My goal of the month:

✓ Complete Headspace’s “Transforming Anger” 10-session course (10 mins each)

This is what I learned from the course:

Focus on breathing out
- Not forcing it, just watching and waiting for it
- Still be aware of breathing in
Recognise anger but don’t express it
Don’t blame anger on others
Understand that anger is an energy and we need to learn how to let it go and use it in a positive way

Pretty stuff

Life highlights

I think I finally found the reason why I’ve been getting random headaches / feeling light headed (which then usually leads to me feeling agitated and puts me in a not-so-great mood) throughout the day, especially when I’m focusing on something (such as in lectures or conversations with people) - it’s because I’m not breathing properly :O

After I started trying out the ‘focus on breathing out’ advice from the ‘transforming anger’ headspace course, I’ve noticed that I tend to.. forget to breathe sometimes? Or like I breathe very irregularly (i.e. inhaling too much, exhaling too little) which, I’m assuming, leads to my brain/body receiving too much oxygen (oxidative stress maybe? hah) and accumulating too much carbon dioxide or something I dunno. Wow 10/10 med student right here. Also I tend to breathe through my mouth not nose.

But yeah ever since I started being aware and mindful of my breathing, and breathing through my nose rather than mouth, I notice I don’t get those random headaches as much anymore and I’ve been feeling more relaxed overall. Which is an improvement I think :’)

I went back to my home country, Thailand, for a bit as well.

Thailand

This new shopping mall in Bangkok is just incredible. It’s called Icon Siam:

UK

Things I’ve listened/watched/read:

PODCASTS

Not Overthinking - Ali & Taimur Abdaal // 009 - What makes an awkward silence?
- Life hack/tip: When asking people (esp. acquaintances) ‘how are you doing’s’ questions, end it with a low-pitch tone
Stuff You Should Know - iHeartRadio and How Stuff Works
10% Happier - Dan Harris // #159: Judson Brewer, Unwinding Anxiety
- Anxiety can be caused by something that creates instability or unpredictability in your life
Simplify - Blinkist // Simply’s 2017 Sampler Episode
- Externalise your thoughts, don’t keep it in your head - write it down and also act on them
- When asking people “how?” questions, let them answer and then follow up with “what else?” and pause - allowing them to think of more answers (could do to yourself too)
- From this sampler episode, this is probably my most favourite podcast I’ve listened to so far. Really well planned out, the podcasters (Ben and Caitlin) have great, genuine chemistry, the audio and transition music is well edited and the content is so wholesome.

WHAT IS ACTIVE RECALL?

As I was writing “My Ideal Study Plan”, I was wondering what exactly is “active recall”, and I found these two website that explains it really well:

K-DRAMA

So in this month, I finished the K-drama that I mentioned in the previous ‘Monthly Musings’ - Memories of the Alhambra. Here’s what I think of the series:

Storyline 10/10 but the way they go back and forth in the timeline and repeating the scenes is so frustrating haha
Turned out to be a bit darker than I expected xD
Last episode got me tearing up many times T^T
Me and bae concluded that whoever wrote this story must:
- Loves games
- Enjoys breaking people’s hearts
- Be on crack (lol, jk)

I highly recommend this K-drama, especially to those who enjoy playing MMORPGs and is into augment reality stuff. It’s a great, intense series.

MUSIC

I know Spotify existed for a long time but I never really used it until this month. Before Spotify, I listened to music on YouTube, which I still do sometimes. My favourite Spotify playlists are: