florachangeyourmind

Odd Encounters in Stockholm

Context: I am currently living in Stockholm, and have been for almost five months. I love Stockholm, but more weird stuff has happened here than anywhere else I’ve been, and I’m becoming increasingly convinced that there is some sort of glitch in the simulation that originated here specifically. Side note: all of these things happenedContinue reading “Odd Encounters in Stockholm”

The (DIY) Depression Scale

“I’m usually not depressed.” I smile. “Most of the time, I’m fine.” That feels like a good place to start the conversation. Manage expectations. Set the stage. Depression is painfully common, but it’s still so mystified. We’re embarrassed to say we feel depressed (at least to each other’s faces), and do not even speak ofContinue reading “The (DIY) Depression Scale”

The Day After (Sugar Challenge)

Remember when I said I’m not great at moderation? Yeah… about that… So, today was terrible. I thought I could reintroduce a little bit of sugar, just to see how it went. It went terribly. It’s about 11.30pm now, I’m nauseous and anxious and clammy. I haven’t had dinner. (Too nauseous to eat and tooContinue reading “The Day After (Sugar Challenge)”

Day 30: Celebration! (Sugar Challenge)

I made it! 28 perfect days, 2 slip-ups, and 25 blog posts + 2 secret bonus days. (I’m writing this on day 32. I somehow made a mistake on numbering the days in my calendar – despite writing daily – so I fully didn’t realise I had already finished two whole days ago!) To getContinue reading “Day 30: Celebration! (Sugar Challenge)”

Day 29: Anxiety Check-In (Sugar Challenge)

I spent the weekend with my family. (We went kayaking on a lake + out for dinner at the beach for my dad’s birthday.) The people around me are starting to notice my decreased anxiety. My family was worried about taking me to multiple different places in one day, driving a lot, lots of activities,Continue reading “Day 29: Anxiety Check-In (Sugar Challenge)”

Day 28: Bouncing Back (Sugar Challenge)

Here’s the most interesting thing I’ve noticed so far in the challenge: When I have a bad day, I get a chance to recover. On my usual bad days, I tend to start eating sugar early, messing up my blood sugar, and ruining the rest of the day. I need to sleep it off beforeContinue reading “Day 28: Bouncing Back (Sugar Challenge)”

Day 27: Slip & Catch (Sugar Challenge)

My partner is on a business trip, and I am home alone. (Note: I publish with a delay, so he’ll be back when you read this.) I’ve been slipping a bit. In life, not in the Sugar Challenge. (I decided I’d had enough slip-ups for the month; two is plenty.) After a few months ofContinue reading “Day 27: Slip & Catch (Sugar Challenge)”

Day 26: Emotional Triggers + Heatwave (Sugar Challenge)

Something (relatively insignificant) happened at work today, and it made me really avoidant. It took me a while to realise that – while I was certainly distracting myself and being generally unproductive – I wasn’t reaching for snacks anymore. Pretty cool. I slept a little better, so I’m not as ravenous. It’s very hot todayContinue reading “Day 26: Emotional Triggers + Heatwave (Sugar Challenge)”

Day 25: Ghosts & Gremlins (Sugar Challenge)

My daytime anxiety is much better (say: virtually absent), but I still have a lot of nightmares. (My biggest ‘symptom’ of grief.) It takes ages to fall asleep, because I keep myself awake (I’ll probably write more about this in the future), and today I had to get up early because my partner (Alex) isContinue reading “Day 25: Ghosts & Gremlins (Sugar Challenge)”

Day 24: Picnic + Pecan Chocolate Recipe (Sugar Challenge)

I found an old Facebook post. I think this is the only physical proof I have of my first sugar challenge. I’ve been looking forward to the home made pecan chocolate since I started this challenge, but I haven’t had the tools to make it. Now I’m home. Yesterday, I bought the ingredients. Today, IContinue reading “Day 24: Picnic + Pecan Chocolate Recipe (Sugar Challenge)”