Anxiety - Fluid Fountain

August 28, 2022 / 1 Comment

What is an HSP- reframing our understanding of sensitivity

In 2018, the Oxford English Dictionary added a new meaning to a snowflake- “an offensive word for a person who you think expects special treatment or is too sensitive to criticism and easily upset”. The polarised political scene, amidst global change and crises, has pushed a series of attacks on the age of millennials and gen-zs. It is not too surprising to hear another rant about today’s youth being described as too sensitive, lazy, stubborn and compulsive. The extent to which this is true or not, a question emerges what does it mean to be too sensitive beyond the political scene, in the mind and body? I recently encountered the term HSP- a highly sensitive person and learned there can still be surprising acceptance for sensitivity, including using this personality trait as a strength in today’s precarious times. In her seminal work, The Highly Sensitive Person: How to Thrive When the World Overwhelms You (1996), Dr Elaine Aron takes the reader through neurology and psychology to show sensitivity is not just about tantrums and stubborn children. The characteristic of being highly sensitive reveals an ability to process the world at a deeper level, possessing an intuition to notice and react to the world in greater detail. Her study beginning in 1991 continues to be a foundation for harnessing not denigrating sensitivity in its strengths and battles in improving mental health.

June 5, 2022 / 0 Comments

Being introverted should not mean loneliness

Being introverted is not the same as being lonely. Despite living most of my adult life alone, withdrawn from all social settings, I now realise this is not healthy. The digital age has been a gift to introverts like me. There are more ways than ever to tune out from the world and enjoy our presence. Yet by relying on more escapes, does disconnecting from people go further than just being introverted? Introverts may already be overlooking their loneliness. The condition reaches points deeper than mere social isolation- disconnection from people and reality. This article hopes to open the discussion about loneliness and make serial introverts question if a solitary life is really what they want. I do not mean to toxify the desire for alone time but to remind everyone about the need for human love and companionship in a fast-moving world. Loneliness is a deep issue, transcending personality types. The duty falls on us to help each other discover meaning through friends, family, neighbours, colleagues, social groups and more.

December 29, 2021 / 1 Comment

The Age of Information- Postmodernism and Uncertainty

Anxiety and the modern world. In the age of information, we live in a realm of ever-increasing change and intelligence about the world. We know far more about each other, the history, culture and rights that intertwine and make us strive for a better world. But not all changes and information make us better. A generation now sits absorbing headlines trying to keep up with myriad demands and pressures, all without a second thought. Many studies point towards rising anxiety and depression as features of the modern world- a ‘silent epidemic’ where expectations and social pressures rapidly change over a compressed time. This blog post takes some time to reflect on today’s age of information. The struggle to find an identity appears submerged in information excess. More people feel lost, empty and lonely. There is so much to know, so many opinions and seemingly infinite doubts about where we belong. In a fast-flowing world, finding a spiritual ground and disconnection appears vital to managing today’s information storm.

September 27, 2021 / 1 Comment

Anxiety and Uncertainty

Anxiety wrote this article. The culmination of stress, worry and doubt has always been difficult to encapsulate and express. The feeling is often too melancholy. I refuse to give in and remember writing remains the strongest outlet for the feelings and thoughts buried inside me. Today’s movement for mental health encourages me to share my experience. Anxiety is a normal response; humans naturally feel worried and doubt when faced with uncertainty. The modern age, however, brings new pressures, an overabundance of expectations, interactions and information that are all too difficult to restrain. I describe my experience, conversing through the first anxious responses to the deeper-seated anxiety found in social interactions. I then explore some means to managing anxiety. A paradoxical truth remains, more exposure to uncomfortable situations forms the primary means to overcoming fears and doubts. One may still desire an immediate prognosis which Action Commitment Learning offers through brief practical steps. The battle with anxiety may not be about eliminating such feelings entirely but managing how it affects us.

April 18, 2021 / 3 Comments

How ‘Positive Thinking’ Causes Destruction

Happy: Why More or Less Everything is Absolutely Fine by Derren Brown throws the towel on today’s age of positive thinking. Like with his enigmatic charisma, he guides readers on a different path to ‘happiness’. One that halts the pelting, positive treadmill and focuses on finding acceptance in the reality of disappointment and joy. His graceful writing stretches 446 pages and makes clear readers do not need yet another ‘quick rich scheme’ or a book jammed with positive quotes. After finding myself binging on plentiful ‘inspiring’ messages, I appreciate his view that positivity guides have paradoxically caused discontent in needing continued positivity. Brown introduces Stoicism as the old age thinking to rediscover an approach to finding resilience, acceptance, and happiness in precarious human life. He carves open the stoic perspective by taking the reader through a phenomenal breadth of knowledge, history, philosophy, and psychology. The book offers lots to contemplate, from angles of life to acceptance of death. Ultimately, this book provides a framework to discover and take greater happiness from ordinary life. This article will not be a book review and instead focus on Brown’s interesting contempt of today’s ‘positive thinking’ mantra. Why has the positive thinking movement become such a toxic barrier to happiness? How can positive thinking become suddenly negative and destructive?

January 18, 2021 / 1 Comment

Cleaning not as a chore but for greater mental health

Cleaning is not just a chore but a chance to clear your mind. As time has gone on, I have found that tidying and cleaning the house has become a valuable escape from anxious thoughts and stress. After spending an entire day, draining my brain of energy and wanting to just lay back, cleaning has served as a way to both get active and forget all that’s happened. It recently came to me why do many of us view cleaning and tidying so negative? Of course, in our busy lives, cleaning and tidying the house is an extension. However, we are too quickly overlooking the importance and benefits of cleaning to our mental health. Rarely is there an activity that forces you to switch off and find fluid productivity in seeing the immediate practical improvements to one’s environment. Time out each day to clean and tidy can also be our means to practice self-compassion by taking care of ourselves and those in our households. Cleaning should be an activity to calm the mind and build companion and comfort within our humble abode.