“ … for there is nothing heavier than compassion. Not even one’s own pain weighs so heavy as the pain one feels with someone, for someone, a pain intensified by the imagination and prolonged by a hundred echoes.” – Milan Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being Empathy. A word flung around in many contexts today. It…Continue reading I See You!
Category: Family, Friends & Foe
Anxiety and Eating Disorders: Tash’s Story
In the previous blog post, I presented an introduction to anxiety disorders, which affect a large percentage of the general population. I would like to keep the conversation going in the hope of creating further awareness and chipping away at the ridiculous stigma that often surrounds mental disorders. Anxiety disorders are one of the most…Continue reading Anxiety and Eating Disorders: Tash’s Story
Let’s Talk about Anxiety
Anxiety disorders are one of the most common class of mental disorders, affecting a large percentage of the general population. There are six main types of the disorder, including post-traumatic stress disorder,phobias and panic disorder, and they tend to be more prevalent in women than men. Anxiety disorders affect 9.7% or 1.3 million adult Australians, from…Continue reading Let’s Talk about Anxiety
Some Perfectly ‘Normal’ Christmas Traditions from Around the World
Christmas is all about tradition – beliefs and customs that have been handed from one generation to the next, readily adopted without any question or comment. As a child, my family always had a ‘real’ Christmas tree, decorated with ‘real’ candles, that were lit on Christmas Eve so that the smell of pine needles would…Continue reading Some Perfectly ‘Normal’ Christmas Traditions from Around the World
Reflecting on a Year of Adversity
Adversity is the first path to truth. – Lord Byron As the hush of Advent falls on many hearts over the next few weeks, it is a good time to reflect on and remember 2015. To ‘remember’ means to consciously acknowledge the past – an event, a person, or a series of circumstances, for example.…Continue reading Reflecting on a Year of Adversity
Welcome to the Table
If you really want to make a friend, go to someone’s house and eat with them … the people who give you their food give you their heart. – Cesar Chavez The dining room table is a most significant and symbolic piece of furniture in my life. It invokes childhood memories of joy and…Continue reading Welcome to the Table
In the Name of God: Reflections on Bullying and Religion
Bullying: the use of force, threat, or coercion to abuse, intimidate, or dominate others. If you are anything like me, you have experienced your fair share of bullying, especially through those ‘delightful’ school years. In the middle of my first grade in Germany, they discovered I had severe astigmatism, and I became the proud owner…Continue reading In the Name of God: Reflections on Bullying and Religion
Teisha’s Story: A Life Interrupted
I met Teisha in 2012. It does not take long to recognise that behind this kind, funny and intelligent woman also lies incredible strength. There is no doubt that part of this strength was fashioned because she had to face some major curve balls that life threw at her. Teisha was just twenty-two and on…Continue reading Teisha’s Story: A Life Interrupted
Origins
In a few months time I will be trekking via a hellhole, known as economy class, to the home of my patriarchal ancestors. I will be visiting a part of Poland which was once known as East Prussia. Arriving in Warsaw, the beloved and I will hire a car and navigate the Polish roads to…Continue reading Origins