So far today the cat has been sick several times, and has diarrhoea.  The kettle has given up the ghost and I haven't yet had my morning coffee.  Someone has dared to park their car in a resident-only space next to our community green, and the afore-mentioned resident has taken great offence and very loudly.  And the coded gate on the driveway is refusing to budge.

It's all getting a bit much really!

So what do you do for light relief on days like this?

For me, it has to be cooking, or some old American drama on TV.

Some of my colleagues find light relief by going to the gym, gardening, or simply going for a walk.

If you are currently in training or about to start a new career in clinical work, I can guarantee you will have times when it all starts to get too much, so nurturing those activities for light relief is just as important as any training class or practice group you will be attending.

Recently I found myself having to extract data from the hard drive of my old computer system and transfer it to a new system, only to find that some files and data had been damaged in the collapse of my old system.

That had absolutely nothing to do with my clinical work, but everything to do with my state of mind and my management of that clinical work.

It reminded me of why I work with people and not computers or figures or technical systems!  And just like today, it also pushed me well into the zone of finding light relief.

So remember as you go through all your training, that it's essential to cultivate your own programme of light relief alongside as well.

Now....I just have to find that morning coffee!