Category: wellbeing

nostalgia, wellbeing1 Comment

A letter to my grandmother

My Mashed Up Life

Dear Nan, In this age of mindfulness, and greater discussion about mental health in general, would you have opened up about your troubles, I wonder? You talked to me about so many things, shared secrets that, as far as I know, you didn’t tell anyone else. And yet, you never did talk about the one thing that was the most obvious of your problems. I will never understand how the words eating disorder were never mentioned to you. Maybe your doctor did bring it up, and perhaps you brushed him off with a funny comment. You were neither bulimic nor … Continue reading A letter to my grandmother

being a man, humour, wellbeing11 Comments

Selfie Stick: a medical misadventure

My Mashed Up Life

Yesterday my penis became a selfie stick. No, that’s not a euphemism or a Lady Gaga lyric. It’s true. Following previous tests, my doctor sent me to hospital for a cystoscopy. What is a cystoscopy? A doctor inserts a camera into the bladder to have a good look around. How does the camera get in there? There’s no delicate way to say this. The camera gets fed through the urethra, which means it got inserted up my penis. Hence, it became a selfie stick, to allow the camera to look inside my body. I was happy that it was a … Continue reading Selfie Stick: a medical misadventure

being a man, books, wellbeing4 Comments

My Body, My Mind & Ruby Wax

My Mashed Up Life

I’m currently reading How To Be Human by Ruby Wax (a wonderful book, by the way) and in it, she explains how our body and mind are one and the same. This was news to me, because I have always separated the two. The “me”, I thought, was actually my mind, y’know, that special place where my thoughts and ideas come from, the place that is my personality and the keeper of memories, and my body was just this unfortunate, hairy vessel that I reside in. Not so, says Wax: Your brain and body are one and the same; every thought, … Continue reading My Body, My Mind & Ruby Wax

being a man, humour, wellbeing14 Comments

Prostate Probes & Other Misunderstandings

My Mashed Up Life

Next month my doctor is sending me to have a cystoscopy. I thought it meant that I’ll have a camera put up my bum, so doctors can have a look around. I was imagining a massive Polaroid camera that they’ll insert up there, only for it to get stuck, and then every time I fart a photo will come out. But apparently, that’s not how a cystoscopy works, but it would make for a funny story, right? This all began before Christmas when I was experiencing pain in one of my testicles. My doctor performed some tests, and found traces … Continue reading Prostate Probes & Other Misunderstandings

being a man, family, parenting, wellbeing1 Comment

Stay-at-home-dad, part two

My Mashed Up Life

What happened when I became a stay-at-home-dad? Part One of this story is here. Essentially, a baby’s needs are; feed me, change me, burp me, love me, help me sleep, keep me safe. If only a parent’s needs were just as simple. I was more than happy and more than willing to take on this role, to give our baby everything he needed, to take care of him to the best of my ability. I felt able to do that. What I wasn’t prepared for was the loneliness and isolation. Feeling Alone My wife worked 9-5 Monday to Friday, and … Continue reading Stay-at-home-dad, part two

being a man, family, parenting, wellbeing4 Comments

Stay-at-home-dad, part one

My Mashed Up Life

Yes, there are plenty of great blogs out there written by other stay-at-home dads, and a fair amount of newspaper and magazine articles, too, but none of them have quite mirrored my own experiences. So here I am, and this is my story. Let’s start at the beginning. Agreement My wife and I had always agreed that, if we were lucky enough to have children, she would continue to work full-time, because she had an established career which she loved, whereas I didn’t, so I would be the one to give up my job and stay home to look after … Continue reading Stay-at-home-dad, part one