Most of us know what that is, don’t we? I actually don’t think we do. We are so caught up in the living and the getting on that we forget about being alive. I thought i was friends with my self esteem. It turns out we only met this year. I have lived 27 years without ever making friends with myself, or loving myself the way I love my friends and family.  I always tried to be better, to fit into what i thought other people wanted. All my life I’ve been changing, constantly changing, and getting stuck at the same time.  When I realised that I had a new friend in ‘Self Esteem’, I wondered why it had taken me so long without her, I was lonely, miserable, had devastatingly negative thoughts about myself, I put myself down, I made myself the failure I feared i would be. Without my self esteem, I was nobody. I thought i could get by without her, but the more i turned my back on her friendship, the lower i sank and the harder it was to get up each time.

Win two tickets to see MGMT play in the Olympia on Thursday the 16th September.

All you have to do is email competitions@headsup.ie with your name, location, contact number and join us on facebook.

New research by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) published today in the Irish Independent reveals that thousands of sixth year students are experiencing high levels of stress as they prepare for the leaving certificate examination. This research is part of a bigger study that has been tracking 900 pupils in 12 schools since 2002

At 10:40pm last Friday Punchestown racecourse was a mucky sight. Constant rain all afternoon didn’t seems to dampen Oxgen goers though as fans lapped up the sounds of the great selection of bands on offer. I was a bit surprised at the amount of people heading away from the main stage at that time though. Arcade Fire, Friday night’s headliner was due on stage at 11pm and throngs of people were, to me, going the wrong direction away from the main stage.  Jay Z had just finished his set and had certainly attracted a huge crowd. Fatboy Slim was at the Vodafone stage and David Guetta was on at the Heineken Green Spheres stage so maybe that’s what caused the crowd to scatter.  The number of people waiting to see Arcade Fire wasn’t as big as I had expected but they still attracted a decent crowd.

Sometimes I feel guilty because I had a very good start in life and parents who would do anything for me. I come from a kind, stable and nurturing family and always had enough food to eat and clothes to wear. I have felt such guilt of not having a “hard upbringing” or bad childhood experience to blame for the depression.

Looks like we have been ignoring our Random Acts of Kindness…..

With longer, brighter summer days we should have loads of time to spread the kindness and pass it on.

This month’s competition is for a €60 Ticketmaster voucher.