Workplace Anxiety: My Story

I guess I should start by saying that, having lived with anxiety and depression for well over ten years now, I never actually sought help until around three years ago – & even then, ‘help’ wasn’t a quick fix solution – I wasn’t cured overnight. I’m telling you this because my not-seeking-help began to take…

Making Time for Me | Collaboration with Adexe

I don’t know about you, but I’ve always struggled being ‘okay’ with making time for myself – is that weird?! I dunno. I just feel weird about it – I’m one of these people pleasing folk who constantly utters the words ‘you choose’ or ‘I don’t mind’ – when in fact, I might do a…

Our Summer Adventures! (So Far!)

Hola my loves! OK first things first – a big fat grateful virtual huggingtons to everyone who’s read my previous post on toxic family & the effects on our mental health – for all the likes, the sharing of it, the comments, the messages of love & support, the texts and the phonecalls. You’re all bloody marvellous…

It’s OK to Let it in

Hello my loves, First up, I’m sorry I’ve been so quiet; on here, on social media, on replying to people. I’ve sucked. I love this blog and I love you guys, so it’s kinda eaten away at me a little bit that I seemed to have lost all and any sparkle that I had. In…

My Fitness Diary: I JOINED A GYM!

I’m not gonna lie, I hate tooting my own horn. In fact, it’s rare I do anything that I deem worthy of a toot; but just this past week I made leaps and bounds, and not to put too fine a point on it, I’m blummin’ proud of myself. Ya girl joined a gym! No…

It’s Not Me, It’s My Anxiety

Anyone who follows me on Twitter will know that I am huge fan of author and mental health advocate Matt Haig. Just the other day he tweeted this: “Sometimes when people seem rude or distant or cold they might really just be anxious or shy or sad.” It got me thinking. Living with anxiety, I…

7 Signs Someone You Know Might be Suffering with Depression

*Please be warned, this post addresses self-harm and signs of depression – if you’re at all triggered by or sensitive to these things, please don’t read this post* As some of you may know, today marks the first day of Mental Health Awareness Week – now as cracking as it truly is to have a whole week dedicated…

5 Things I’m Doing to Manage My Mental Health Better

Hola my loves! Did you forget about me? I really hope not – I’ve been AWOL for I don’t know how long and mourning the apparent loss of all blogging mojo. Do they bottle that stuff? Hit me up yo. I wanted to come back with something that’s pretty relevant to my life right now, &…

Feeling Spring Ready with CaseApp!

First up, HI BBS! I realise I’ve been M.I.A the last few weeks; in truth I lost my mojo and ran out of blogging fuel (where do you buy that stuff anyway?!). I took the opportunity to just give myself a break and take five – I never like to force anything out or put…

Mental Health: Coping with Loneliness

Being an introvert, I’ve naturally always enjoyed my own company; I’m productive, I can please myself and there’s no pressure to be someone for anybody else, y’know? I am my own comfort zone & I’ve been just dandy with that. The only thing with having made myself my own comfort zone is that I’ve essentially isolated myself at times. This all…

5 Things That Totally Kick-Ass Women Have Taught Me

Happy International Women’s Day! I’ve actually been so overwhelmed by the amount of love women have shown each other today; my social media has been chock full of inspirational quotes, empowering messages and shout-outs, and although today is technically International Women’s Day, I’m so happy to be living in a world where women are supporting & empowering…

Is Social Media Bad for Our Mental Health?

It’s no secret that we’re all a little bit addicted to social media – it’s our window into other people’s worlds, it’s great to see what our pals are up to, it’s perfect for showing off our work, achievements or family; but it’s also a breeding ground for needless comparison, envy & false advertisement. What…

Review: Moonlight Melts – Handmade Soy Wax Melts

So just a few short weeks ago I was very kindly sent some gorgeous soy wax melts by the lovely Jo over at Moonlight Melts – now I was chuffed as a button to receive these because not only have I ever used wax melts before (I know), but these looked just so scrumptious! Better yet, they’re all…

Mental Health: Hitting a Bump on the Road to Recovery

It’s a pretty long journey, the road to mental health recovery. Many of us struggle for years to even see the road, let alone be on the road. Not to mention the fact that recovering and getting yourself to a better place has no time period on it – with a graze on your knee…

My Fitness Diary: Creaky Knees & Porridge Potty!

Yep, you read that title right. My knees are creaking more than my Nan’s floorboards and it’s not pretty. Mind, I have been working on the ol’ pins a lot the last week & a bit, so I should probably expect to hear some occasional body groans, right?! I’ve been running, went pretty hard on the bike,…

‘The Self-Care Project’ – Why You Need This Book

Ok, so first things first, this is not a book review. Not really. It’s more of a ‘this book is brilliant, you should go buy it, it’ll change your life, do it, do it now’. So… sort of a review? Kinda. The term ‘self-care’ is bandied around like nobody’s business these days – in fact so much…

My Fitness Diary: Here we go!

So I’ve mentioned in some of my previous posts that I’ve started taking my fitness a little more seriously – aside from the fact that it’s about time I get my arse toned, it’s also proven that exercise is great for those of us who suffer with poor mental health – and hey, I’m up…

A Very LUSH Valentines!

So I popped into Lush a few weeks back and they had just released their new Valentines range – safe to say I was happy as a lamb on a cloud! Lush makes me all fuzzy inside anyway, but their Valentines range is so pretty. I only picked up a few little bits, but I thought I’d…

Time to Talk Day: Let’s Start the Conversation.

For those of you who don’t know, today is ‘Time to Talk’ Day – a day dedicated to making sure we’re talking about mental health. To begin a conversation about it, to help be there for others, to know we’re not alone – to end the stigma. It’s fuelled by a movement of people called…

My Mental Health: January Reflection

Can you believe the last time I wrote a reflection was August?! I think the months that followed were just too hard – I ran out of adrenaline pretty quickly and as positive as August had been, I just couldn’t keep up the momentum. I saw each looming monthly reflection as a challenge that I…

How I’m Working on ‘Happy’

You may remember my post ‘2018: My Happiness Year‘ – it summed up in a nutshell or two why I’m determined for 2018 to be the year I allow myself happiness. Sounds like a small feat doesn’t it? Strangely enough though, us humans aren’t always the brightest when it comes to putting in the necessary steps…

Guest Post! How Fitness Has Changed My Life

Have I got a little treat for you today! I asked my beautiful best pal to pen a post for me to tell you a little bit about how fitness & sport has changed her life. It’s no secret that exercise is good for you, but I know I speak for a fair few of…

Recipe: Coconut & Strawberry Jam Tarts

So these bad boys have been a firm family favourite since I can remember! I grew up with them wafting under my nose, and I’m pretty sure they’ve long contributed to me not being able to tone up my butt. That or I just don’t exercise. Potentially. Moving on. Anyway, the point is these are…

When Anxiety Strikes at Night

This is a bit of an impromptu post – I’d actually planned ahead for once and had a review of some Maybelline lip products at the ready – somehow though, this one felt a little bit more important. Anxiety is a bitch any old time of the day, amIright? It doesn’t matter where you are…

5 Reasons You NEED to See ‘The Greatest Showman’!

So I recently made use of a very handy Meerkat Movies (shout out to Oleg & Co.!) and went to see The Greatest Showman – the newest musical to hit cinemas! Now I know I don’t normally talk about films on here, in fact I don’t think I ever have so this is a first for me!…

Things I’m Leaving Behind in 2018

We’re well on our way into 2018 now, and with the start of the second week of the year underway, I wanted to note a few things that I’m determined to leave behind in 2018 – whether it be a bad habit or anything negative or unhealthy, girl, I’m not taking it with me this…

2018: My Happiness Year

First things first, I want to wish you the happiest new year. Wherever you are, wherever you’re reading this from, I hope that 2018 is everything you want it to be! In fact, let’s start with that – it’s been bloody wonderful to see all the different countries you guys are reading from. I’ve been…

What I Got for Christmas 2017

& poof. Another Christmas has come and gone! I literally can never get over the fact that we have such a crazy ol’ build up to the big day, for it to be over in a flash! I for one, had a cracking time of it; I spent it with some wonderful people, ate myself into a food coma,…

2017: My Year in Pictures

Can you believe it?! We’re on the cusp (weird word ‘cusp’) of a brand new year and I’m not entirely sorry to see the back of 2017. It’s been a pretty tough one for the most part, and that’s largely down to my mental health not being the greatest. All that said though – &…

5 Tips for Managing Your Mental Health at Christmas

The festivities are officially upon us and… holy mackerel – it’s Christmas in literally less than a week. You ready? Tree up, presents to buy – presents wrapped?! – friends to visit, family to see – don’t forget the cards to send – must buy stamps – the lights to put up, the argument over who to have christmas…

Anxiety & Me: What it’s REALLY Like.

I thought I’d come at you with something a little more… open, than I have done before. I’m pretty frightened to be vulnerable and tell it how it really is sometimes, for the reasons so many of us are frightened to speak about MH as a whole – What if I’m judged, what if people think I’m attention…

A Cotswolds Birthday Getaway!

Before I begin, I just want to say a big thank you & send a virtual bear hug to everyone who took the time to read and comment on my previous guest post swap with Lauren  – we wanted so much to bring a little awareness to emetophobia and depression and it means the world that you were all…

GUEST POST! Afraid to Breathe – Living with Emetophobia

So I’ve had the wonderful opportunity in the last few months to become friends with, and talk to a super inspirational fellow blogger named Lauren, who’s over at https://imfinestopasking.com/ She contacted & asked me if I’d like to do a guest post swap, wherein she would talk about her experience with emetophobia, and I would write…

A Little Mental Health Update: Recovery is Not Linear.

Now you may not have noticed, but I never actually got around to posting my ‘Mental Health: September Reflection’ – in truth I kept putting it off and told myself it was ok to miss one, it didn’t matter. & it doesn’t matter, not in the grand scheme of things. I was just a little gutted in…

A Little Kindness Goes a Long Way

So I was just recently feeling pretty low. I’d been revisiting the ‘roots’ of my depression – I’d determined that I would write a post and try to speak openly about them in order to try and help others, and maybe attempt to give myself a little closure too. It was just too much, too…

What I’d Give to Just RELAX.

If you suffer with anxiety, you might know what it feels like to constantly feel tense. A simple passing thought can result in a tight chest; a small trivial task can make breathing normally difficult; new people or crowds might make you want to hide; the thought of getting something wrong makes you shake, and thinking about…

My September Favourites!

Ok, ok – yes I missed my August favourites. Bugger. I’m also a little late whipping out my September faves.. I’m not gonna lie to you, I’ve been slacking on the blogging front lately, and I’ve actually frosted my own cookies over it. I guess I’ve just felt a little uninspired and a little underwhelmed – I’ve…

Happy 1st Birthday, Katie’s Sanctuary!

That’s right my friends, my web-baby is a whole year old TODAY! I can’t believe it’s been an entire twelve months since I built up the courage to create this little Sanctuary. It’s been a bit of a life-changing manoeuvre, and as dramatic as that might sound, believe me when I tell you, I’m not…

My Autumn Essentials

It’s officially my favourite time of the year! The mornings are crisp, the leaves are fiery reds and oranges & yes, yes I have dug my fleecy blankets out. Haven’t you?!  For me, Autumn is just right. It’s not too hot, it’s not too cold (I sound like Goldilocks don’t I?), it’s gloriously pretty and it’s all kinds…

I Won an Amazing Giveaway!

Ok so before we get started, I just wanna say that this is in no way me bragging or showing off – this is just a girl who never wins a giveaway, who happened to win a giveaway, who still can’t believe she won a giveaway, showing you her giveaway. *Immediately stops using the word…

Recipe: Marble Cake

A week away from my little blog and I’m coming back at you with a recipe for quite possibly, my favourite thing to bake – it’s also my boyfriend’s absolute go-to in the cake department, so it’s safe to say it’s a regular in this household! It shouldn’t be too much of a surprise to also learn that it’s…

My Mental Health: August Reflection

I’m not gonna lie to you, it has been a hectic few weeks – I’ve neglected my blog, I’ve not plucked my eyebrows, I poured my Rice Krispies in to my teacup – what is going on?! Anyway, I’d like very much to get back into the swing of things, so lets crack on! August was such…

A Little Lush Haul!

HANDS UP IF YOU LOVE LUSH! If you didn’t raise your hands then I totally respect the fact that it might have looked very weird, particularly if you’re sat in Starbucks sipping on a caramel popcorn frappe surrounded by people folk; however, if you really don’t love Lush… are you CRAZY. Anywho, I took myself to Lush at…

A Day in Bath!

If you’ve kept up with my latest posts & social media, you’ll know that I made my merry way to stay with my Aunt in Wiltshire last week, and what should be 15 minutes on a train away, but Bath! Beautiful Bath. Now, it just so happens that visiting the Roman Baths is on my tres lengthy bucket…