Research project assistance required

I’m not sure if I’ve ever told you all that I am studying life coaching. I am studying through an accredited training organisation and working toward my diploma.
At the end of it all, I will have qualifications in life, business, executive and wellness coaching along with my NLP Practitioner’s certification.
I am LOVING it.
Of course, with having to go back to work (we need to eat and pay bills unfortunately) it’s going to be a little bit more pressure to get everything done.

Through my Lens – My garden

Okay, the last week has been difficult for me as I have battled a combination of hormones and circumstances that have pulled me down and covered my mind in that grey veil that obscures all the good stuff.
The hard part is (and I journalled about it this morning) is that my mind is at war. There are two parts of it – the part that is saying “This too shall pass” and the other part that over-exaggerates every little word and thought until I feel like I am going to collapse under the weight of it all.

Depression: Overheard this week

Although organisations such as The Black Dog Institute and Beyond Blue conduct extensive advertising programs, there is still so much ignorance out there in relation to depression and anxiety.
(I have grouped anxiety with depression because many of those who suffer depression also suffer from anxiety).
Having suffered depression for a number of years, and talking openly about it with others, it still baffles me the ignorance of people in society at large about these illnesses. Because they are illnesses. They are not a figment of our imaginations or ‘works of the devil’. There are many causes for both.
Not everything has a rational explanation (although there are many in society who would like to have something to blame).
Depression and anxiety are real to those who suffer them.

Following are some real life quotes taken from actual conversations that I have had with others and from the comments sections within newspaper articles on social media. The comments come from a cross section of those who suffer from anxiety and depression and those who have no idea what it is like.

Tuesday Quote

Don’t you just love how words come from somewhere and they are exactly what you need at the time?
I know that I’ve blogged about this phenomenon before but it’s happened again! How cool is that?

So here I was last Friday, feeling blah but not really being able to pinpoint exactly why. I was certainly a little perplexed by it all.
Things hadn’t exactly been all ‘peachy-keen’ and ‘hunky-dory’ over the preceding days but certainly not enough to drag me down that’s for sure.

Emotional Rollercoasters – Part of Linda’s SOCS

Wow!
This prompt of Linda’s couldn’t have come at a more opportune (if you wish to look at it that way) time as the past couple of weeks has seen my emotions swing to extremes.

As I sat at my computer this morning, I realised that I needed to write a blog post but what to write…. what to write…. and then I found this prompt. Okay, technically it is Sunday where I am but I think I probably squeak into Saturday for those of you on the northern side of the equator.

Walking on Trampolines

Back in 2013 I posted a review on a book that I had read entitled “Walking on Trampolines”. At the time, I didn’t realise that it had only been published within Australia so if any of my followers who might have been interested in reading it were overseas, they wouldn’t have been able to find it.
Now it appears, that it has hit the shelves in the U.S. and Canada and Frances Whiting (the author) is a little beside herself with excitement. Remember my rant about a particular author? Well it wasn’t Frances (who I also follow on Facebook). Frances is witty, funny and real. I have read all of her books and I laugh quite often at her weekly newspaper column filled as it is with the witty observations of a wife, mother and dog owner living life in this mad world of ours.

Through my Lens – Life

Life has a habit of catching us off-guard when we least expect it. How we react to circumstances can also sometimes catch us off-guard.
And that is how my week began last Monday.
Suffice to say, the issues that arose were not with me. However I have not escaped unscathed as I have fought all week with the black dog as a result.
However, I am a fighter and I am strong. The dog will not drag me along after him whilst I hang gamely onto its leash in my attempts to reign him in.

Farewell 2014

The end of a year tends to bring thoughts of self-reflection of the past months to most people. No doubt the tv will be filled tonight with compilations of news stories from the past year. Some of that will be pleasant to review however most of it will not.
The world’s media tends to only focus on what is bad in the world these days and unfortunately there has been too much darkness over the past twelve months.

But what about me?
What has my year held?