We're Psychic!? | Predicting The Future

Yet another video! Oh, the excitement!

You know the deal, click here for more videos or to subscribe (or both!) https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNnyEK4dU-MgGphhBn5BOaA

and also have a lovely day!

x

Exam Study Tips and Halloween Photo Diary

Hi

I haven't post anything for quite awhile and this is due to the excellent experience of Exam Time. Yes, I've been sitting at home trying to remember 6 months of study within a week. Some may read this and think that it would be easy to go over what you've already learnt within a week, that's heaps of time! and yes, it is a fair amount of time but it's also very difficult when you're sitting at home looking at books on statistics when you'd literally rather be doing... well.. anything else. Suddenly house chores become important and you're on your hands and knees scrubbing tiles which you haven't done since last exam period.

But not anymore! Because, I, the queen of procrastination (can you guess that I'm meant to be studying right now?) have some tips for you:

1. Start at least a few days before your exam and do little by little. Not only will your study time per day be shorter, but you'll remember more. Research shows that shorter bursts of study are much more effective than long, last minute cramming. Do Short bursts!

2. Give yourself something to look forward to after you've done a certain amount of study. I let myself have a bag of popcorn while watching youtube videos for the rest of the day after i re-watch two lectures. You may want to modify this, but whatever works!

3. If you start trying to read and you find yourself taking nothing in, do something else for five minutes (get the dishes out of the way) and come back to it. 

4. Get enough sleep. The main thing that can bring down someones ability to learn or do well is lack of sleep. Our brains don't function properly if we're sleep deprived. Even if it's the night before the exam, you're better off studying and then stopping in time for you to get at least 7 hours sleep. 

5. Cramming doesn't really work for anything but multiple choice tests. Your brain can only remember so much in a short amount of time. If you have options to jog your memory and you only have to look for an answer that feels familiar... it may help with multiple choice. but if you're doing essay or short answer exams... the earlier you start your study, the better. This also stands for multiple choice, but especially for essay or short answer. 

6. Relate concepts you need to remember to something familiar. For example,  catecholamines are a neurochemical associated with appetite which triggers hunger. I remember this because it has 'cat' at the start and cats are always wanting food and hungry. Ta Da, memory triggered!

But the main thing to take from this is, start early and study a few hours at a time. Also, remember to sleep and you're good!

NOW for those who may want to avoid study all together (me too) here is a little collage of what I've been up to over the last little while:

I've spent my time making halloween cupcakes, going out to dinner, watching people learn to surf and wishing I could swim at the beach and buying MAC make-up to try out. Needless to say, the MAC make-up was the most exciting. Trying out that 'Kylie Jenner - Whirl' colour!

I hope you've been well - I really need to get a posting schedule happening!

P.S. I'm trying out Bondi Sands new Liquid Gold tan tonight. Slightly terrified mixed with excited.

P.P.S. I'm obsessed with pintrest now. If you want to find me: @katieleeft 

Why ME? (Dealing With Embarrassment)

Hi

Now, I am someone who for some reason ends up in a lot of embarrassing situations or embarrassing things just seem to fling themselves right at me. I don't know what it is about me or why it happens but anyone who has been around me will probably agree that I am an embarrassment magnet.

I have many stories I could insert, from the time my mum invited someone I barely knew over for a sleepover when I was 14 and we sat in silence for literally the entire night to the time I first went for a pap smear (too much information? sorry). But whether it be something little or something huge, almost on a daily basis I'll end up doing something stupid. This could be because I really dislike serious situations so I tend to make a joke out of everything... Turns out not everyone is always ready for sarcasm. Anyway... Seeing as my entire life has been and probably will continue to be a stream of humiliating events I thought I'd share a few things to keep in mind and help you through your own embarrassing situations:

1. It Wont Last Forever

That moment when you're doing a presentation in front of a huge group of people, you're really nervous and you go to make an enthusiastic introduction but while doing so you get a little too enthusiastic, end up throwing your speech notes over the other side of the room while opening your arms into a "welcome to my presentation" motion and have to scurry over to pick them all up while everyone is staring at you wondering how you've made it this far in life? Yeah, I've been there. Only, I'm incredibly prone to my entire face going bright red so add that to the scenario and basically my mind decides that this is it. I've had a good life but at this very point I'm better off on another planet. I don't know if anyone else does this (I assume they do..) But I will go home, sit on my bed and try to distract myself with anything I can while making endless plans in my head on ways to never leave the house again (yay for supermarkets delivering now!).

But, sadly, life doesn't stop so you can take the seven thousand years you feel like you need to recover. The next day you have to go back and maybe face those people again. But, they will forget. It is much more of a big deal to you than it is everyone else. No one else has gone home and spent 12 hours thinking about what happened, only you. Besides, if someone does bring it up, you can just be the 'quirky funny one'. Which brings me to number two.

2. Laugh With Them

If you've done something embarrassing, everyone is laughing and all eyes are on you: Your very best bet is to join them. I think in life it's excellent to have the ability to laugh at yourself. However, I will admit that when you're red faced and wishing that people would focus on absolutely anything but you... this can be hard to do. But if you laugh, even if you don't feel like laughing, and acknowledge what's happened... then you're letting them know that you're in on the joke and you think it's funny too. "You can't hear them laughing if you're laughing louder" <-- I don't know who came up with that quote but it's brilliantly true and I love it.

3. You'll Become More Confident 

A bit of this could have come with age... BUT the more you embarrass yourself the less you'll care. This may sound obvious to some people or completely stupid to others but in my opinion it works. I used to be so, so shy. Let me tell you, when you're incredibly shy and also incredibly... for lack of a better word, goofy... well life can be hard. It didn't matter how hard I tried I would seem to have people looking at me. Don't get me wrong, I still hate people looking at me. But I don't care anywhere near as much as I used to. In fact, things that I look back on and found horribly embarrassing five years ago, if they happened to me today I wouldn't care at all. Now, if I do something stupid and people laugh I don't have to force myself to laugh with them, I just do. The smaller things aren't so much embarrassing anymore but funny.

4. Nobody Is Thinking Badly Of You

This is something I used to struggle with a lot (and still sometimes do). Whenever I would do something embarrassing I would be convinced that everyone was looking at me and thinking I was an absolute idiot who didn't even deserve to be in the same room as them. But let's be honest... If I look at it from a logical perspective pretty much no one is thinking that. Most likely, people are a) glad it's not them, b) feeling bad and wishing they could help or c) not paying attention in the first place. There may be a select few people who are just generally pretty miserable sitting back going "idiot" but these people are rare, and they would be thinking that about anyone whether they had done something embarrassing or not. Nobody likes those people anyway. Which brings me to my fifth and final point...

5. You're Likeable

People like people they can relate to, and let's face it... clumsy people are relatable. We're all a bit clumsy and we all occasionally do embarrassing things. I find I like the person that gets up and does the speech red faced or almost falls over the shopping baskets at the supermarket. Especially when they're able to laugh it off. Those people are the fun, relatable people that others will like. I don't want to hear from the person who has done everything in life perfectly, I want to hear from the person who once ended up falling face first in the sales bin at the chocolate store or the person who went to put an apple into a bag at the grocery store and the entire shelf of apples fell on them. THEY are the stories you want to hear and the people you want to hang out with.

I hope this was some help to someone, have a lovely day!

x

Weight Loss For Lazy People

Hi

Now, I am not someone who enjoys exercise or healthy food. I'm not active and I'm at my happiest when I'm laying in bed surrounded by pizza watching British comedies. But I'm at a point where while I'm not horribly over-weight I am also not exactly confident in how I look. 

Instead of staring at myself and willing the extra pounds to vanish with the power of my mind alone I've decided to do something about it. 

In the past I have gone about weight-loss the wrong way. I dramatically changed my diet and made sure I exercised to the point of suffocation every day until I was happy with my weight, then of course I decided I deserved a treat and would have pizza and I would eventually just fall back into old habits and end up exactly how I was before I started. This brings me to where I am now. This time I'm going to make a plan that is sustainable, that I won't eventually resent and I won't feel like I deserve a break from.

I find it easier (as you may have noticed) to present idea's or tips in list form. So here are my tips for sustainable weight loss for lazy people (like myself):

Food:

- Swap unhealthy things you would normally eat for a slightly more healthy option (i.e. instead of eating white bread opt for rye bread, instead of normal pasta go for wholegrain etc). By doing this you're not depriving yourself of the things you like, you're just changing them up where possible.

- Be as healthy as you can 80% of the time but allow yourself those treats that you love occasionally. That way you can still get something nice when you go out for dinner or have that dessert you love on the weekends. 80-20. Healthy 80%, treats 20%. Balance is key!

- Don't beat yourself up if you find yourself unable to resist a treat. I find I'm very guilty of this, if I've eaten well for a while and then I can't help myself and have some chocolate I will find myself really annoyed with myself and will often think "What's the point? I've already ruined my diet. Might as well quit all together." But that's not the case, in the grand scheme of things, a few pieces of chocolate aren't going to hurt.

- Don't dramatically change your diet right away. If you've gone from eating sausages for breakfast, a McDonalds burger for lunch and pizza for dinner (basically me) then suddenly start eating salad for every meal you're going to get awfully sick of your new healthy eating awfully fast. Change things slowly, start with swapping what you would normally eat for a slightly healthier option of the same thing (Rye bread instead of white bread). Slowly start swapping one meal at a time for a different healthier option and go from there. It's slower, but you're more likely to stick to it and not hate what you're eating.

- Drink water. You've heard it before and I hate being told to drink water but it's better for you than anything else out there and it helps with headaches. You may not suffer from headaches but I do and drinking water really does help. You can still have what you would regularly drink at first, perhaps just at meal times have your regular favourite drink and have water for the rest of the day. Then slowly cut back on your favourite regular drink until it's an occasional thing and you're mainly drinking water.

Exercise:

- Do it. I know, I hate it too. I find work out routines to do at home from youtube for the times I can't be bothered going to the gym.

- 30 minutes a day. Now, I do 30 minutes on the treadmill while at the gym while listening to my music and most days I love it. I create a scenario in my head where I'm a famous singer or something and get lost in it while I walk.

- Of course some days I go "nope, can't be bothered" and that's when I bring out the 'at home work out' where I do kicks, sit-ups, squats etc. Admittedly I don't do half an hours worth of these, but perhaps when I'm a little more fit I will. Riiiiight? Probably not.

- Exercise doesn't have to be intense routines or the gym. Go for a walk around the  block, force your dog to go with you if you feel self conscious, then you can say you're doing it for your dog not you if anyone gives you weird looks. That's what I do!

- Vigorously clean the house - That's a work out. Anything that gets your heart-rate up for a substantial amount of time counts!

- Sometimes I do sit ups in bed while laying watching TV Shows.

- Sometimes I lift light arm weights while laying in bed watching TV shows. Who says you need to give up being lazy to tone? Not me.

- As you feel yourself getting fitter, you'll want to do more. I know people always say that and when you're heaving for breath on the treadmill after ten minutes while drowning in your own sweat you don't believe it. I know I didn't, until one day I found myself walking at the place I usually did for half an hour and hardly felt exhausted at all - Then I realised it was working and I needed to up my game!

- Try to stick at it. By that I mean make it a regular thing, but don't be upset with yourself if  something comes up and you miss a day or you're exhausted from work, school, uni or what not and just want the afternoon to rest. You're human and that's fine, all your hard work won't go away because you miss a day.

- Set aside maybe the weekend where you don't HAVE to work-out, unless you're starting to love it in which case, go you! I usually have my weekend off.

Life In General:

- Don't get deflated and want to quit if you get sick or something happens and you miss a week of exercise and in that week you also fall back into your not-so-great eating habits. This is where I've just decided it's too late, not worth it and give up on the whole thing in the past. But it's not at all, a week or so isn't that long, it may take you a little bit to be back to your healthy self but don't let a set back hold you back completely!

- It's never too late to start again. If you DO decide it's too hard and give up, you can start it up again whenever you like. As long as you're trying, that's all that matters! It doesn't matter how many times you stop and start, the fact that you want it and you're still trying is better than never trying.

- You'll enjoy feeling yourself become fitter and healthier. That amazing feeling when you one day notice you've managed to carry all the shopping to the car in one go and you're not puffed is an excellent feeling.

- You'll enjoy that your clothes may start to fit a little looser. That is also an amazing feeling.

- Don't get too caught up in a vigorous exercise schedule (I tend to because it works for me to do it that way, but it doesn't for everyone), If you find that your schedule really only allows a work out three times a week then that's brilliant! That's more than you were doing before and you'll still see results.

- Be patient. Unfortunately fitness, health and weight loss aren't something we can see instant results for, which is what tends do throw me off. I walk around the block, come home, get changed and will always find myself checking for my amazingly slim and toned muscly body. I know it won't happen after one walk but I will look anyway because I am not missing out on that dream moment of happiness if it does!

- Scales are evil and you don't need them in your life. They won't tell you all that much anyway, especially not at the start. If you do have a goal weight in mind or want to check your scales, do it once when you start and then once again a few months down the track. Don't check it every day or every week. They will go up and down and all around and can really put you off if they've gone up. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing - you build muscle when you exercise which helps you lose weight. Not to say you'll be the hulk in a few months. You'll still lose weight, but the scales will fluctuate.

- If you're angry - Exercise. Whenever I'm angry I head straight for the gym (luckily, mine is 24 hour) and I just go for it. Not only do I feel less angry after, especially because I've been listening to angry music while running and also imagining all the scenarios where I say the right thing at the right time in the situation that's made me angry but because when I'm done I look down and the machine goes "you've burnt 300 calories". Yes.

I have gone on for long enough I feel. Most of what I've said here, you probably already know. None of it is ground breaking, doesn't involve a magic pill, won't happen over night and does involve a little effort. But, in my opinion, it's better than an intense diet that you'll stick to for a few weeks then end up hating and going back to all junk food all the time. Plus, it's worth the little changes. In my opinion, anyway!

I hope this helped even a little and that you're having a lovely day!

x

Little Ways To Be Happier

Hi

I know that sometimes it can be hard to stay happy and it's easy to get stuck in a rut. I thought I would compile a list of things that I personally do that make me a lot happier just in case it works for anyone else who may need a little boost!

Don’t Take Things Too Seriously

Have a little fun with what you’re doing. The older you get the faster life seems to go by and let me tell you: life is far too short to take everything seriously.

Laugh At Yourself

Life is so much easier when you know how to laugh at yourself. Have you ever had one of those moments where you have completely humiliated yourself in front of someone or even a lot of people and you stand there wishing that if there was any time for the aliens to show themselves and take you away now would we be the time? Because I have had many of those. But these situations can be eased slightly, if you can see the funny side and laugh at your mistakes, chances are other people will laugh along too. 

Cuddle Your Pet

To your pet you are their whole world. They may only be a short part of your life but to them you are everything. Your pets do not care what embarrassing thing you did, the mistake you made at work, the fact that you’ve been putting off doing washing for over a month. They love you no matter what is going on in your life or anything you have done. Just a little cuddle, hold or pat to them means the world. Once you truly realise this a little pat, hold or cuddle with your pet will mean the world to you too. Nothing is more comforting to me than cuddling my little ball of fluff!

Exercise

I can almost hear the internal groans of “ergh, shut up, I’ve heard it before”. Believe me I am the most lazy person you have ever met, I would fake injury notes in school to get out of PE (Physical Education) and I never thought I would encourage people to exercise BUT you do feel better for it. I find the only way I enjoy exercise is to listen to my ipod while I do it and imagine I’m the most beautiful, fit person in the world. I’m also usually a great singer in my imagination. Exercise gives me a sense of accomplishment and it’s so nice to eventually be able to do more and more physical things with ease.

Do Something Productive

When I say ‘something productive’ it doesn’t necessarily mean some big task that will take all day. Just something little like return that email you’ve been putting off, do the dishes, get the food shop out of the way, make a start on that assignment, anything small that will make you feel a sense of accomplishment. If you do one small productive thing every day, soon you’ll slowly get on top of things and that is the best feeling.

Set Some Time For You

One afternoon a week (you can organise more or less, up to you!) set aside some time to do whatever you want – guilt free. Now, I’m one to always put off important things and watch my favourite tv shows instead but I can never properly enjoy them because of the guilt in the back of my mind telling me that I SHOULD be doing something else instead. But if you set aside some time for absolutely nothing else but yourself to do whatever you want whether that’s taking a nap, reading, watching a movie, going for a walk, drawing, going to the gym, knitting, practicing model poses in the mirror – whatever you want, you will find yourself feeling a little more rejuvenated.

Plan Something To Look Forward To

Day-to-day life can get quite boring when all you feel like you’re doing is going through the motions of work and/or study then sleeping and starting all over again. One way to make the grind of work, University or school a little more bearable is to plan something to look forward to. This can be anything, depending on your situation. It can be a small holiday away, a big holiday away, a pamper day at home doing whatever you want, a trip to the zoo, whatever it is you want! Half the fun of doing these things is the excitement of the lead up to them!

Tidy

Another thing I never thought I would be the one to encourage. I hate cleaning. It’s a lot of effort and things only end up messy again. But I find when my house or room is cluttered, clothes are everywhere and I’m falling over things as I walk to my bed that I’m a lot more stressed. Probably because cleaning it up is one more thing on my mind that I have to do at some point. Although I dislike doing it once I have tidied my room or my house (it doesn’t have to be immaculate- just tidy) I feel a lot better. I’m a lot calmer and somehow my mood just lifts – even if sometimes it’s only slightly. But just today I did a tidy up and It’s put me in quite a good mood! Accomplishment achieved.

Look After Yourself

This seems simple and anyone reading this is probably thinking ‘well isn’t that just the most obvious thing I’ve ever seen’. But not looking after themselves is something a lot of people are guilty of even if they don’t realise it (including me). What I mean by this is go to bed a little earlier, make sure you’re getting enough sleep! It sounds simple, but so many of us try to run on so little sleep and we end up feeling terrible for it. Rest when you need it, eat when you need it, take a break when you need it, try to have all three meals, and be kind to yourself. Too many times something will go wrong and we will be so horribly harsh on ourselves. You are just a person, people make mistakes and that’s okay.

Change Your Mindset

You’ve probably heard it before but happiness is a choice. I don’t think anyone wakes up and is just constantly happy without making even a slight effort to be. Of course, some people are just naturally more energetic or bubbly but it always takes a conscious effort to be happy. No one can be happy all the time, so by this I don’t mean that whenever you feel sad you have to push those sad feelings down and ignore them while trying desperately not to cry. It’s okay to feel sad occasionally and let yourself work through it. By changing your mindset I just mean to sit and think: “Everything is not perfect, but I do have some good things in my life and I want to be happy. Today I’m going to make the best of things”. Go into the day with the mindset that it could be a good day if given the chance to be!

Be Nice To Others – They’ll Be Nice Back

The way you treat others (as I’m sure you know) as a huge impact on how they will treat you. You can’t be mean, moody, inattentive or uninterested and expect other people to engage with you in a really happy, positive way. Mostly because they’ll feel like you don’t want to engage with them. The nicer and friendlier you are the more likely other people will treat you the same back. Nothing makes my day more than talking to someone who is lovely and seems to want to talk to me, even if it’s only a brief encounter at the petrol station. It’s not to say that 100% of people will be nice to you if you’re nice to them, I wish it was that way but some people are just going through a rough time or are in a bad mood and don’t always respond in the way you deserve if you’re being kind to them. But don’t let that discourage you because most of the time it will have good results and even if it doesn’t it’s nothing to do with you it’s just something they’re personally going through. Not too long ago I did a little post on kindness with some quotes, if you want to check that out click here!

Have Breakfast

I know that everyone everywhere says breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I’m not saying that (It might be, I don’t know, I haven’t looked into it). What I’m saying is that you will feel so much more energetic and just… prepared for the day if you have breakfast. I was always one to skip breakfast, I had places to be and I would much rather an extra half an hour of sleep than to be up making food. But in the last few months I’ve been making a huge effort to have breakfast because when I do my days go so much better. I find I feel less tired, I don’t get as many headaches and I feel less nauseas by the afternoon. I actually look forward to my coffee and toast every morning now.

No One Is Happy All The Time

This is very important and something I personally have only just come to truly realise. Of course it seems obvious but a lot of the time we don’t really let it sink in.  Whenever I would feel sad I would try desperately to snap out of it because it wasn’t a pleasant feeling, everyone else was happy and having fun and I wanted to be like that too. But it is okay to be sad. Sometimes something happens in our lives that makes us sad and sometimes we’re sad and not even that sure why. But that’s okay, we need to feel sadness to feel happiness. Everyone, no matter who they are or how happy they always seem will be sad sometimes. Let yourself be sad, give yourself some time, listen to some music, mope around – whatever you need. But know when to try to pick yourself up again. 

It’s Not The End Of The World

Often things will happen, these can be quite big things like failing school or university, getting fired from work, anything. And sometimes it can be smaller things that feel like a big deal or just happen to mean an awful lot to you. One thing to remind yourself is that no matter what happens or how much it feels like everything is falling apart and you’ll never get back on your feet: It’s not the end of the world. More specifically it’s not the end of your world. It may feel like it is and that’s understandable, especially when it’s a huge part of your life or something you’ve been working towards for a very long time. But sometimes things aren’t meant to be. Sometimes we just need to try again and sometimes we need to let it go.  Your world will keep turning, you will pick yourself up again and may even end up in an even better place than you had first imagined. As long as you keep trying you will be okay.

I hope that some of these have been of even a little help to you. Chin up and have a lovely day!

x

Popin' Cookin' / Happy Kitchen - Hamburgers! (Tutorial)

Hallo!

Last weekend I went home to visit my parents. I've seen a lot of people trying the 'Popin Cookin'/'Happy Kitchen' candy food. What I really liked was the fact that it looked adorable but no one seemed to really enjoy the taste, so naturally my first thought was "brilliant, I'll make Mum eat it!" and so that is what I did. I went on Ebay and ordered a packet! For fun (and a little help in case you couldn't read the steps like me), I did some photo steps of the cuteness!

mmm-mm looking adorable 

The first step was opening the box and reading the instructions, which sounds simple but seeing as the only language I can speak or read (shame on me) is English. So I ended up having to turn to google to help me out a little - thankfully, because I would have tried to drink the cheese. 

Look how cute! Instructions for stupid people need to be included  

After opening the box we found confusion. Along with lots of packets and plastic spatulas and a lovely tray for mixing and cooking.

Labels to help you out - you're welcome!

Thanks to the internet, we managed to get started. First up was fries! All you do is open the packet, mix in two scoops of water with the tiny corner scoop that comes in the box, mix it all up, flatten it into the bumpy tray, microwave for 15 seconds and BOOM! The smell of potato fills the room!

These smelt amazing - and tasted pretty good too

After chopping up the fries and maybe eating half of them it was on to the burger patty! This didn't smell so amazing... or look too amazing, but hey. You never know! for the burger and bread we mixed the packets separately, again each with two scoops of water from the water scoop, put the burger goop into the middle circle of the tray and the bread we halved into the two side circle spaces then zapped it in the microwave for 15 seconds. 

The smell is getting less amazing at this point

After being blown away by the strangely meaty smell, the burger and buns were pushed to the other side of the room to waft and cool down. Then it was time for the cheese, which I'm not sure why, but I was really excited for. For the cheese the packet was opened and this time only one water scoop was added. It was then mixed up, scooped out and flattened into the 'cheese board' as I'm calling it, that came with the box. Then we cut the cheese in half (one for each burger!).

Not quite the same consistency as cheese - just a heads up!

Next up was my Mum's least favourite (and alas my favourite) part of the process. The sauce/ketchup! Now, my mum is deathly afraid of ketchup so I had a blast mixing up this part and waving the tray at her. The ketchup packet was emptied into the mixing tray and then we added two scoops of water and stirred. It smelt a lot like actual sauce, much to my joy and Mums heartbreak.

Doesn't look disturbing at all!

Now we made the drink, which turned out to be the most fun of the entire process because it actually fizzed up like coke. I turned into a five year old yelling "LOOK AT IT!" until the fizzing went down. To make this amazing drink we emptied the drink packet into the tiny cup and kept adding scoops of water until the cup was about 3/4 of the way full!

LOOK AT IT!

Now that we have all the things we need, it was time to put the burgers together! I won't lie, although the smell was slightly strange (a little too realistic) I could almost over-look it because it was all so darn cute. We cut both the burger patty and the two buns in half. Half the burger patty went into the middle of each bun. We then added the cheese and sauce (Clearly only I had sauce because of Mum's weird fear).

Feeling like a true chef at this point

Now it was time for the fun part - The presentation. We stuck the little flags in, set it up all nicely and then spent a good five minutes in the "No, you eat it first!" argument. After no one winning that we decided to try it together (aww). Now, I won't lie, the fries I legitimately sat and ate. But the burger... That was another story. I'm not sure if it was the texture, the fact that something that started as powder actually smelt like meat or the fact that it vaguely tasted like mean but for some reason, I couldn't stomach it. I had the smallest bite and that was all I could handle. Although unlike Mum I did actually swallow it (Did someone say winner?).

If you look really closely you can almost see the bite mark

TA DAAA! Looks gorgeous, tastes slightly disturbing and the texture is even more rubbery and disturbing but it was definitely worth it. The process is fun, they look adorable and watching your Mum's face as she has to try it is priceless.

Happy Cooking!

x

Understanding Anxiety and Panic Attacks (Plus 6 Tips)

Hello! 

Anxiety is something that a lot of people struggle with and a lot of people don’t properly understand.

Experiencing anxiety is not simply feeling nervous or worried about an upcoming event, starting a new job or presenting a speech. It is completely natural (and helpful) to feel nervous about those sorts of things. It helps us perform at our best.

Anxiety can be unpredictable and strikes at times when it’s not needed and will not benefit you. It can cause someone to experience a panic attack about anything from situations as stated above or simple things like catching a bus, talking to people or even leaving the house. Someone who is experiencing a panic attack will not just be feeling ‘nervous’ they will be feeling anything from heart palpitations, rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, chest pain, nausea, feeling of choking, trembling/shaking, dizziness, chills or heat sensations, sweating, numbness/tingling to the fear of dying.

Sometimes the person will know what triggers the panic attacks and will avoid that particular thing or place but a lot of the times people will have no idea what will trigger their panic attacks, which can leave them never really feeling safe to go anywhere for fear that a panic attack will strike.

Having a panic attack is a truly terrifying experience. There are people who have shown up to hospitals thinking they’re having a heart attack while experiencing a panic attack. They are not to be brushed off or taken lightly. They can seriously impact someone’s life and make them feel completely isolated.

However, if you or someone you know are experiencing anxiety there are definitely things you can do to help you to manage it and get it under control.

   1.  Speak To A Professional

This can include a doctor, psychologist, counsellor or behavioural therapist. They will definitely be able to help you, and if you feel like they’re not taking you seriously, understanding or helping please go and find someone else. It may take a few different people to find someone who you will click with and who you will feel comfortable with. A counsellor will mostly talk things through with you, which some people find helpful. But if just talking about things isn’t helping you, a psychologist/behavioural therapist is a good idea. Teamed with your doctor they can work out what road would be best for you. A behavioural therapist will work through active ways and things you can do to best control and overcome your anxiety.

 2.  Understand What’s Happening To Your Body

When experiencing a panic attack it is very, very easy to convince yourself there is something seriously wrong. Because your body is giving all the symptoms that something IS seriously wrong. But understanding why these symptoms are occurring can help to rationalise what is happening and calm you down. Your heart will beat faster due to the adrenaline going through your body which, which will make your body work harder to prepare itself for threat, which will increase your breathing and then you start to feel light headed and nauseous and it all just jumbles into one horrible feeling of terribleness. Your entire body will respond to the adrenaline. But if you can feel this start to come on and remind yourself that you’re not actually having a heart attack or dying, it is the adrenaline pumping through your body it can help to reassure you that you will be okay.

 3. BREATHING TECHNIQUES

I’ve put this in capitals because this is an important one to remember. Being able to control your breathing can be a huge help to you when you feel a panic attack coming on. (I for one absolutely hated when anyone would tell me to ‘breath’ when I was in the midst of a panic attack) but they have good reason for it. It is not possible to have a panic attack when you are breathing normally. Once you have controlled your breathing, everything else will start to calm down too. You wont magically stop worrying and be instantly cured of all the horrible thoughts BUT your body will start to calm down. Everything will start to work at it’s proper rate when you bring your breathing back to normal. I repeat: you cannot have a panic attack when your breathing is regular.

 4. Be Kind To Yourself

One of the most important things is not to beat yourself up about not being able to do things that other people might find easy because of your anxiety. You are not crazy, you’re not being ‘over dramatic’ or ‘stupid’, you’re not anything bad that you might be thinking you are. So many people struggle with anxiety, you are not alone and there are people who will be there for you and who will want to help.

5. Reward Yourself For The Small Things

A lot of the time doing something simple like going to the grocery store, getting your hair cut, catching a bus is a huge deal when you’re struggling with anxiety. Whatever it is that you find difficult to do, make sure you give yourself recognition and praise when you DO manage to do it despite how absolutely terrified you are. Because doing something when you’re that afraid is most definitely something to be proud of, no matter how ‘simple’ it may seem to everyone else. You have the right to be beyond chuffed at yourself. Doing these things more and more will help build your confidence.

6.  Don’t Give Up

This seems corny but it’s true. It is highly likely that you will try and it will feel like a ‘one step forward, two steps back’ situation. Where you will get frustrated and feel like it’s not ever going to get better. But it will, so long as you keep going. Once you have strategies in place and a plan of action you will feel much more in control. Anything in life is easier when you have the right tools to deal with the situation and anxiety is no different.

This is just a very broad overview and quite general tips. There are also tips of things you can do while having a panic attack and a lot more information on the kinds of therapies and how they work that I wanted to go into but this post is already quite long! I hope something in here was even a little helpful for someone and if by any chance you have any questions do feel free to ask!

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