MAKING IT BETTER: Who Are Your Friends?
We may pride ourselves on our independence and on being self-sufficient, but we still depend on a network friends. The people we have around us if they are the right people, help us to grow and develop, and live life to the full. They may be challenging, supportive, even demanding, but they keep us engaged […]
MAKING IT BETTER: Battle Fatigue…..I Need Some Respite!
I have spent the past couple of weeks in various states of extreme emotions. I have swung from fury, to bewilderment, to shock, to defiance, to hope, to fear, to dejection, to gratitude. This was just in response to watching the American Republican and Democratic Conventions! Prior to these two weeks, during and subsequently, these […]
MAKING IT BETTER: Making Happiness Desirable
There have recently been numerous stories of tragedy, hurt, pain, and suffering, so much so that I have found myself joining in the familiar mantra of gloom, misery and despair that friends, colleagues all repeat on a regular basis. It now feels almost obscene to express joy or happiness anymore. There is no question very […]
MAKING IT BETTER: The Fragility Of Our Mental Health…Are We Really Paying Attention?
The world of mental health is as mysterious as it is fascinating. It is often misunderstood, feared, maligned, misjudged and sadly in many cases simply ignored. Even in the developed western world there is still a lot of stigma attached to it albeit there is more willingness to talk about it and engage with the […]
The Fragility of our Mental Health…Are we really Paying Attention?
The world of mental health is as mysterious as it is fascinating. It is often misunderstood, feared, maligned, misjudged and sadly in many cases simply ignored. Even in the developed western world there is still a lot of stigma attached to it albeit there is more willingness to talk about it and engage with the […]
MAKING IT BETTER: Letting Go…Such A Hard Thing To Do
I have always thought and even prided myself in having the ability to travel through life as lightly and with as little baggage as possible. Let me qualify that statement by stating that I am speaking metaphorically. In real life I am the traveller from hell! My family, particularly my long suffering husband I’m sure […]
MAKING IT BETTER: There Is Room For Us All, Live And Let Live
Be warned! I’m having a bit of a rant, but I believe I have earned it. It never ceases to amaze and shock me in equal measure the level of fear people who purport to be of faith, exhibit when asked to simply consider other forms of worship. I just don’t understand why they are […]
MAKING IT BETTER: How Chronic Pain affects you psychologically
When pain lasts over a period of 6 months or beyond the usual time for recovery, it may take a psychological as well as physical toil. Chronic pain continues long after an initial cause or injury. Living with chronic pain means that you continue receiving signals from your nervous system (which is centre for most […]
MAKING IT BETTER: Hip Hip Hoorah….It’s Another Birthday!
I was going to start this piece with an apology and to beg your indulgence for my seeming lack of humility in some parts of the write up. However as I continue to write I realise that I actually don’t feel any remorse or a need to apologise for the pride I feel as a […]
MAKING IT BETTER: Invest In Your Mental Health
This is Mental Health Awareness week and is as good a time as any to focus and bring attention to this very important and hugely misunderstood area of our health. The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines health as the state of complete physical, mental and social well being and not merely the absence of disease. […]
MAKING IT BETTER: Are We Burying Each Other Alive? – A Clarion Call For Our Collective Consciousness
I am always struck by the numbers of comments and responses on Nigerian social media or in particular the print media on anything to do with a scandal, politics and maybe religion. They sometimes run into the hundreds and customarily after the initial few responses that actually speak to the original topic or story, the […]
MAKING IT BETTER: Pray, Sing And Share With Me
Hello beloved readers, over the past few weeks I have had spiritual stirrings within me and having just completed writing two funerals, learning about the death of two colleagues, hearing about quite a number of celebrity deaths here in the UK and particularly reading the recent wonderful, moving, exquisite tribute to the late Ex Deputy […]
MAKING IT BETTER: The Psychological Meaning Behind Hoarding
Hoarding has been a hidden and mostly misunderstood disorder for many years. It actually is a much bigger and complex condition than is actually known. People who hoard are on a continuum. The spectrum goes from the person who can’t stop or curb their retail binging which could include clothing, shoes, bags, household items; to […]
MAKING IT BETTER: The impact of Anger and Hatred on your Well Being
Anger and hatred are negative states of the mind that destroy our happiness. As a people we are not very good at letting go of anger and its corresponding states. We plot, encourage and condone this emotion in ourselves and in each other. All negative mental states act as obstacles to our happiness, but we […]
MAKING IT BETTER: Good Friendships: An Actual Lifeline
When you have friends, real friends, living or dead, it doesn’t matter where you go, you always take them with you in your heart. I don’t have a lot of friends (by choice), just a select few. I have concluded that it’s quite possible due to the nature of the work I do which requires […]