For those of you trying to give up sugar I would recommend having some dates and nuts knocking about.
The dates seem to have magical properties in that they are packed full of sugar but don’t give you the spikes and crashes that refined sugars do. The other benefits regarding gut health etc are well documented and for the last year i’ve been eating at least three or four dates a day plus a handful of nuts. Walnuts are supposed to be very good and it’s said that the advertised fat content of nuts is overstated as we don’t process all of the fat content (or something) so don’t let that put you off.
I have always been an absolute fiend for sweets, chocolate bars, biscuits and crisps etc but have cut those out entirely. I do have the 100% dark chocolate which also helps with cravings for the sweeter stuff.
Good luck!
Man: giving up the booze has been a game changer for my mental health.
Boy: but, you were more fun then.
For anyone struggling with Dryanury! 
For me, adding cannabis-based treatments for OCD to my routine made a big difference. If anyone’s been struggling to manage OCD, there’s this clinic in the UK that specializes in this and has been really helpful. It’s worth looking into if other approaches haven’t worked
It’s still so prohibitively expensive though average cost of £170 pcm for prescription/ consultation etc
Thought I’d share this here too. 
I appreciate you all.
Great story!
I will say that your well being it’s more important then money. But you do you
Luckily a serious but not so serious event forced me to take stock and stop in August 23. Initially I stopped completely but more recently have had a couple here and there occasionally,
Just weighed myself to find I’ve lost 14kg and that’s without any exercise except walking a bit.
I agree and I will.
Sadly for some people I think it is beyond being affordable- hopefully this will improve.
I hope so too
dunno if this site will be much help but there’s a few articles, resources + data which any struggling freelancers on here might find useful
the last 2/3 weeks have been pretty grim tbh. My missus is desperately worried about her cousins in Iran, she’s also going through a tough menopause and we’re both struggling for work. Music has taken a back seat sadly. There are worse places to be though and we found a nice remote wood and river you can swim in on Saturday. Wild picnics are the way forward this summer.
I hear you and send our best to you both. It’s a time to draw your loved-ones close and try to find pleasure in moments of pause while keeping the bad stuff at arms-length.
Perimenopause and menopause, I have found, is one of the most difficult stages of life to support your partner through. We, as men, genuinely have no basis for comparison and I find that I trip up a lot when I try to give support coming from a “walk it off, you’ll be fine” upbringing. I do know that being a woman is difficult, far more than a man. I don’t really know where I’m going with this but if you need to talk, I’m also supporting a partner going through that, and I don’t have any of the answers but I’m decent at listening don’t be shy to drop a line.
Throwing on the fear that the orange Nazi is going to start WW3 and use your wife’s family as cannon fodder is not easy either. I can’t imagine what that feels like. I work with a lot of Iranians, particularly at our Toronto location and they are genuinely lovely people.
Sorry you’re going through a tough time, hope those swims help.
very true @Casual we don’t understand nearly enough about it. Hoping the HRT will help.
The Iran stuff is really emotional on multiple levels. eg Imagine having a UK passport and having a 2 week flight booked to LAX to see elderly parents but not being sure if you’ll be allowed in because it says ‘born in Tehran’. The current climate makes my blood boil tbh. Whilst I’ve also had grief there due to an out of date ESTA, I’ve never faced discrimination. She’s been hauled off planes before for extra security checks and my fear is it will be even worse now.
Sorry to hear that. Can’t imagine what she has to deal with. Uncertainty is one of the big stressors to deal with. Sending 
Sending the good vibes Oli. Heres to finding some peace. X
I have a US passport and mine says under place of birth “South Africa” and the last two times I have been out of the country and back in, I have been stopped and asked how long I have been naturalized. And I am as legal as can be. I can’t imagine what it is like being from one of the banned nations. It makes my blood boil as well. This isn’t the country I emigrated to by a long shot.