Written by Dr. Eric Perry, PhD Image Credit: Pixabay “A friend is a gift you give yourself.” ~Robert Louis Stevenson What kind of friend are you? Are you attentive, kind and compassionate or, are you neglectful, uncaring and critical? Scrolling through quotes on the internet, I was reminded of the immense value we place on […]
Are You a Good Friend to Yourself? — Dr. Eric Perry, PhD
Success – A small word that many people see very differently. You hear people use the word success from time to time but the question that I always seem to have is what do we mean by success? That is what we are going to be looking at in this series, what success is, what makes us successful and how we can change our mind-sets to see that we are all successful in ways me may not have even considered!
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Today’s blog is going to be the 1st blog in the new “What do we mean by Success?” series! This series is designed to tackle what we see as success and to try and transform how we think to see that we are all successful in our own ways. It is far too easy to get swept up in a competition with others and feel like a failure when in reality you are successful, just in a way that you may not have thought of.
Success is a term that I often undervalue in life and after reflecting on it I found that a lot of people also undervalue their own successes in life. It is not a criticism in any way , however, I strongly believe that if people understand the great things that they have achieved and the great skills that they possess then it will be a great mood booster and will make everyone ultimately feel better about themselves.
Whether you have climbed a mountain or simply learned how to spell a new word, success comes in many different shapes and sizes. That’s not to say that climbing a mountain can be compared in any way to learning how to spell a new word, but they both are achievements in their own right, just on a different scale, they still make us successful!
That is all I want to talk about in today’s blog! Thank you all for reading! What do you think of today’s blog? Are you looking forward to the new series? How do you value success? Do you think that we need to change what we see as success? Is success impacted by your surrounding environment? Let me know what you think of these questions and any other comments you have about my page either below or on our Facebook page!
Thanks for reading and I hope you have a great day!
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Research has shown that music releases dopamine, the feel good chemical in our brains. I enjoy singing. When i’m feeling low, I find singing and music very therapeutic and a way of releasing my emotions and changing my mindset. It gives me a focus and a means of expressing myself. I know many people who […]
Let It Be…. — Mind Over Matter Blog
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Today’s blog is the secong blog in our Time to Talk series and is all about The Reality of Grief. The idea for the blog and the blog itself came from a new guest writer on the page Kyra Fehrman. It is Kyra’s first blog on the page so let us know what you think and if you want to see more from Kyra! Hope you all enjoy the blog and learn something new about grief!
January only has 31 days, however, for me, it felt more like 100. January was a long and arduous time, certainly one you wouldn’t qualify as the best start to 2020. We all have days where everything seems to go wrong, where the world seems to be fighting against you, creating misery and chaos wherever you go and in whatever you do. For me the battle seemed to last the whole month with my grandmother going into hospital on the 1st and then finally succumbing to pneumonia and end stage COPD on the 9th January and her funeral was the 28th January.
Grief is not fun I am sure no one needs to tell you that but what they don’t tell you is that the five stages of grief isn’t as easy as going from one to two to three etc. It is a stressful process, one minute you’re in shock, numb to the core unable to process the reality of your situation, next you jump to anger and you end up not knowing what is going on and what to do with yourself. You play the blame game take it out on those around you maybe after that you cry, sob your heart out over the loss.
What no one tells us is that you can be stuck in that vicious circle for a long time, my partner lost his mother almost ten years ago and he is still grieving, stuck in the numb phase unable to speak about it or face the reality of his loss. My point here is that you never stop grieving and it will have a major impact upon your mental health, before January I was a different person with a different mindset.
Now after losing my grandmother I am seeing the world in a different light, faced with my mortality and the idea of my loved ones dying eventually has forced me to appreciate all the time I have with them. It is hard to talk about these things and a lot of people may say to you to just “move on” that they are in a better place and while the sentiment is nice it invalidates your feelings. You have every right to grieve your loved one and regardless of if they are in a better place or not they are not here with you, they are gone and all those things you would want to tell them, the jokes, the memories you’d want to remind them of you can’t.
Mental Health is a major topic nowadays with a rise in suicides, people taking anti-depressants and antipsychotics, we are in a mental health crisis and this post aims to encourage people to speak up. No matter how silly it may seem there is always someone out there who is willing to listen. If you are grieving a loved one and think life is not worth it anymore just remember this, they loved you with every fibre of their being don’t give up because they don’t want you joining them any time soon.
It is paramount that you look after yourself during these difficult times, hard as that may be, it’s crucial to remember that life will always go on and no matter what you will survive. You are strong enough to endure this pain help and support is out there. A light can be shone in even the darkest of places. Below are numbers and websites for Mental Health organisations.
Thank you all for reading! We hope that you have enjoyed today’s blog and have learned something new about grief! What do you think of today’s blog? Would you like to see more of Kyra’s blogs on the page? Has grief ever impacted on your life? How did you manage it? Let us know what you think in the comments below or on our facebook page.
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James
You’re not done telling this story yet.
14 Reasons You Shouldn’t Give Up On That Unfinished Draft — Novelty Revisions
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Today’s blog is going to be a shorter blog than usual talking about what I am planning on doing with the new Time to Talk series. I have wanted to do a series like the new Time to Talk one for quite a while now and wanted to run it a little bit different to how I usually run my series. The traditional way that I run my blog series is by doing a new blog for them each week, with the Time to Talk series, I am hoping to tackle it a little bit differently.
The wole purpose of the series is to share peoples stories regarding Stuttering, Stress and Mental Health. What I feel like would be best would be to post this a new blog in this series each time I get a new story through. In order to do this I am always looking for some new stories. If you have an experience or story you would like to share about when you have either seen or experienced anything to do with Stuttering, Stress or Mental Health then please get in touch with me!
All stories will be appreciated, no matter how big or small. It would actually be better to have some longer and some shorter stories as it diversifies the content even more, hopefully reaching out and helping more people! If you have an idea for a story and want some help writing it, please get in touch too, I am always happy to help write or even write the story based off of your idea, giving you the credit if you want it.
If you have a story and are worried about using your name going on it too we can sort that out. I am more than happy to make the writer anonymous, if that is what you wish. The important thin with the blog/story is thr message and lessons that can be learned from it. Even if you think that a story doesn’t have a lesson to it, there is always a way of finding one.
As stated previously there will most probably not be a new blog in this series every week. I will upload one when I have a story sent through and checked it through quickly. This series is all down to audience participation so if you think you have a good story, please share it. You can make a massive difference to somebody’s life!
Thanks for reading and I hope this has cleared up a few questions people have been asking!
James
Time to Talk Day 2020 was on 06/02/2020 and in celebration of such an important event, I have decided to start this new Time to Talk series! This series is going to be a real eye opening series and is going to be on that I am really looking forward to starting!
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This is the 1st blog in the new Time to Talk series that I am going to be launching. This series was inspired by Time to Talk Day which was on the 6th of February this year! This series is going to all be about people’s stories regarding Stuttering, Stress and Mental Health. The aim of this series is to share and tell the stories that help make us who we are and how we have got to where we are now.
Although the main concept for Time to Talk day is surrounding opening up about Mental Health problems, I feel like if we bring in conditions such as Stuttering and Stress then it can make for an even more enlightening experience to both read and write. I also feel like this will open up a lot of different avenues that people can discuss and share experiences in which can ultimately help more and more people.
I am planning on running and writing this series very differently from how I usually write them. I feel like for this series to have the desired effect and message that I want it to have then it would be much better to bring in guest writers who wish to share their story. If you have any ideas or stories that you want to share then please feel free to get in contact with me! I am always happy to talk through ideas, no matter how weird or bizarre they may seem at first!
All I’m looking for is a story, can be as long or short as you’d like, about a time where you’ve experienced or seen someone experience something relating to Stuttering, Stress, Mental Health or anything similar to these! If you want to stay anonymous or want to use an alias for your story too that is completely fine, it is the story itself and the message it carries that is important. Let me know if you have any ideas!
In regards to the schedule of the series, at this current moment, I am unsure of how long the series is going to be and when the new blogs in the series will be released. I suppose it comes down to how many people wish to share their story. I may or may not write a few blogs for the series too, it is something that I am not 100% on currently but is something that I am thinking of doing. I feel that the blogs that I could write for the series would be better in their own series and really want this series to be about other peoples stories.
If you have an idea for a blog or story and are nervous about writing or sharing it please get in contact with me too. We can discuss the idea through and if you want to then write it I can help with the wording and phrasing if appropriate. As stated previously every idea is encouraged, I will always talk through ideas with you, even if it seems really silly at first!
That’s all I want to talk about in today’s blog! Thank you all for reading! What do you all think? Are you excited for this new series? Do you have any ideas that you want to share? Have you ever had an idea but didn’t know how to take it forward? Leave your answers to the following questions either in the comments or on our Facebook page and we’ll have a chat about it!
Thanks for reading and I hope you have a great day!
Sweeney’s Blogs
Any money donated here is greatly appreciated! I will be putting the money back into the page through advertising, guest writers and conet creation!
£5.00
James
Hello and Welcome to Sweeney’s Blogs!
Today, February 6th 2020, is the annual Time to Talk Day! Time to Talk Day is designed to encourage people to speak up about any problems or issues they have been facing in regards to their Mental Health. It is an enormous day of the year in regards to Mental Health and is a day that I feel is not focused on as much as it should be, this is one thing that I am hoping to change over the next few years.
Having the confidence and indeed the courage to stand up and talk to somebody when you are going through problems with your Mental Health can, to many, be seen as an impossible hurdle to get past in life but I firmly believe it is a crucial step in both accepting and resolving the issues and problems that we are faced with in life. The spotlight is slowly starting to be shone on Mental Health but in my eyes there is still so much more that needs to be done. As a society we need to try and understand how hard it can actually be to say that you need help. Too many simply asking for help can be an impossible task, and that is something that we need to try and change.
The first thing that I believe we need to change is how we see Mental Health. The video below will help give you an insight into what Mental Health actually is and how it affects us in day to day life:
As we can see from the video, Mental Health affects each and every one of us. it is a part of who we are and is something that we should be proud of, not ashamed or embarrassed of. Time to Talk day is designed to encourage us to speak up and talk about our problems which is also one of the key principles of this page!
We all have our good and bad days but it is crucial to remember that they are normal in life! I openly admit that I have days which seem like they last forever and then days that go by in a second. There are days when maybe you will be more upset than you usually are but if we focus on those days then that is all we will ultimately see. Learning to identify when you are having an off day can sometimes be a lifesaver. Remember talking to people can make a massive difference, even if it is just over a cup of tea, this is where Time to Talk Day comes into play!
If you are not quite sure what Time to Talk Day is then the video below will hopefully give you an idea of what Time to Talk Day is all about!
In celebration and appreciation for Time to Talk Day I am going to be launching a new series of aimed at encouraging people to talk about the times they have come into contact with Mental Health. It can have affected you or somebody you know and if you want too, you can remain anonymous. If you have any ideas or want to share your own story please get in touch! I’ll more than happily listen to any suggestions or ideas!
If you would like to learn more about Time to Talk Day, you can do so through the following link: https://www.time-to-change.org.uk/get-involved/time-talk-day
Thank you all for reading today’s blog! Happy Time To Talk Day! What do you think of today’s blog? Have you heard of Time to Talk Day before? Are you doing anything special today? What do you think we need to do regarding Mental Health as a society and a community? Let me know what you think in the comments or through our Facebook page!
Sweeney’s Blogs
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James
Hello and Welcome to Sweeney’s Blogs!
We are currently looking for people to share their stories for Time to Talk week! If you have ever experienced something to do with Stuttering, Stress or Mental Health and would like to share your story then please get in touch!
If you know anyone or have a story you would like to talk about, please let me know! The story can be as long or as short as you want, it’s the message that’s important. If you have a story but are unsure about how to write it, I can help you out with that as well. If you are nervous about sharing your story and want to do it anonymously then that is completely fine as well!
In regards to when I will need the stories by, any time is fine! If you can get it to me fairly quickly then even better but if not then simply get it to me when you can. When you send it to me I will read it through and then if it reads well and has no mistakes, it will be published shortly after. If I have any suggestions for edits or changes then we will discuss them first before we move forward.
Thanks for reading! If you have any ideas or suggestions, please get in touch! See you all in the next blog!
Sweeney’s Blogs
Any money donated here will be put back into the business. This can be through marketing campaigns, upgrades to plans or for setting up future events!
£5.00
James
Often, we think in terms of perfection. Everything in its place, just the way it is supposed to be. Perfect. Anything short of that is considered disappointing. But, what happens when we fall short of these expectations? When the kitchen always has pieces of mail scattered on the dining table and crumbs on the floor. […]
Excellent post that was written by Cristian Mihai. If you enjoy this post, be sure to check out his other blogs!
“The struggle alone pleases us, not the victory.” – Blaise Pascal It is a well known fact that the more effort you put into something, the more you end up enjoying it. Maybe that’s why we love unrequited love stories and folks who defy odds and expectations to come out on top. Maybe not many folks […]
With a forever increasing population, and with people living longer, there are more and more people being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and Dementia each day. That fact in itself is scary however it gets worse when we look at how many people actually understand what Alzheimer’s is. This is going to be what we are going to be talking about in today’s blog, what exactly is Alzheimer’s?
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Today’s blog is the 12th blog in the Alzheimer’s Avoidance series and is going to be about understanding Alzheimer’s. It is easy to say that Alzheimer’s is just losing your memories but it is so much more than that. Alzheimer’s and Dementia are two very severe conditions that can potentially lead to death. If we know what Alzheimer’s and Dementia actually are and the differences that lie between the two, then I believe that we will be in a position moving forward.
We’ll first take a look at a video published by Bupa Health UK that looks into the differences between Alzheimer’s and Dementia:
As you can see from the video there is a clear difference between Alzheimer’s and Dementia. It is important to remember this difference when talking about each of the conditions. Despite this difference, there are quite a lot of similarities between the two regarding how they affect you and what happens when they both progress and get worse.
One of the common mistakes that I hear when talking to people about Alzheimer’s is then saying that Alzheimer’s only makes people lose some of their memories. I have learned the hard way that this is simply not the case. Alzheimer’s is a cruel condition which takes a person you love away from you and then leaves them as a shell of what they once were.
Alzheimer’s is a horrific condition that sadly people don’t understand until someone they know gets diagnosed with it. People do lose their memories, yes, but they also do so much more. They forget how to walk, how to talk and eventually how to even breathe. Alzheimer’s and Dementia both can kill. It is something that is barely ever spoken about but it is a reality when talking about the two. They are very dangerous illnesses that if not handled with care, can become deadly.
This blog isn’t meant to sound negative, it is just meant to be completely honest. From my experience, I would have loved to have known more about Alzheimer’s before my grandmother was diagnosed with it. Learning about the condition whilst watching it take your loved one away is a painful thing to do and I feel like we should try and change it. Understanding can take a while but it is a part of life and is something that we all do eventually.
One thing that I want to mention, a thing that I wish I understood at the time, is that Alzheimer’s doesn’t wait. Alzheimer’s doesn’t stop and wait for your approval or for you to be ready when it starts affecting someone. You need to make the most of the time you have left because honestly, it will get harder as time goes on and as I have mentioned it doesn’t wait for you.
The fact that it doesn’t wait for you again isn’t meant to scare you, it is the harsh reality of the situation. If you wait a few weeks for Alzheimer’s to ‘blow over’ then I’m sorry to say that you have wasted those weeks out of the time that you had left. You need to make the most of the person while they are still there. Go out to the beach, take that trip, have that photo. Get things done while you can, you will feel glad about it eventually.
There is a lot more information out there about Alzheimer’s if you do want to learn more. There are blogs and series on this page, you have organisations such as The Alzheimer’s Society and you can ask your GP. If you’re looking for stuff on this page I would recommend either searching ‘Alzheimer’s’ on our page search bar or read the blogs on Alzheimer’s in our Blogapedia! If you have any questions let me know!
That’s all I want to talk about in today’s blog! I think that today’s blog is the penultimate blog in the Alzheimers Avoidance series! There have been a lot of blogs in the series now and I feel like I have covered a lot of what I set out to cover. What do you think of today’s blog? Have you enjoyed the Alzheimer’s Avoidance series? Do you know what Alzheimer’s and Dementia are? Let me know what you think!
Thanks for reading and I hope you have a great day!
Sweeney’s Blogs
Any money donated here will be put back into the business. This can be through marketing campaigns, upgrades to plans or for setting up future events!
£5.00
James
The festive season is upon us! Christmas is one of the busiest and greatest days for most during the year but is a day that no one forgets. This blog is going to talk about Alzheimer’s during the Christmas Season!
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Today’s blog is the 11th blog in the Alzheimer’s Avoidance series and is going to be about Alzheimer’s at Christmas time(can be linked to other holidays as well). We are going to be looking at how Alzheimer’s can affect you as a family. The blog will look at the positive sides as changing the way that we think about certain things, from a negative view to a positive one, can make a very large difference on your view of life!
It may seem quite difficult to think about Alzheimer’s in a positive way around Christmas time but it is something that I would like to take a closer look at. Christmas for me, as it is for many, is all about family and the time in which you spend together. I was speaking to a friend of mine in University last week actually about Christmas with Alzheimer’s, as his grandmother has it as well, and he didn’t seem as excited about Christmas as I had expected.
Whilst talking to him he said, “Christmas will never be the same in my house as my grandmother doesn’t remember my name as much anymore”. I didn’t really know what to reply to that but after a minute I knew what I was going to say. I decided to try and turn his view from a sadder, more negative one into a happier, more positive one. I haven’t really tried to do this when dealing with issues like Alzheimer’s before but soon found out it was very similar to tackling other issues and problems.
The first thing that I asked him was, “Will your grandmother be with you at Christmas”. He replied with yes in a way but her memories are fading. I knew after this response that the way he was looking at it could be changed. One of the things that I talk a lot about when it comes to Alzheimer’s is that you have to try and make a new and better memory to replace each memory that gets stolen by Alzheimer’s. It is a phrase that I like to think helps and is one that I talk through a lot on my Alzheimer’s Awareness page, Don’t Forget Me, http://www.dontforgetme.org.uk.
The way that I handled my friend’s issue was indeed by convincing him that instead of seeing Christmas as a sad time, try to make it better. Talk to your grandmother about the good times you had, share stories and experiences, have a good time and try to cherish it. I said how it is easy to always think about things in a negative light, I often do, but if you just try and see the other side, it doesn’t look as bad as you first thought. After I told him this I gave him a few minutes to think about it and then he seemed a lot more relaxed. A small little conversation see, can make the world of difference.
That is the point that I want to bring home. Alzheimer’s will try to steal all of your memories, why not make new and better memories to replace the ones that are lost? Just because the person suffering from Alzheimer’s doesn’t remember something, doesn’t mean you can’t remind them. Talk about the memory as a story, explain what happened, try and help them understand, it might make you feel a lot better.
As always too patience is key when it comes to Alzheimer’s. I fully understand that Christmas can be very stressful but try extra careful not to lose your cool if the person suffering from the terrible illness can’t remember something, they are trying their best after all!
That’s all I want to talk about in today’s blog! It’s nice to be back writing a little bit more, haven’t written a blog in over a week now! What do you all think? Are you looking forward to Christmas? The blog today can be applied to every other holiday, I just felt like it was a relevant time to relate it to Christmas!
Thank you all for reading and I hope you have a great day! See you in the next blog!
Sweeney’s Blogs
Any money donated here will be put back into the business. This can be through marketing campaigns, upgrades to plans or for setting up future events!
£5.00
James
🌼🌼🌼HAPPY THANKSGIVING🌼🌼🌼 Can you believe it? It’s that time of the year again when we come together to give thanks and celebrate. I just want to use this opportunity to wish everyone a happy thanksgiving, I also want to welcome my new followers, thank you so much for the follow. I have put together some […]
via 20 motivational quotes to push you forward — She’s inspired
For a lot of us our work schedules at home and at our jobs have been a major source of complications in our lives. Our financial well being depends on our paycheck, and our mental and emotional well-being depends in part on having a well-organized life. But a few simple changes in your life can…
via How To Stay Motivated Until You Succeed — Self Development dot ga
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