Iain Douglas Stewart

The Mission – updated

By Iain May 11, 2021The MissionNo Comments

So I had a look at my old plans and it was glaringly obvious why I was drifting, rudderless. Apart from learning to drive and buying a car, and taking the next step in my counselling journey, I'd ticked off everything that was possible to tick off. And even then, there are plans in place to complete those objectives. A…

A new beginning.

By Iain May 10, 2021The MissionNo Comments

I think it's time to stop thinking about it, and just start doing it. There are loads of things I want to do, loads of things I want to create, but I'm crippled by indecision and the molehill of things I want to do looms over me like a mountain. I just don't know where to start. Forever tweaking things…

Rangers are champions!

By Iain March 8, 2021Films/TV, ReflectionsNo Comments

Well, I knew it would happen eventually. I last wrote about football here: https://iaindstewart.net/blog/2012/08/17/football/, and in that post I explained how Rangers got demoted from the top league in Scottish football to the lowest league because of financial irregularities, but that I was confident they would make it back to the top flight soon enough. Sure enough, they made it…

Four years on. History is not over, things change.

By Iain February 9, 2021Reflections, The MissionNo Comments

Bit of a rambling one, this. Four years ago I had a mental breakdown and I walked off into the night with the intention of killing myself. I didn't do it, obviously, I changed my mind. I turned away from the void. Vowed to change. To become someone I'd always wanted to be. That's the only thing we really have…

Minecraft: Real life vs simulations

By Iain December 14, 2020Creativity, Essays, The Mission, VideogamesNo Comments

This post started off as a piece on how Minecraft evokes primal instincts in a person, but the more I wrote, the more it evolved. Have a read. You'll see. Survive the night. Is there a more evocative phrase? When you start a new Minecraft world in survival mode, that is your mission statement, your purpose. Survive the night. Granted,…

Saying you’ve levelled up on your birthday is cringe

By Iain December 8, 2020Reflections, The Mission, VideogamesNo Comments

It's my birthday today, and after receiving the card pictured, it struck me how cringe it is to say that you've "levelled up" on your birthday. Looking back on some of my previous birthday posts... I noticed that I've used the phrase once or twice myself. I get that it's a videogame analogy, but it just doesn't work when you…

If your grandfather was here today, would you be able to look him in the eye?

By Iain October 21, 2020Reflections, The MissionNo Comments

Men: Are you proud of your behavior? If your grandfather was here today, would you be able to look him in the eye? Are you a man of the world, caving to whatever temptation it puts under your nose? Or do you want to be uncommon, a great man? Do you want to be proud of yourself?— EthanE (@ethan_ethos) October…

Taking another year off

By Iain September 16, 2020Reflections, The MissionNo Comments

I'm finding myself in that situation again this academic year, mainly thanks to coronavirus this time around rather than financial worries. But this time, I can see it coming, and I won't lose focus. I won't waste this year. I've got things I need to do to be ready for starting the level 4 counselling course next September. See, after…

L3CiCS Mental Health Assignment

By Iain June 30, 2020Qualifications courseworkNo Comments

Identifying and describing a range of mental health problems As categorised by The National Institute for Health Care Excellence (NICE), the most common mental health problems are: Depression – The main symptom is a low feeling and a loss of pleasure in things that were once enjoyable. Other symptoms include feeling irritable all the time, having drastic changes in appetite,…

L3CiCS Counselling Agency Assignment

By Iain June 29, 2020Qualifications courseworkNo Comments

The purpose of this assignment is to choose a counselling agency and research how it operates. I have chosen Off The Record. I chose this organisation because there was once a place in Southampton that offered a similar service that I visited when I was a troubled teenage to get some help. It helped me greatly, more than I realised…