2019

What is a gratitude journal?And why should you start to keep one?

by Suzie

A gratitude journal is, at heart, very simple. It’s the act of taking a few minutes to write down things that you are grateful for. In fact, in some ways, is is deceptively simple. The truth is that gratitude journaling carries a host of benefits, and that the act of ‘being thankful’ has been a...

gratitude mental health

A review of Daylio: mood and activity tracker app

January 21, 2019

6 comments

Review of Daylio – a mood tracker and micro diary app

by Suzie

This post is not sponsored. It’s an honest review of Daylio. If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you’ll know that I have a tendency towards depression. I have found multiple ways of managing that, and for the most part now have solid routines in place. One of the key things for me was to...