We all have those days… You know which ones I’m talking about! Those days where everything just seems like too much effort. We or others may describe us as being moody or overly emotional. You see, the thing which you have to remember about emotions is that they are indicators as to what is happening in our lives and how these happenings may affect our livelihood, health, and relationships with ourselves and others.

Although it may seem like a cliché, our emotions are very much like a roller-coaster and are, to a certain extent, dependent on our environment. A simple example of this is a normal morning: let’s say this morning your alarm clock did not go off and because of that, you are now running a few minutes late. How has this event affected your emotions? You will most probably feel angry that you overslept and may be a bit anxious, knowing that you will be late for work and what consequences may follow. You may feel rushed and overwhelmed, trying to get everything done.

Now let’s say, as you rush to the kitchen to get the kids ready for school, you find that they already got dressed and packed their lunches themselves and are waiting at the car, ready to go. This event will most probably relieve some of those negative emotions and make you feel better. Throughout your day, this may happen – positive and negative events affecting your emotions accordingly. In some cases, due to a stressful event or the loss of a loved one, these “off days” may extend over a longer period of time, but is this depression?

Continue “Warning Signs That You May Have Depression”

You will find it truly difficult to open a women’s magazine without being confronted with some type of relationship how-to article. Articles ranging from “How to find the man of your dreams” to “How to know if he is in to you”, however I have never come across such an article in a (for the lack of a better word) male magazine. Do men not care about relationships or are we, as women, overly sensitive to what a relationship should be and look like? Well, I did the most logical thing most of you would do and turned to “The Google” for answers.

I came across article upon article about “what men want women to know”, “what men really want in a relationship”, and of course the classic “7 things men want from a relationship”. Now with all due respect to each of these writers, who do have some valid points, it seems like the things we (both men and women) want from a relationship are not so different – we may just ask for it in different ways.

What then makes a relationship truly healthy?

Continue “Characteristics healthy relationships have.”

We live in an ever changing and adapting environment. We have information readily available at our fingertips – whenever, wherever we need it. Technology has thrust us into a new world where if you can think it, it can most likely be made possible.

A simple example of how fast we are changing and adapting is the mobile phone. It has been a mere 4 decades since the mobile phone was invented, yet we have gone from a ‘brick’ that had a maximum of 30 minutes talk time, which took 10 hours to charge, to a product where you are able to do your banking, play games, download books, maps and even electronically stalk your high school crush. This is progress, people, with a capital “P”!

However, the question is, are we as a human race keeping up with the demand we have created for ourselves?

Continue “Self-care is Health-care!”

On Monday our ‘Call-us-crazy’ project officially started!  While I was still dreaming my big dreams, the rest of the team started the walk to Magaliesburg.  Flip and I got ready to go to NG Kroonstad Suid for our first motivational talk about mental illness and mental wellness.  Very few people attended. I was not worried about that, but focused on how I could serve people through the talk and that they understood what I was saying. Continue “3 October 2016”

“Where would I go and will I end up where I intend to go?  What direction would I choose?”  These were the first questions that I asked myself when I first saw this picture.  The longer I looked at it, the more I realised that I don’t have to wonder where I would go – north, east, south or west – because I can choose any direction I want to within the three hundred and sixty degrees around me.

This got me thinking about life.  We choose the direction we wish to go. I also know that other people can point us in a direction but it is we who choose to walk the path.  I also understand that circumstance can also point us in a direction. Continue “Where would I go”

The day after I tried to commit suicide for the seventh time, I was in hospital and as I lay there, I thought to myself: ‘I tried to put an end to my life seven times in a row, but it doesn’t seem to work out for me.  Let me choose to live! Maybe that will bring more reward in my hopeless situation.’

Ever since that day I looked at life in a different way, because I’m not just living a life.  I choose to live my life. Continue “When you choose life!”

One day, there was a pedestrian walking on the side of the road minding his own business.  He was listening to music on his phone and wore earphones.  He was unaware of the reckless driver coming his way, speeding hundred kilometers per hour in a sixty zone.  The driver didn’t see the speed bump ahead and tried to avoid it by driving with one wheel on the pavement.  But he didn’t see the pedestrian on the side of the road and hit him so hard that his leg was almost torn off.  The driver drove away and didn’t look back to see if the man was hurt.

The pedestrian was hurt badly.  He almost lost his leg and was bleeding to death.  He couldn’t move because of the pain.

Along came a good guy.  He saw the pedestrian and thought he would stop and help.  The good guy is a dedicated Christian and thought he would serve him with prayer … While the pedestrian was still bleeding, the man knelt down and started to minister: ‘Good day, my friend!  How are you today?  Do you know Jesus Christ? You know Jesus can heal you from all your pain right this moment.’  (For the record: I know Jesus heals all kinds of illness and pain, but bear with me till the end of the story). The good guy continues: ‘I’m going to pray for you and I want you to pray with me in your thoughts.’  First, he led him in a repentance prayer and then prayed for healing.  After his prayer he said: ‘I’m a member of the church just around the corner and we have a healing service this coming Sunday. It would be great if you can come.  Here is a card with my number on it.  You’re welcome to call me any time for prayer or just a chat.  Brother, I’m going to leave you now.  I have somewhere to be and I can see you are tired of all the pain and bleeding, so I’ll leave and you can get some rest.  God bless.’  And so the man drove away, feeling pleased with his ministry. Continue “The two good men and a pedestrian”

I am the first to admit I do not plan every step in my life; however I like to have a plan in terms of work and the future. When I was younger, like most of us, I knew that I wanted to get married at

“this” age and have children by “this” age (as if it is so easy, as if you can order your life from a menu) and to be truly honest I still want life to work like that, but have accepted to an extend that I cannot order my life from a menu.

This being said…. nothing and I mean nothing gets under my skin more than if I have made plans and they just don’t work out due to other’s crappy planning. A simple example, this morning when I got to the office I made provision for work that needs to be done this week and over the weekend it was then that I got the call that trough my week’s planning into chaos. I had to jump into fixing mode and rearrange most of my week’s planning. Continue “When plans fall to the way side”

For many suffering from depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder this time of year tends to be more challenging in terms health maintenance. There may be a few reasons for this:

1. The year is starting to take its tall, all the late nights working, being performance focused and not really making enough time for relax and recharge may cause us to feel a little run down and tired.
2. Another contributing factor in this time is that our immune systems tend to be down and we are more susceptible to illnesses like colds and flues. When our immune systems are compromised this is normally when depression and anxiety get their hooks in just adding more fuel to the fire.
3. In order to prevent getting worse, we often run to the pharmacy to stock up on our cold meds, which seems like a good idea. However when you suffer from depression, anxiety or bipolar disorder this might not be very helpful. Many cold medicines are stimulants, which might help to clear up that cold, but might make the depression and anxiety worse.

Continue “Depression, Anxiety and Bipolar Disorder this time of year”