In this category you can find realistic accounts of the ‘PGR experience’ including the visceral anxieties we may experience every day. You may also find research-driven wellbeing reflections and lifestyle tips.
Back in October 2015, I was competing for an elusive space in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. My sport was canoe slalom; a technically, physically, and mentally demanding sport that requires its athletes to navigate a canoe/kayak through a set course of gates, without touching or missing any of them, …
Destruction cannot be heard because rushing blood drowns out words. Destruction cannot be spoken because a mouth crowded with gasps smothers thoughts. That is why devastation leaves one at a loss for words. Becoming speechless ends the protective spell that “the worst is not so long as we can say, …
This Saturday, on March 20th, we are celebrating the ‘International Day of Happiness’. I have to be honest, it feels strange to write about happiness amongst so much confinement and grief that COVID-19 has brought into all of our lives. I believe that is important to acknowledge those who suffered, …
There is no doubt that people like to live and work in civilized, comfortable and pleasant surroundings like bright and airy rooms, colourful walls, a few pots of plants by the windows. But very few people know that growing plants with our own hands can also have various benefits on our mental health and well-being. There are two main types of planting – house planting and community gardening. House planting refers …
“That’s the thing about books. They let you travel without moving your feet.” – Jhumpa Lahiri, The Namesake The pandemic has changed our lives in many ways and sometimes it feels like it is hard to escape the monotony, work stress and/or boredom that we are still faced with. Even though I miss many things (and even …
On a cold February afternoon, I posted a special invitation on a Facebook group in Edinburgh called ‘The Meadows Share’. I asked if anyone would be willing to share any advice for themselves when they are having a bad day. My goal was to create a short film that reaches people, so I figured it would be great to feature as …
When I tell people that I am studying gestational diabetes as part of my PhD, I mostly receive a blank stare or a vague “oh, that’s interesting…” in return. As a disease of pregnancy, gestational diabetes doesn’t affect half of the population and for those it does impact, it usually goes away …
“Access to adequate food is a human right, and belongs to the economic, social and cultural rights” Human rights exist to protect human dignity and they are characterized by principles such as being universal, indivisible, and interlinked. This means that access to food should be a universal experience, which implies that all people all over the world should have access to adequate …
During this lockdown we are staying at home more than we are used to—spending most of our days sitting and lying down, maybe moving from the living room to the bathroom, then perhaps to the kitchen, and then back to the living room! As PhD students, we are trying to work on …
It is Friday morning, before the “lockdown Monday” and I start planning my food shopping list for next week. I am planning to get some fruit, vegetables, chicken and beef. I go to the supermarket in the evening and the shelves where I was supposed to find those items, were empty, completely empty. My first thought was: …
