Amy Roullier is a British writer and author of Silent Reflections of a Fragile Heart. Through her blog, she challenges the negative stereotypes surrounding being single, while candidly sharing her experiences with mental health, personal losses, and the complex, often misunderstood realities of adulthood.
It’s that time of year again, where people get reflective and look back over the past twelve months, social media feeds go crazy with people posting their best bits (queue dramatic music backdrop to a carefully curated reel) and it seems everyone is on the ‘New Year, New You’ bandwagon. But I came here to say only this: It’s absolutely fine if all you accomplished this year was simply surviving. …
Happiness Doesn’t Start with Someone Else—It Begins When You Truly Meet Yourself. Or does it? It’s certainly not the story I’ve been told. Meet someone, settle down, get married, have kids. Happiness and joy is found through others. When I reached my mid-thirties as a singleton, the pressure of these societal goals came to a head. How could I ever be happily single, when happiness is only truly possible when not? …
After a two year hiatus from overseas travel – cheers Covid – last March I went to the iconic city of Paris. A place known for its great wine, even better cheese, bohemian ambience, historic monuments. And also, the home of the Mona Lisa. It’s top of the list for most to complete any visit to Paris with a trip to the Louvre museum. And what a sight it was …
Shopping stimulates a rush of happiness and dopamine, which can create an addictive habit. Maybe it was the buzz of the purchase, looking forward to that shiny new thing arriving, or the satisfaction of a good shopping spree. Whatever my reasons, that moment of buying stuff felt really good. Unfortunately the happiness never lasted long. Because there was always a new upgrade, fancier features, new styles, more things that felt …
For the last ten months I’ve been working on some serious (-ly lacking) boundaries, prioritizing self-care and pushing myself out of my comfort zone. Part of that journey has involved getting really comfortable spending some alone with myself. So far I’ve tackled solo cinema outings, unaccompanied gigs, coffee and dinners by myself, solitary UK weekends away, and a whole heap of unaccompanied adventures and events. But I hadn’t yet tackled …
When I was 19, I was diagnosed with depression. At the time I didn’t know much about mental illness. It wasn’t something I’d heard people speak about and I didn’t know anyone who’d had depression. And even now at 37, I’ve rarely shared what I went through with anyone other than the very few people who supported me throughout that time. But as its Mental Health Awareness week, I wanted …
This is a guest blog by Lucy Chamberlain: I was once having a coffee in a cafe before work and I suddenly became hot and scared. I felt extremely on edge and self-conscious. Shaking and couldn’t move from my seat. Panic stricken. I wanted to reach out to the cafe staff and cry help but I was too embarrassed. Time was moving on and I knew I had to get …
Rest and relaxation. Sounds lovely doesn’t it? That idea of just chilling out, no plans, nothing to do. Long dreamy moments to align and reflect. However I’ve always struggled to put rest and relaxation into practise. This is the era of busyness culture after all; where a busy life equates to a successful one. But has the workaholic lifestyle lost its aspirational shine? Is there less of a struggle to …
I’ve balanced varying degrees of depression throughout my life, the worst being in my late teens where it lead to a drop out of University. But throughout these past two years, I’ve swayed back and forth between thinking I was doing okay (I mean, I wasn’t. But I was clinging on to thinking that I was) to really struggling. And this winter has been particularly tough. Not sort of, or …
Social Media. An endless stream of happy smiling faces portraying wealth, success and picture perfect moments. Awe inspiring and envy inducing lifestyles. The social media world looks pretty darn fabulous when taken at face value, but this is a reminder to myself, to you reading, and for anyone who needs it, that social media is not real life. It’s a few seconds, minutes or hours of someone’s world. Social media …
