Showing posts with label self care. Show all posts
Showing posts with label self care. Show all posts

Sunday 29 November 2020

Nerd Church - Covid 19: Have A Safe and Happy Christmas

 

(Warning: As you can probably tell from the title, this post is about Covid 19/Coronavirus)


Christmas in 2020 is gonna be weird. I think we all know that.

I think, if those of us who celebrate go into it trying to make the best of things, it's gonna be better than complaining about the things we can't do.

(Although, a notable exception is the British tradition of enjoying a good moan about everything - but the key to that is you have to really enjoy it. Otherwise it doesn't count 😉)



'Covid 19: Have A Safe and Happy Christmas' with multi-coloured snowflakes, and a red reindeer silhouette



At the same time, if you're not feeling it this year - if you're sad, or angry, or any combination of things - then that's OK too.

You feel how you feel, and feeling guilty that you don't feel how you 'should' at Christmas is only gonna make you feel worse.

I realise that that's something of a paradox - make the best of things and look on the bright-side, but also accept it if you feel cruddy and don't put too much pressure on yourself - but I'm a walking contradiction kinda gal 😅

Friday 27 November 2020

Friday Fics Fix - My Stand-Out Fics of 2020

 

It's December in a matter of days, which means that Friday Fics Fix will be going on its annual Christmas holiday.

...So what better opportunity to look back on the fics that've really stood out to me in 2020?

(Don't answer that. It's rhetorical. I'm gonna do it anyway. 😎)



'Fics Fix!' with purple background and white lightning bolt shape



2020 has been 2020.

So, I've totally been reading a butt-tonne of fanfiction as self-care. 

Because fanfiction is excellent for all the self-care purposes - whether you need deep and angsty, or sweet and fluffy, or you want to fulfil some very um, specific, tastes: fanfiction has it all!

(I don't judge. But if I never read another pumpkin sex fic, it'll be too soon. And yes, it happened again in October - how do they keep finding me?!)


Sunday 22 November 2020

Nerd Church - Working From Home More? It's Time To Set Some Work/Life Boundaries


(Warning: I briefly discuss mental health problems in this post - it's not graphic, and is written about in the context of self-care and healthy work/life boundaries)


'Working From Home More? It's Time To Set Some Work/Life Boundaries' with a rustic-y fence and a sunflower, because sunflowers are happy and we need happy stuff in 2020


A lot more people are working, at least in part, from home this year - on account of 2020 and all the Lockdowns and everything 2020-ish.

I've actually worked from home for several years, and it's got a ton of advantages - but you also have to be careful to set work/life boundaries -

- especially if, like me, part or all of your income is coming from things which were once solely hobbies - it tends to blur the lines.



Disclaimer: This is the bit where I remind you that I'm not any type of mental health or medical professional.

Neither am I some kind of life or productivity coach (that would be scary!)

I only have first-hand experience of Depression/Anxiety, and using self-care to support myself - and hopefully my experiences can help other people.


Friday 6 November 2020

Friday Fics Fix - The Good Trash, Because Its 2020 and I Need It

  ***All Amazon.com links in this post are commission links. This means I earn commission from purchases made in the US*** 

Please do not use my links to make UK purchases.



'Mac slides the rest of the way out, rolling to his knees. Sweat is pouring down his face, stinging his eyes, and when he lifts his hand to wipe it away, he finds his fingers trembling. He stares at them, fascinated.'

 

'Fics Fix!' with purple background and white lightning bolt shape



I'm a big fan of the MacGyver reboot TV series.

I mean, it's often trash - but it's good trash. And I love good trash.

Trash with a genius who can use science to save the world is my kinda trash. (And lead actor Lucas Till is pretty easy on the eyes. It don't hurt. #JustSaying)

The current version of MacGyver started in 2016, with 4 series to date, and contains much less questionable hairstyles than the original 1980s series.

Sunday 25 October 2020

Nerd Church - 5 Things That've Kept Me Going In 2020 (So Far)

 

(Warning: this post discusses Coronavirus/Covid 19, Lockdowns, and Depression/Anxiety)


Since I'm once again in Lockdown, and now it's not just local but national for Wales, I figured I'd have a vague ramble about some of things that've been keeping me going through the weirdness that is 2020.


'5 Things That've Kept Me Going In 2020 (So Far)' on a wavy funky multi-coloured background

Sunday 6 September 2020

Nerd Church - I Scaled Back on Blogging In August. Have I Learned Anything?





I don’t know why I need to keep learning the same lessons in order to actually, y’know, learn them, but…

I do? I guess?

Good habits are much easier to break than bad habits, dearest nerdlets! 



'I Scaled Back on Blogging in August. Have I Learned Anything?' displayed on a laptop screen




So anyway, let’s back up and rewind and all that jazz -

In August, I decided to scale back to about one post a week, instead of my regular 3 or 4 per week. I also took a break from my regular series – Comics Wrap-Up, Friday Fics Fix, Nerd Church.

This was so that I could have chance to do some goddamn blog admin for once, and try to get a handle on my socials, make something that at least vaguely resembles an actual posting schedule, make a plan for updating old posts, etc. etc. 


Sunday 17 May 2020

Nerd Church - For Those Of Us Feeling Overwhelmed Right Now


(Warning: this post discusses Covid 19/Coronavirus, and references Anxiety and mental health problems)



This post isn't a magical solution to feeling overwhelmed, but hopefully it'll help a little.

Disclaimer time: I'm not a medical or mental health professional. I'm someone with my own personal experiences of Depression/Anxiety which may or may not be helpful to you. Always do what's right for you, k? K.



'For Those Of Us Feeling Overwhelmed Right Now' against a background of a sky with fluffy clouds




Sometimes it can be hard to keep moving forward. It can feel overwhelming as f**k, let's be honest. 

But to make it less overwhelming?

You have to take everything one step at a time - as goddamn irritating as that can be, sometimes. 

Sunday 19 April 2020

Nerd Church - Oliver Queen, You Have Saved This Girl's Life



(Warning: this post discusses Depression and low self-esteem/self-worth, as well as referencing suicidal thoughts and feelings.)



Oliver Queen, you have saved this girl’s life.

People who’ve read this blog before will be aware that I credit a lot of things for saving my life – from fanfiction to meds, from blogging to Fall Out Boy. With what feels like millions of other things in between.




'Oliver Queen, You Have Saved This Girl's Life' with a green background and white arrow shapes




I mean all of it. Completely.

When Depression sinks it’s teeth in so deep that you think you are the worst creature to ever draw breath – that, in fact, you’re probably hogging oxygen from someone who deserves to breathe it more – you need more than just one thing to rescue you.

Friday 17 April 2020

Friday Fics Fix - The Self-Care Fanfic Rec-List



Fanfiction is a fab form of self-care (which I know I've said more than once, but that's because it's true!)

And seeing as how:

a) we could all do with all the self-care we can get atm...

and b) I have written a lot of fanfiction posts over the years...




I figured I'd take a look over my blog archives, and select some of the most useful fics for self-care.

(Side-note: looking through my archive is super-weird!)



'Fics Fix!' with purple background and white lightning bolt shape



Sunday 12 April 2020

Nerd Church - Watching 'Orange Is The New Black' In Lockdown



(Warning: this post discusses Coronavirus/Covid 19, and prison, and references drugs and death.)


You know all those shows that you just don't get around to for whatever reason? 

Orange Is The New Black was one of those for me.



'Watching 'Orange Is The New Black' in Lockdown' with an orange background, and black stripes down the left-hand side




So what better series to start when we can't go out, than one where they can't either, y'know? 

The UK is in Lockdown - we can only go out for specific reasons, which does currently include 1hr exercise, provided we practice social distancing, so we're better off than some.


Sunday 5 April 2020

Nerd Church - A General Message of Positivity For Anyone Struggling With Their Mental Health ATM



(Warning: this post discusses Covid 19/Coronavirus, and mental health problems/general mental health)


I think we could all do with some positivity right now.

We all need to take care of our mental health. You don't need to have a mental health problem in order to be struggling with your mental health.

We all need to take care of ourselves.

So here's one of my famous (notorious? infamous? who knows,) pep talks, with the hopes that it'll do some good, somewhere.



'A Message of Positivity...' against a background of hearts



Sunday 22 March 2020

Nerd Church - The Anxious Girl's Guide To Pandem-onium



(Warning: this post discusses Coronavirus/Covid-19 (but hopefully in a non-stressy way!) and Anxiety/mental health problems)


Wherever you are in the world, your life is probably being affected by the Covid-19 pandemic right now - if you're in Europe, then it definitely is.

I'm Anxious af right now - and I know other people are too.



'The Anxious Girl's Guide To Pandem-onium' written in graffiti-style against a striped grey-and-blue background



So, I think we could all do with some practical self-care advice.

(Even if you don't have mental health problems, you still need to take care of your mental health!)


Friday 20 March 2020

Friday Fics Fix - In Times of Trouble, Turn To Stucky

 ***All Amazon.com links in this post are commission links. This means I earn commission from purchases made in the US*** 

Please do not use my links to make UK purchases.




'“You mean after spending half the day thinking my ex-boyfriend was dead and then finding out that he’s alive but also a wanted criminal? I’m not doing great honestly!”'



'Fics Fix!' with purple background and white lightning bolt shape



I mean... in times of trouble, we should always turn to Stucky.

The world is somehow a little better when Captain America has a boyfriend. Obviously.

...And the most likely boyfriend (hell, the most likely romantic partner full stop #FightMe) for our dear Steve Rogers is Bucky Barnes.

Sorry,  alternative shippers. Your ships have value, but I can't be convinced. 😉

Sunday 15 March 2020

Nerd Church - The Benefits Of (Sometimes) Switching Off


(Warning: this post discusses Coronavirus/Covid-19, although it's v. brief, I promise!)

Turn off the apps and tabs you aren't using, log out of social media, and let the noise just... stop for a while.


Hooman beans aren't meant for screens - not 24 hours a day, anyways.



'The Benefits of (Sometimes) Switching Off' against an artsy black-and-lens-flare background



I'm not saying 'turn off the evils of technology and become one with the universe' or whatever the latest anti-tech line is.

(Side note: these lines always seem to be spouted online. #JustSaying.)




Technology is a tool. An exceptionally useful one for so many people.

But you don't hammer nails all day, every day, do you? (Wait... do you?)

Even the most fervent lumberjack has to put down the axe every now and then. (Axe... chainsaw... I don't know wtf they're using - ask them!)


Sunday 16 February 2020

Nerd Church - 7 Amazing Queer Songs To Bring You Joy and Brighten Your Weekend

 ***All Amazon.com links in this post are commission links. This means I earn commission from purchases made in the US*** 

Please do not use my links to make UK purchases.




I think we could all do with a little oomph and some good tunes, right?

These tracks are both awesomely awesome, and Queer af.



'7 Amazing Queer Songs To Bring You Joy and Brighten Your Weekend' with rainbow background and multi-coloured musical notes dotted around the words




The world wears down on Queer folks - and sometimes it's good to just surround ourselves with the creations of our LGBTQ+ siblings.

But then, the world's weary atm whether you're Queer or not, so I hope all of you enjoy this little pick me up! 😀


Here we go then:


Friday 7 February 2020

Friday Fics Fix - A Dose of the Warm Fuzzies



'...“Because life is one big joke,” Klaus replies with a grin.

Diego shakes his head, feeling a headache start to form, and drops the interrogation.'



Fics Fix title image with purple background and white lightning bolt shape




Not gonna lie, there're some similarities between this week's fic rec, and last week's fic rec - albeit they're from different fandoms.

They both have ill characters being taken of by their brothers, though (in this case, Klaus is ill, Diego's headache didn't develop 😅.)

And they're both about troubled characters who have, nevertheless, snuck their way into our hearts.

Sunday 29 September 2019

Nerd Church - The Writer Diaries: Writing Vs Self-Care


While my aim is to write every day (y'know, like all the advice seems to say you should if you wanna be successful as an author,) some days I just can't.

That's not strictly true - I usually end up writing something in a day: blogging, tweeting, e-mails, work stuff, etc.

But I don't always manage to work on my work-in-progress (WIP) every day.



notebook with balls of paper around it on a desk


Sunday 25 August 2019

Nerd Church - Escapism, Reality, the Power of Stories, and Brigsby Bear




Films, books, media, stories.

They’re how we talk, communicate, connect with each other, with the world around us, and how we understand ourselves. 


At least, that’s true for me, maybe it’s not for you.

Or maybe you just think it’s not the way it is for you 😉




Title graphic: 'Escapism, Realism, the Power of Stories, and Brigsby Bear' with cute cartoon bear on right-hand side
...when I was making the graphic I somehow wrote 'realism' instead of reality but *shrugs* same diff I suppose! 😅




There’s an amazing, adorable, and, in places, heart-breaking, film called Brigsby Bear.

I love it.

It’s one of those films which rips your heart out, hands it to you, and then is like ‘look! This is what your heart looks like! Look at all the blood and gunk and stuff!’ (Metaphorically, of course.) 


It’s hard to talk about Brigsby Bear without either a) getting spoiler-y, or b) descending into fangirling to such an extent that all I’m doing is making a series of inarticulate noises.

Sunday 28 July 2019

Nerd Church - My New Self-Care Strategy


(Warning: this post discusses low self-esteem and Depression)


I have a plan!


My plan is this: to treat myself BETTER than I think I deserve.


'Hang on Cee!' I hear you cry (well, I don't but it's a structural narrative device,) 'What the hell are you talking about?!'

Let's rewind.



'My New Self-Care Strategy' graphic with purple unicorn emoji and happy panda