How stress and trauma can make you physically sick
It was halfway through my first year of university when the sickness started. Every month there would be a new virus, bacterial infection, or pain in some part of my body.
By the start of my second year, I was seeing my doctor every week. I knew something was wrong, I could feel as though my body was fighting against me. After countless blood tests and ECGs, doctors were still not able to tell me the cause of my constant illness.
One night when I was still living with my parents my chest pains became too much to deal with…
How to be a white ally amid the #BlackLivesMatter movement
As most people reading this will know, the #BlackLivesMatter protests have made headlines across the world. These protests started in the wake of the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.
Floyd’s murder was videoed and depicts Chauvin pressing his knee down on Floyd’s neck for nine minutes until he died. Officers J. Alexander Heung and Thomas Lane helped to restrain Floyd, while Tou Thao stood and watched. All through the footage, Floyd is pleading those three haunting words that anyone who has been following the protests know all too well.
“I can’t breathe.”
For a long…
How COVID-19 has given us a new found appreciation of all things artsy
Most of us around the world are having to adjust to a “new normal” due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Millions of people around the world are partaking in what is known as self-isolation. This means only leaving the house for essentials and fresh air. While there are people still working remotely from home, there has been a record-breaking rise in redundancy and unemployment rates. This is because of the devastating effects of COVID-19 on the economy. …
How it can be applied to coronavirus
In history we call it a defining moment. In psychology we call it a flashbulb event. For some, it was the assassination of John F. Kennedy. For others, it was receiving the news that WWII had ended. These are events that you look back on at age 70 and still remember exactly where you were and how you were feeling. For my generation in New Zealand, it will be the day that Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced that the only way to beat the coronavirus pandemic was to implement a nationwide lockdown.
For those of you who may not be…
Nicola Paul
Talking about all things social justice and psychology based. My insta is https://www.instagram.com/nicolakatepaul/.
