Yearly Archives: 2022

Self doubt is something we all suffer from sometime in our life, and it’s natural to feel this way, when you’re feeling unsure. There are steps we can take to help us overcome the feelings of self-doubt, but the first step in overcoming these feelings, is by trying to identify the cause of why it’s happening.

Self doubt is described as being the lack of confidence in oneself and one’s abilities. It can also be defined as the feeling of uncertainty, concern or worry about one’s abilities. The root cause of these feelings could come down to feeling a lack of confidence or security.

It’s a perfectly natural feeling. It doesn’t need to be seen as being necessarily a negative experience, as self doubt can help us to grow as individuals, and allow us to be more aware of both our strengths and weaknesses.

What Are The Symptoms Of Self Doubt?

Symptoms of self doubt can manifest in different ways, where we make have an inability to take initiative when doing tasks, feeling inferior to those around us, anticipating failure, poor performance when completing tasks, and just feeling like we’re not good enough. Whilst self-doubt is a completely normal emotion we’ll all experience, it’s important to not let that doubt take over, and impact our life.

How To Tackle Your Feelings of Self-Doubt?

Accept Self Doubt

Self doubt can affect all areas of our life, from personal relationships to our career. When we think about what we have to offer, it becomes a cycle of destructive thinking that leads us down an even more uncertain path. We must be mindful and accept the feelings of self doubt, because it is just a feeling – it’s not permanent.

Take Care Of Yourself

Start by understanding self-doubt and how it impacts you creatively. Determine what triggers your self doubt, and then arm yourself with an action plan for dealing with it when it strikes. Be gentle with yourself; you’re doing the best you can.

Give Yourself Credit

The best way to overcome a feeling of self-doubt is to give yourself credit for what you have done so far. If you are just starting, then you can’t expect too much from yourself. Give yourself some time, and work hard on your goals, and soon enough you will have accomplished more than you ever thought possible.

Challenge Negative Thoughts With Positive Thoughts

When you catch yourself feeling down, try challenging your negative thoughts with positive thoughts. Instead of telling yourself how terrible you are, tell yourself that you can do better next time, or that you can find a way to make things better. It’s all in our mindset, and this can really help to drive away the negative thoughts.

Seek Support When Struggling

You might think self-doubt is only a problem for those who are insecure or lack confidence. But it’s actually a common feeling that many people experience at one time or another.

It’s important to try and work through and get past, rather than letting it control you, but if you find that your feelings of self-doubt are impacting your life, it’d be a good idea to reach out to your doctor for extra help in overcoming those feelings.

We all have moments in our lives where we feel less than confident. In these moments, it can be hard to believe in yourself and your abilities. However, these are some things you can do to improve your self-esteem, to minimise the feelings of self-doubt, to make yourself feel better about what you can achieve.

If you suffer from migraines, you have my utmost sympathy, as they’re truly terrible. I’ve suffered from migraines since I was eleven years old, and whilst I was lucky to get only one or two during my twenties, they’ve been a regular occurrence in my thirties, and let me tell you, they aren’t fun.

The word migraine is often thrown around, but what exactly is a migraine? How can you tell if you’re having a migraine, or simply a very painful headache? Trust me, you know. Migraines have a very different level of pain, and they’re never just a headache. Migraines are a neurological condition which affects the brain.

Migraines can be trigged by different factors such as food, stress, a lack of stress and more, and the pain can range from being mild to severe, and they’re typically experienced on one side of the head. Migraines are never *just* a headache, with symptoms of light or sound sensitivities being common, as well as visual disturbances.

Annoyingly, a migraine can last for hours or even days, and is often accompanied by nausea or vomiting, and some even suffer from neck stiffness, or extreme sensitivities to smells. Migraines are typically triggered by hormonal changes in women during puberty, menstruation (periods), pregnancy (pregnancy) or menopause (end of periods).

What Are The Different Types of Migraines?

There are two main types of migraine: episodic and chronic. Episodic migraines happen less often and tend to last less than 72 hours. Whereas chronic migraines happen more often and can last for days or weeks at a time. There is also a third type of migraine called ophthalmoplegic migraine, which happens when the muscles that control eye movement become weak or paralysed in some way, but the two most common types of migraine are episodic and chronic.

Common Migraine Triggering Factors

Migraines are the most common type of headache, with about 1 in 7 people suffering from migraines, and they’re found to be more common in women than they are men. The triggers for migraines change from person to person,

Some of the most common triggers for migraines include:

• Changes in hormones; puberty, menstruation, pregnancy or menopause.
• Sleep deprivation
• Stressful events or life changes
• Too much or too little physical activity
• Atmospheric pressure falls or rises
• Changes in temperature
• Humidity fluctuation
• Bright artificial lighting
• Alcohol consumption
• Consumption of certain food types (such as chocolate, cheese and nuts)
• Excessive caffeine intake
• Smoking tobacco products

What are the Most Effective Treatment Options for Migraines?

Migraines are often debilitating, and some people have to suffer with them on a daily basis. I’m lucky in that I get maybe 1-2 a month at the most, but I’ve had times when they’ve been a lot more frequent, and it’s really tough as they are so debilitating.

If you think you might be suffering from migraines as opposed to general headaches, I’d recommend creating a headache diary, when you can record your episodes and food/drink intake, to help you establish any noticeable patterns or triggers.

I for one, know chocolate to be a big trigger for me, so I try and limit how much chocolate I consume, and once you spot your triggers, it really does help to minimise the frequency of your migraine attacks.

When it comes to effective migraine treatments, there are many different options, with some people responding well to medication, lifestyle changes or focusing on preventative measures. It all depends on the individual person, and it’s always good to try different things to see which is the best plan of action for you personally.

One popular medication when it comes to migraines are triptans (and my personal favourite treatment for dealing with my own migraines). Triptans are a type of medication that can be taken at the onset of a migraine to reduce its severity and duration. They work by blocking serotonin from binding to receptors in the brain, which helps stop the release of chemicals and other neurotransmitters that lead to migraine symptoms.

There are many treatment options for migraine sufferers, but not all of them work for everyone. Some people find relief from pain by using over-the-counter medications such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen. Others find relief from taking prescription medications such as ergotamines, or opiates.

How To Treat A Migraine Attack With Alternative Therapies

Alternative treatments for migraines include acupuncture, meditation, yoga, chiropractic care, massage therapy, low-level laser therapy (LLLT), and biofeedback. You could use a TENS machine designed for migraines, hot water bottles, heat-up eye masks, or many other non-medication based treatment options.

Living with migraines can be really tough. You live in worry wondering when the next attack will strike, but there are different treatments available, and alternative therapies to hopefully help with the symptoms once you do have an attack.