reflective

Tell Mum…chocolate brownies go with everything!

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Today I shared a moment on media with an old school chum, blog follower too. In the absence of my great Mum being around I shared my little educational success I had received as a mature student.

The older we get we miss those loved ones more not less and I often find myself wanting to share something with my mum…these are all natural feelings of course. The biggest gift is to love with all your heart and to remember that love is a gift in itself.

Aside of talking achievements I shared the discovery of a new ice cream…equally as important I would say.  Coconut ice cream with lime sorbet yum! Whatever flavour icecream..don’t you find that a chocolate brownie goes with it??? Indeed, a chocolate brownie goes with everything and that’s a fact known to serious choccy lovers.

Oh come on fellow bloggers and faithful followers I cannot be serious every day and my random blogs are posted just to see if anybody is actually paying attention. To those still taking exams it is a medical fact that chocolate is good for you…I read it in a book so it must be true surely!

It is now Pimms o’clock so signing off.

 

 

Kindness of strangers

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Been away from my blog the past two days and even as a writer words fail me for the events this week.

However, all any of us can do is try to focus on the positive energy and feel blessed by the kindness of strangers. In the face of adversity communities pull together and as always we must be grateful to the emergency services who are first to attend when tragic events happen.

Our hearts go out to those who have lost loved ones and those that will nurse and help recover those that are injured. In addition to the visual and physical scars we of course must consider the emotional trauma that those who witnessed the situation unfold will suffer.

Many people will suffer albeit misplaced survival guilt and these emotions will not disappear overnight. We must also remember those we know who have been involved in similar tragic circumstances before as their wounds will re-open.

We can only offer help where and when we can and encourage our own loved ones to try where possible to go about their lives positively but with caution. It is of course hard for adults to make sense of it all and even more of a challenge for children who must be dealt with sensitively with age appropriate explanations.

Remember: Our security forces are doing their utmost to keep us safe and instead of criticism we must offer praise for all they do all year round.

 

Start the week with kindness

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Regular followers will know I often write about kindness and how it is a strength and not a weakness.  As children we were taught to be considerate of others and their feelings and how simple acts of kindness can go along way.

Somewhere in the midst of modern media the kindness factor seems to have disappeared and replaced with bullying as though it is ok to be unkind, rude and insensitive. I encourage mothers of teens to get them off of social media and out in the community.  Working with families I see on a regular basis just how damaging the ‘modern techno fun’ really is. Cyber bullying is causing all sorts of health and emotional issues for students and at a time when they are really vulnerable.

‘It’s a generation thing’ I am constantly told..sorry that doesn’t ring true it’s either right or wrong and hiding behind technology is no excuse.

I consider myself so lucky to have had a great mentor and friend in my own mother who quoted positively on a daily basis.  ‘A Mother’s Love’ Gospels according to Dorothy is available to download from Amazon Kindle which includes her story and mine and simple parenting advice.

Mother-s love (1)

Being kind can be cool you know kids!! 

Stroke Awareness

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Following on from yesterday’s blog dear followers and fellow bloggers keep healthy aside of feeling good, having more energy and looking better you will cut down the risk of heart attack and strokes.

Preventative rather than cure always works for me. If your blood pressure is high, get it checked, if you are having headaches or breathlessness see the GP ; doesn’t mean you have anything sinister going on but they can be signs of a slight adjustment in diet or health style may be called for.

I know my consultant said if he had his way he would have everyone on Asprin a day in their 40’s and, as medical opinion continue to report, it can be a real health benefit.

The most important thing is if you suspect somebody is having a stroke ring 999 the quicker they get help the more of the person you can save and that’s a fact. On a more positive note people do recover from strokes, some fully.

I remember one of our guinea pigs had a stroke and the vet we saw wanted to put him to sleep…I said no! Having had a stroke myself I wasn’t written off so why should he be! With a great deal of tlc, massage and love he recovered. Though his head was on a slight slant but we agreed it just made him look cuter..he lived a long time after.

 

 

Stroke Awareness

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Whilst supportign the various awareness days and weeks I am neglecting one of my mine awareness campaigns which is of course Strokes.

Over the years I have written many articles on this subject as many people believe that strokes are just happening to the elderly. A stroke can happen at any age and we should all endeavour to keep fit and healthy to cut down the risk factors.

However, many people never find the cause of their stroke and I include myself in that category at the tender age of 43 I could not tick any of the boxes normally associated with strokes.

Equally as important is everyone being aware of the signs to look for to help a loved one to be treated quickly; we have all seen the FAST campaign by The Stroke Association, Face, Arms and Speech..time to call 999.

For anyone recovering from a stroke there is amazing information and support avialable from The Stroke Association’s website but try to keep positive recovery is always enhanced by a positive mind.

Kindness and patience is required remember for Stroke Survivors losing the use of speech or limbs even temporarily is like a mini-bereavement and a very frightening time.

We are all human after all…

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All credit this week to various public figures and celebrities for speaking out about their anxiety and depression issues in support of Mental Health Awareness Week.

When we are suffering in silence we have the misconception that we are alone in these emotional battles when in fact people in our inner circle or even family may be suffering too.

It is easy to see confident people or famous figures as ‘having it all’ when this is not the case. We all have a public face we like to show and unless we take the positive step to drop our guard, open up and talk our family or friends won’t know we need their support and therefore cannot help.

Talking, is, and, always has been, the best cure and as many who have shared this week talking to others with similar hurdles to overcome can be cathartic.

We know from statistics that men are far more likely to have suicidal thoughts and many act on those feelings. Please, please share your fears with somebody you trust before your thoughts spiral beyond your own control…it will help I promise.

Listening to others, a few words of kindness and understanding go a long way.

Worrying won’t change things

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Sound advice regularly given my our amazing mother and mentor. i.e. worrying about things won’t change them and that is for certain.

People spend far too much time worrying about things many of which are often out of their control, whilst we can’t leave all our life to fate we can enjoy the things that matter and spend time focusing on them rather than worrying about things that we cannot possibly change.

Mindfulness and meditation help us to lead a more positive, focused and relaxed life. Enjoying each day and what it brings, not taking the simple things for granted and appreciating those we hold dear.

Recently I was talking to a male friend about his relationship with his mother and asked him if he ever told her all the positive things he tells me about her…No he didn’t..and he got a why not? reply. We are never too old for compliments and mothers like to know they have done a good job.

Few years ago I attended a talk about body language and the speaker reminded us to tell those we love that we love them…and often.

Message today is love not worrying makes the world go round.

Combating student stress

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As part of mental health awareness week our fabulous Editor James Cain at Innovate My School has published my article today on combating student stress through communication.

I am always happy to donate to this website which is a really brilliant tool for teachers and professionals within the education sector.

I hope my followers will enjoy reading my latest piece, link follows:-

http://www.innovatemyschool.com/ideas/combating-student-stress-through-communication

Keeping calm

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Hello to all those students facing exams this week. You can do this you know your subject you’ve done the cramming all that is left is to keep calm, rested and focused.

Over the coming weeks keep healthy, don’t give up the exercise infact it’s a good time to try something new..but nothing too energetic.Yoga is excellent as aside of the exercise you will learn useful breathing techniques.

Meditation and practising mindfulness to stay in the moment, enjoy it rather than fear it.

As tempting as partying and drinking may seem this will be of no use whatsoever who want’s to arrive for an exam with a hang-over anyway? Alcohol is not the best relaxant trust me.

Try using the aromatherapy head gel strips they are amazing for clearing the head whilst revising. Most good chemists stock them for around £3.00 for a pack of four.

Drink plenty of water but not too much that you need to leave the examination room unless it is absolutely necessary. We all know that when we are nervous our system goes into over-drive.

You’ve got this. Good luck.

Memories

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A lot of my coaching work with my dementia clients and their families is obviously based around memory and sharing positive memories.

Smooth radio were doing their top 500 songs at the weekend; as Abba’s ‘Dancing Queen’ bellowed out of the radio I remembered that very hot summer of 1976, age 18 driving around Devon with my first boyfriend in his mum’s white mini. He later died a very young age of cancer.

Everybody has a story to tell and as I was discussing this weekend music often is the background to our lives and hearing a piece of music we can remember when and where we heard it. This can of course make us feel melancholy if the music brings back sad memories but what we don’t always appreciate is that sometimes that pain needs to come to the surface and letting go of our emotions is a positive thing.

I heard somebody say recently that ‘memories are the scripts of our soul’ as Aristotle famously quoted and believed.  As such our pain and joy associated with those memories must be equally embraced.

For anyone feeling sad about a loved one they have lost try and balance it out by remembering something really funny they did as they would want you to go on living and laughing.

I will end today’s blog remembering my amazing Mother leaving the room, dancing as she did, singing ‘Bring me sunshine’ and of course she did.