You’re going about your day, maybe you’re grocery shopping, driving, or chatting with a friend when BAM, a thought strikes out of nowhere. It’s sharp, unsettling, and completely unwanted.

What if I hurt someone?
What if I hurt myself?
What if I’m a terrible person?
I’m a monster.
I’m disgusting.
I’m going to hell.

Walk into any casual conversation or scroll through social media, and you’ll likely hear phrases like “I’m so OCD about my desk,” or “That show ending left me depressed.” Often, people use clinical terms as exaggerations for everyday quirks or feelings. No harm is usually intended – it’s become common slang to describe being neat, sad, or distracted. However, this habit of borrowing mental health diagnoses as figures of speech can have unintended consequences. What might seem like a light-hearted comment to one person can come across very differently to someone who actually lives with that condition . In fact, casually using these labels can trivialise complex conditions, turning serious disorders into throwaway adjectives. Before we brush off these concerns, it’s important to understand what OCD, ADHD, and depression truly involve and why using these terms flippantly can be problematic.

For many young people, starting university is a major milestone, an exciting leap toward independence, discovery, and growth. But what often goes unspoken is the undercurrent of loneliness and isolation that can accompany this transition. It could be described as the quiet sadness that creeps in when the excitement wears off (yet you don’t say anything, because you’re supposed to being loving it).

Anxiety is a universal human experience. We all worry about the future, our health, our relationships, or our responsibilities from time to time. But for some, worry becomes a constant companion—an inescapable cycle of overthinking, doubt, and distress. This is the world of generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), two conditions that share striking similarities yet operate in distinct ways.

For most people, the thought of vomiting is unpleasant. But for those with emetophobia—the intense fear of vomiting—it is more than just an aversion. It is a relentless, all-consuming anxiety that dictates daily life, leading to avoidance, compulsive behaviours, and a constant need for control.

Blending families is one of the most deeply human endeavours—and also one of the most complicated. Unlike fairy tales or family movies where everyone magically bonds over dinner and laughter, real-life blended families are built slowly, with lots of small moments, awkwardness, trial and error, and patient love.