The key to overcoming the fear of failure is to realize that if you don't attempt it, you have failed by default. If you don't at least try, you have already failed...

"You may be in an echo chamber and not even realise it.

Most people talk with people who share similar views to them. The articles, blogs, videos and posts shared tend to be of a similar nature to what they already believe.

Consider the websites that you visit, the social media platforms you frequent, the forums that you post in and the people you associate with online. How often do you hear a dissenting view? Moreover, how often does that dissenting view gain traction and change opinions? Have your opinions ever changed on a strongly held issue based on online discussion?..."

"Typically, we don’t leave a relationship until it becomes so bad that the truth of the situation is truly undeniable.

However, by then, we have been beaten down and are broken by the relationship’s turn for the worse. Our confidence levels are shattered and we may have the symptoms of a plethora of mental afflictions – we are anxious about the future and depressed about ourselves. Our self-worth drops so low that we feel like staying is the right option because ‘they are the best someone like me could get’ or ‘at least I am lucky enough to have someone’..."

To understand how a vegan may feel, try to imagine a world where human corpses were on display in the meat section of a supermarket, or that the eating of humans was casually discussed multiple times per day in conversation.

The problem comes when these feelings are projected and forced onto unwilling and unsuspecting ears. This is often met with anger, annoyance and confusion...

If you are currently pregnant and wondering what to buy and why, this is for you. It covers what you should buy prior to the birth in preparation. As baby gets older, you will need to get more things, but by then you will know what you need...

"It was like releasing water through a dam. It felt like if I didn’t cut, that my mind would crack, with devastating results ..."

In the months leading up the birth of my first child, I noticed something strange occurring. Almost everyone that I told the news to had the same reaction. First, they congratulated me, then they proceeded to tell me endless stories of the horrors of childbirth and fatherhood.

They would share tales of sleepless nights, never ending inconsolable crying and the mountains upon mountains of poo that regularly explodes out of nappies. 

All of this combined in my mind to create a storm of anxious rumination. As the pregnancy progressed, my mental health steadily declined. I would bounce between dissociation and anxiety with a dash of regret thrown in there.

This is the post that I wish was available to me during that time.

Reflecting on my experiences with anxiety leaves me with a one sentence, anxiety killing mantra:

“Anxiety is a liar and it’s taking up too much of my life”.

I want to prove it to you. Consider the following questions:

- When has it ever been as bad as you thought it was going to be?
-How many times have you worried about something that just has never occurred?
-How many anxious thoughts do you have about one thing - could each possible outcome come true?
-How many times were you anxious before an event, only to be completely fine during the event?