I'm back with some updates (a bit late oops!), so day 1: instead of doing a 20minute workout I ended up going on a hike which I'm really proud of myself for doing because I never thought I would be into it but I really enjoyed myself and I'm already planning our next one. On day 2 however, I did not do as well as I hoped I'm back at uni and there was already a major assignment due so I basically just functioned on autopilot all day to get it over and done with  Ending on a good note though I have been quite consistent in writing in my journal, usually if I didn't do anything interesting or I didn't do much during the day I would choose not to write in my journal but I realised that I don't need to use my journal as a way to record what I did or did not do during the day, but I can also use it to record my thoughts and emotions (something I have a lot of), or of events that happened to me during the day.    So that's my update guys! I hope everyone is doing well with their self-care plan! ... View more

I am proud that I'm another step closer to getting my driving license  ! ... View more

How is everyone going with their self-care challenge?   Thank you @Lost_Space_Explorer5  for starting this post.    My upcoming days will (hopefully) look like this    Day 1: finish a 20minute full-body workout at home Day 2: be more in tune with my thoughts/ emotions rather than being on autopilot all-day Day 3: write in my journal    Will give updates on how I go!      ... View more

Already!!!    What are some ways we can cope with stress that arises from trying to manage our own and others experience of happiness?   I think the first step is understanding and knowing when to draw the line, learning how to separate our own emotions from what others are feeling. Stress in my opinion usually arises when that boundary becomes blurry and everything just gets jumbled up. Also recognising that it's okay to not be okay 100% of the time and just do whatever makes you happy. For me when I'm super stressed I like to take a bath because it relaxes me!       ... View more

Can we control our feelings of happiness? Can we make other people happy? Are there times when we ever want to make ourselves or others unhappy?   I don't think we can "control" our feelings of happiness where we can just switch it on and off at ease but we definitely have control over our perception of particular situations which could bring us happiness. In saying that though we do have control over our own actions that could bring us happiness, so if doing x makes me happy then I should do x more so that I can enjoy life more. I think we can make others happy sometimes little things we do have a major impact on others that we aren't aware of. For example, I really enjoy spending time with my friends even if we're just watching Netflix together it brings me happiness just having them there. Sometimes when I overthink or overanalyse I think that I'm doing it out of love for myself but really it's just a way of self-sabotage.  ... View more

How important is happiness to you? Have your views about happiness changed throughout your life? How do these attitudes affect your daily life?   I'm a bit late to the party but I also want to join the conversation!   Happiness is important to me but I've learned to not hold myself to the expectation that I should be happy all the time but rather just do things that bring me happiness. Changing my perspective on happiness actually brought me more joy because I'm not constantly setting myself up for failure and then questioning why "I'm not happy all the time". ... View more

@Wolfie_ congratulations on finishing honours! I love your mindset and you're totally right, I have so many years to come to work full-time. Growing up I always kept setting this expectation where I "should & need" to have my life together by a certain age and now that I'm getting closer to that age and I'm nowhere near my "end goal" that's when anxiousness arises. But I agree it's about adjusting my perception!    @sunnygirl606 Thank you!! I'm glad I'm not the one feeling this way, sometimes during my emotional tornado's I feel super disconnected (which is why this time I decided to make a post  ). That's a really lovely reminder, for me when I begin to notice my negative thoughts I just start journaling and word vomit all over the page. I find that writing out what I'm feeling and thinking usually allows me to reflect and realise a lot of it is quite irrational.  ... View more

Thank you for your kind words @November13!   I've enrolled in a mental health first aid course to help boost my experience in the field, and I have just created my Linkedin account (but still need to work on it). Now that I'm thinking back on what I have accomplished makes me feel less anxious and worried, I guess I was so caught up in my worries that I wasn't giving myself enough credit for all the things that I have achieved so far.  ... View more

Thank you @Wolfie_ for sharing your story. I'm in the same boat where I catch myself comparing myself with where everyone else is at with their life. I'm currently doing my honours year in psychology whereas a lot of my friends have already gotten into their desired career pathway. But you're completely right life is not a race and there is no end goal to rush towards, I may as well just enjoy the ride.   I guess I just needed to release this energy         ... View more

@Bella2  thank you for starting this conversation!!    - during this tough time did you find enough support on reachout.com? Like @Tay100  I also have my own help resources that I fall back on but discovering reachout.com made me feel more connected to others in times where I felt like I was going through it alone   - During this time did you wish you did something differently to make the situation better? I wish that I practiced self-compassion more! I kept holding myself to the same standards as if it was a normal year when it definitely was not!    - what new skill did you pick up during this time?  I'm starting to getting the hang of mindfulness    - did you catch up on things you wanted to do for a while Reading and journaling are the main things that I rediscovered during lockdown  ... View more

@hunginc  I fell into the same trap of feeling like I need to push myself to be productive every day so I don't "waste" any more of the year.    This year was quite weird... Yes, there were some negatives but I also feel like it gave me the opportunity to grow as a person.   I learned how to properly give myself time to reflect on how I'm feeling in the moment and how to say "no" to things when I'm not in the mindset to participate (and learning that it's not selfish to prioritise my own needs before others)      ... View more

@WheresMySquishy  I'm actually new to journaling, but it's something I really want into the habit of doing because I know it'll be a tremendous help to my mental health. But the posts here are blowing my mind! Everyone is so creative with how they journal and all the different ways to go about it. I'm definitely going to try and incorporate some of these ideas!  ... View more

1. Showed up for myself today by committing to my daily 10minute meditation 2. Went to hang out with my friend  3. Gave myself a break from doing uni homework without feeling guilty ... View more

Right now I'm reading a book about vulnerability ... View more

@November13  thank you for thinking about us!! We have 0 new cases today too   No doubt 2020 was tough but it made me really appreciate all the small things in life and it helped me rediscover my love for reading    Another positive is I recently discovered a new meditation app called smiling minds and I'm loving it,  it's really helping me to get into mindfulness more!         ... View more

@celestialdreamer I was finally able to meet up with a few people and it was the best! I'm in the same boat as you, I have so much going on for uni right now that I also took a break yesterday and today is the hard working day for me too. I'm really looking forward to Christmas this year though, that's what's keeping me going    @jlw13 Fellow Melbournian! I'm so proud of us for getting through the last couple of months and the weather is finally getting better as well! More time for us outside  ... View more

Today I'm grateful for having really supportive friends and family that will stick by me no matter what.  ... View more

I know it's been a few days since the last post but I really wanted to chime in here!   I'm located in metro Melbourne so the last couple of months have been quite tough but today's announcement of easing restrictions really made my day! We're finally able to dine out again and meet up with more friends over coffee!    ... View more

Today I practiced self-care by celebrating the small victories. I often get caught up in the thought process that if something is not completed/ finished then it's not worth celebrating. When in reality making a start on the assignment is one small step closer to it being done and reading a few pages in the book is again another small step to finishing the book. Rather than focusing on all the things I haven't completed, focusing on the things that I have done made me feel a lot happier about my day  ... View more

I agree @Maybel9595 ! When the weather is really nice it makes me want to get up early and go for morning walks to enjoy the sunshine  ... View more

What are some foods which help boost your mood?  Anything sweet, but if I wanted to be a little bit healthier I'll have dark chocolate. Still sweet but I feel less guilty eating it    Do you have any simple recipes which are great for when time/motivation are running low? My go-to when I'm not feeling like cooking is making instant ramen and adding in other ingredients like egg, sliced meat, veggies, and cheese (sounds weird to add cheese but tastes so good).   Are there any new foods you'd like to try? Why not pick up something different next time you're at the supermarket! I want to try more vegan products like vegan prawn and vegan chicken nuggets.  ... View more

Congratulations on finishing your final university exam @mol1912 !    You're so right about having a routine and actually scheduling in study breaks because sometimes when I'm super stressed out whilst studying I forget to do anything else besides to keep on studying  ... View more

@mol1912 - I have also started going on walks as well! It's another good way to create those boundaries between studying and downtime since you have to leave the place you're studying at. ... View more

The thing that worked best for me during the exam period was to maintain physical activity (stretches, walks), getting enough sleep at night, and taking regular study breaks. I find that when I'm just constantly glued to my chair without taking any breaks I'll less productive and I end up procrastinating more. Being physically active helped me stay more alert and focus more on the tasks at hand, this also ties into getting enough sleep! Sleep is so important because that's when your brain consolidates all the information you're learning!      ... View more

What do you love most about October? I love the longer days, warmer weather, and all the blooming flowers    What's your favourite sweet treat?  Gummy bears!!!    If you had to wear a mask, what would it be?  Japanese fox facemask (the ones you see in anime)    What's your favourite pumpkin recipe?  Pumpkin pie    What's your favourite cryptic or supernatural creature?  Dragons! I love how they're apart of a lot of fictional stories and often represent strength    Post a fact about bats? Bats can consume up to around 1,200 mosquitoes an hour!    How do you feel about Halloween?  I personally don't celebrate Halloween but I do appreciate all the new thriller/ horror movies that get released around this time. I also like that a lot of sweets go on sale around this time too    Do you have a spooky story to share with us? It could be a personal story, a creepy place, a part of history, a book, TV show or film. This story is an experience my grandma had. When she was younger she worked in an old factory which had 2 stories. The first floor was used to pack clothes into boxes and the second floor was used for storage. The shifts at the factory would usually end pretty late, so one night they heard that there were footsteps coming from upstairs (which is unusual because no one goes up there), so everyone including my grandma went upstairs together to see what's happening, and as a joke one of the other workers knocked on the door, not expecting anything to come from it but they ended up hearing knocking back. Can't remember how it ended but I think everyone just left and refused to work late, as for the authenticity of this story I'm not really sure! I believe in it because I'm someone that believes in the supernatural  ... View more

@James99 Thank you for sharing this video! Everything that was mentioned in the video was something I've experienced constantly and I use to always ask myself "why am I feeling like this" "why can't this go away"  After I realised that the more I try to "bury" these feelings the more I struggled with it so I took up some mindfulness practices. Like the video mentioned it's impossible to live anxiety-free but it's possible to not let it overrun you and that's what I've been feeling  It's also nice to know that i'm not the only one that experiences this! ... View more

@Hannah-RO I love that phrase! Maybe one day you can post some pictures of the kittens!    @h0peful ooooftttt... Can't say I'm the same.. only joking! I love dogs too but cats just have a special place in my heart I've never given the name 'animal crossing' much thought but nope we don't help animals cross the road    ... View more

Reading that makes me so happy!! @Hannah-RO I would love to but unfortunately, I don't have the space to foster but I do love hearing foster success stories    How many kittens do you usually foster at a time? It must feel super rewarding after all the kittens get adopted and go to their forever homes! I sometimes pet-set for my relatives and it's the best thing ever  ... View more

@Hannah-RO What made you decide that you wanted to start fostering kittens? I'm the biggest cat person is it hard when the kittens get adopted and have to leave? I know that's the whole point of fostering but I feel like I'll be too attached to let them go! ... View more