Coronavirus – Iain Douglas Stewart

5 years

By Iain 10 February 2022Reflections, The MissionNo Comments

In February 2017 I had a breakdown. When you hit rock bottom, that's when you can look up and see how far it is back to the top. I made a plan. A five year plan. It was going well. I was on course. Driving lessons going well, learning how to be a counsellor. Completed most of my action plan.…

We had Covid

By Iain 25 January 2022ReflectionsNo Comments

Jake brought covid home from school with him a couple of weeks ago. It quickly infected me, then Jane, and to a milder extent, Jane's mum and dad. We had a round of PCR tests, and they came back positive. Ten days of quarantine, or isolation, or whatever you want to call it. I was glad for the time off…

I own a car

By Iain 27 May 2021The Mission, VideogamesNo Comments

So this is one of the final steps in my last action plan - buying a car. All that's left to do on the old plan is pass tests and become legally able to drive the car I've just bought. The new plan is more about consolidating things, and streamlining processes. One post on here a week as a general…

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

By Iain 9 February 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…

Taking another year off

By Iain 16 September 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 Reflective Diary – 25th June 2020

By Iain 25 June 2020Qualifications courseworkNo Comments

So that’s that then. Last night I got an email from the college saying that our internal and external assessments have been submitted to the CPCAB for a calculated grade. Our tutor had already told us that we would all pass. Now that our final grade is being calculated, between a pass and a fail, there is no need to…

Reflecting on ending self-isolation

By Iain 24 June 2020Physicality, Reflections, The Mission, VideogamesNo Comments

This Coronavirus thing has been a bit shit, eh? I'm due to go back to work next week, and I have mixed emotions about it. On the one hand, I hate my current job, and these twelve weeks have been eye-opening to exactly how much I do hate it. I'm anxious to go back because of the health risks as…

L3CiCS Reflective Diary – 15th May 2020

By Iain 15 May 2020Qualifications courseworkNo Comments

This week we are looking at ethics in counselling, in particular, how to apply an understanding of an ethical framework to counselling practise sessions. This combines the two aspects of counselling that I feel are my weak areas: ethics and skills practises. Seeing as we are still in lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, we cannot actually do skills practise,…

L3CiCS Reflective Diary – 7th May 2020

By Iain 7 May 2020Qualifications courseworkNo Comments

Due to the ongoing Coronavirus crisis, we’ve not had a class at the Haven Community Centre for about seven weeks – it’s been crazy times. This week I met up with Gareth online via Skype to chat about research. It was quite strange talking to a screen rather than a person, that’s for sure. I explained to him the work…

Self-isolation, quarantine, whatever this limbo is; week seven

By Iain 6 May 2020Creativity, Physicality, Reflections, Site Related, The MissionNo Comments

Time is strange at the moment. It goes fast, but feels slow. Days take ages, but are over before you know it. This strange coronavirus limbo is warping things. It's so quiet outside, it's unreal. Eerie. Spooky. It feels like the entire world has been paused. I didn't get a rowing machine in the end, I'm ashamed to say the…