Since the break up I’ve been working hard to get my life back to some kind of normal. There was so much change and upheaval all in one go, I was glad to at least have my job to provide a sense of stability. Of course, that only lasted for about 18 months before IContinue reading “All Change Again”
Author Archives: QuirkyCnt
No more avoiding
I was recently introduced to the phrase “experiential avoidance”. A friend of mine has been working through Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), which is a type of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). She reached out because she thought I could benefit from the exercises, since she saw a lot of overlap in my experiences. Experiential avoidanceContinue reading “No more avoiding”
That time I taught a lecture on porn…
I feel that a lot of my blogs lack conclusions. I had the same problem with my dissertation, funnily enough. In my last year of University I was offered the chance to present my dissertation to a class of students at a University in Amsterdam. I was only 20 at the time! I’d never evenContinue reading “That time I taught a lecture on porn…”
Life in Lock-down pt 2
I’m halfway through week ten in lock-down, and the only thing shaping my days so far has been the cat demanding to be fed. However, it’s possible that I’m finally starting to get my shit together. Having spent the first seven weeks watching the entirety of Netflix and justifying weekly take-away as “supporting local businesses”,Continue reading “Life in Lock-down pt 2”
Breaking the stigma of women’s pain
I have a tendency to forget that, by certain standards, I’ve been through quite a lot (1). From the emotional baggage of a toxic relationship that encompassed most of my adult life to date and severely impacted my view of myself, to the relentless struggle of living with multiple chronic pain disorders. That’s one ofContinue reading “Breaking the stigma of women’s pain”
Predators
I have met too many men with a predatory attitude towards very young women. Before the hate mail starts I’ll clarify that I know it’s not all of them. Not all men. Yeah, we know. I happen to have met some wonderful men who aren’t predatory at all. That doesn’t change the fact that tooContinue reading “Predators”
Lockdown musings
As I write this, I’m coming to the end of week 4 in lockdown (ok, officially the first week was “working from home”). I really thought that I’d get more writing done during this period of isolation. In the first week I had all kinds of plans. Admittedly, I have done quite a bit ofContinue reading “Lockdown musings”
Love Bomb
I was going through my computer files recently, looking for something on an old external hard drive, when I found a folder I’d forgotten existed. It was labelled “Emails”, and it was a back-up of all of the emails between me and my ex from the first two years of our relationship. From when heContinue reading “Love Bomb”
Touch-Starved
When it comes to vaginal dryness, conversations pretty much always centre around menopause. As a woman in my early twenties, I couldn’t find any resources for someone like me. The autoimmune condition that I have (lichen planus) affects mucous membranes. This did have a small impact on my mouth and gut (hello irritable bowel syndrome!)Continue reading “Touch-Starved”
A family legacy of chronic pain
I really loved my Grandad. I’ll use that word here for clarity, but we always called him Pap. When my sister and I were young, we often stayed with Nan and Pap during the week. Pap would get us up in the morning, brush our hair and walked us to school. He got up early,Continue reading “A family legacy of chronic pain”
