When life becomes hard through loss, disappointment, betrayal, illness or failure, many of us instinctively retreat. We stop returning calls, cancel plans and fall silent. It may feel safe, like pulling the covers over your head until things get easier. But isolation is rarely just a pause. Over time, it can distort our thinking, deepen despair and make recovery harder.

Recently, I had a deeply unpleasant experience. Despite choosing kindness and generosity by giving someone a second chance, I was met with hostility and hurtful words. The details are irrelevant, but the emotional impact was real.

It all started with a simple 30-day challenge: to move my body intentionally every day. No grand vision. No finish line in sight. Just a quiet promise to myself to show up, every single day, for my health and well-being. Thirty days became 100. Then 200. Before I realised it, I had reached 706 consecutive days of daily training mixed between running, strength training, yoga and hiking.

Every. Single. Day.

Until I didn’t.

I often reflect on the evolving nature of friendship: why some bonds endure, whilst others fade or only last a season. And within this, I remind myself that at every life stage it is possible to nurture meaningful connections that enrich our emotional lives.

I recently posted a celebratory message on social media about my students – a heartfelt note, late at night, full of pride and joy. But instead of sharing in the sentiment, someone chose to point out a spelling mistake.

The first quarter of the year is wrapping up, and those New Year’s resolutions you had set might be fading or maybe they never really took off. But here’s the thing: the issue might not be your goals themselves, but rather that you haven’t included specific goals for your mental health and well-being.

Whether you embrace or loathe it, Valentine’s Day is hard to ignore. Radio advertisements remind you to order the chocolates, shop isles are drowning in red and pink and your social media feed is probably filled with special offers and date night ideas.

Burnout is a state of emotional, mental, and often physical exhaustion brought on by prolonged or repeated stress. It’s a workplace phenomenon that cannot be confused by daily stressors of everyday personal life responsibilities.

We’ve come to the final in the three-part series looking at becoming unstuck, goal-setting, and now stepping into action.

If you find yourself a quarter into the year lacking motivation, willpower or drive to stick to achieving something new or starting or stopping a certain behaviour, then read further.

There are many things in my life that I am indecisive about, those which I deliberately avoid, procrastinate on and dread facing. But they all have one thing in common: they create a sense of being in limbo and feelings of being ‘stuck’.

With the worldwide shortage of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medicines due to increased global demand and manufacturing problems, many patients and parents are feeling despondent in their unfruitful search for medication.

Recently, I had the privilege of attending a conference where I was deeply moved by the inspiring keynote speakers who shared their journeys of conquering adversity and achieving remarkable success.

As a child, we were creative for most parts of the day shaping clay, drawing, building forts, engaging in imaginative role-play with toys, and galloping around the house on pretend horses.

Conflict and disagreement are an inevitable part of any relationship. Two people with different backgrounds, personalities, perspectives, beliefs, experiences, and tastes can lead from minor everyday annoyances to serious relationship-crushing conflict.

We all have a past. Regardless of our memories of growing up, family structure and home life, or the challenges, traumas, and choices along the way, they have all left a few marks.

Each year when the Happiness Index Report is released we as South Africans realise just how much adversity we face on a daily basis. Price hikes, corruption, violence and abuse, failed state-owned enterprises, and poverty all add to our anxiety levels and overall outlook on life.

Wine has become shorthand for relaxation. That well-deserved break after a long day of working and parenting, signaling the start of the last shift before bedtime.

We have literally entered the year with a multitude of flat batteries: physically, emotionally, and to add to the discomfort, also Eskom-induced.

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.