Quietly quitting on your relationship The latest trend of quiet quitting – doing the bare minimum at work – sees people actively refraining from going the extra mile and disengaging from giving it their all. READ: Intentional boundary setting at work – why quiet quitting is not all that glam  This active emotional disengagement is also found outside of the workplace in the form of quietly quitting relationships. Many years ago, a marriage counsellor colleague said she preferred couples that argue. During a fight, there is often name-calling, outspoken blaming, and signs of resentment. Naturally, a fight is not pleasant [...]

We’ve all noted the social media meme It’s OK not to be OK reminding us that bad times are inevitable and that feeling emotionally overwhelmed is normal at times. The daily stressors of work, family, commitments, and external triggers such as load shedding, all add a cumulative strain on our mental health. It is difficult to have a positive mindset when we are overcome by a multitude of stressors. By embracing this meme, it is important to note that we must realise when it is time to change our lifestyle and build resilience BEFORE our mental health suffers, and be [...]

Frustration. It’s a complex cocktail of being annoyed, angry, disappointed, and powerless. It’s an emotional reaction to stress and in many cases rather short-lived. However, continuously being exposed to stress can take a long-lasting and serious toll on your health and well-being. During this disruptive time of load shedding, it’s natural to be frustrated, disillusioned, and outraged at the enormous impact the power outages have on our day-to-day living. Our days without load shedding are already filled with daily hassles and stressors, and adding on an additional load (pun intended!) could lead to a sense of hopelessness, and powerlessness, and [...]

It’s true that society has created certain standards for mothers. It naturally doesn’t help that we as women have also set our own standards that are incredibly high and drive us in constant pursuit of being the “perfect mother and woman.” We strive towards “always getting things right”, to please others, to juggle all the balls of marriage, parenthood, career, friendships and self-care with incredible efficiency, and instead of supporting our fellow women, compete for the trophy. Guilt can so easily creep into every single aspect of our lives that we end up second-guessing ourselves, feel guilty when we are [...]

We all strive to be confident, standing our ground and standing up for ourselves. However, the reality is that more often than not, we rather back down in an effort to avoid confrontation and to save ourselves from possible drama. But with bullying and abuse, both in their subtle and aggressive forms being rife in the corporate corridors and at home, we need to learn how to find the middle ground when standing up to the abusive behaviour of others without being overly strong and pushy, or appearing insecure, weak, and a ‘push-over’. READ: The art of subtle bullying and [...]

Change is inevitable, yet we all fear it because we don’t know the outcome. We prefer to know, to find peace in the knowing, and as a result find it hard to move on when something comes to an end. We naturally reject uncertainty and are prone to be paralysed by our fear of the unknown, running various scenarios in our search for clarity, and end up with worry and anxiety, especially if the change is out of our control. For example, if you decide to move cities or start your own business, you feel more in control of the [...]