Whenever you encounter a difficulty in life, whatever the problem, somebody has been there before you. I’m not out to disillusion you, but however unique you feel in your struggles, thousands if not millions of people have passed that way before you.

That’s good because it means that, whatever it is that’s bothering you, if not commonplace it is at least familiar to someone somewhere.

If it’s an illness that means someone knows how to treat it, if its something less tangible, like existential angst, feeling unfulfilled, or wanting to know the ‘right’ thing to do… there are ways of getting information and advice to reduce the uncertainty, frustration, fear or whatever, because many people have already been there and lived through it.

Dramatising our concerns and worries just gives them more power over us. The opposite of this is normalising. If you haven’t already done so, try it.