Widening my perspectives of the world

Telephonstolpar (telephone posts) By Erik Johansson

This week I listened in to a conversation between two very sweet old ladies. They were 88 and 83 years old and had a lot of life experience. One had been a staff nurse at a mental health hospital for predominantly her entire career and both were full of interesting stories and views of the world. They were discussing how sad it was that the youth of today were so distracted from real life by technology that they weren't out there getting jobs and earning for themselves. 

I was filled with a sense of agreement with some of what they were saying in that I could do with spending less time arsing about on the internet and doing something productive, but equally I didn't agree. For me my laptop is a gateway into the world and a way to show me how much more to life there is than what I see day to day. This evening we skyped our housemate in America and the ability to talk to her despite her being so far away was something I wished the two old ladies I had listened to had experienced. 

Arbete (work)- by Erik Johansson

Recently I've become slightly addicted to stumbleupon and I could easily spend hours aimlessly stumbling at pictures and interesting websites. I realise that this may prove the point that the internet is there for time wasting however being able to flick through places that inspire me and remind me that life won't remain the same forever fills me with some comfort. I'm just a small fish in a big pond and I just need to remember that there's a whole world out there ready for me to get exploring. I came across a photographer/artist named Erik Johansson who creates pictures that have different perceptions on what you are seeing. He describes his work as demonstrating what his mind sees and the pictures are really beautiful and I found them to be quite haunting too. There's something about the images that makes you stop and think about the world for the moment and wonder about some of the aspects of it. The main thing I took away from the pictures was the interaction between what is natural and what is man made and controlled- there seemed to be a wonderful message within the pictures of how interlinked both of those ideas are. Man control and interacts with a world that exists on its own but allows manipulation. 

Tonights blog seems to be a bit of a pile of different ramblings and thoughts. But hey... I'm running with it and I think I might be on to a couple of ideas that other less tired humans might be interested to read haha! My final parting thought is a quote. I'm clearly becoming the queen of quotes but I really like this one. Again it was something that I came across and it made me stop, pause and think for a moment. I think the things in life that make you stop and think are the most valuable especially in a society where we are all so busy all of the time. No wonder there are so many people struggling with there mental health, life moves too quickly to be properly processed so people revert to other ways to cope. 

 ... imagine a puddle waking up one morning and thinking, 'This is an interesting world I find myself in - an interesting hole I find myself in - fits me rather neatly, doesn't it? In fact it fits me staggeringly well, must have been made to have me in it!' This is such a powerful idea that as the sun rises in the sky and the air heats up and as, gradually, the puddle gets smaller and smaller, it's still frantically hanging on to the notion that everything's going to be alright, because this world was meant to have him in it, was built to have him in it; so the moment he disappears catches him rather by surprise. ” Douglas Adams

Night night for now.

Love Kate x

Filling the damage with gold, history makes beauty

I read an interesting quote the other day... 

When the Japanese mend broken objects, they aggrandize the damage by filling the cracks with gold. They believe that when something has suffered damage and has a history, it becomes more beautiful.' 

Billie Mobayed

Life is not always that simple and we experience all sorts of things that make us feel damaged or broken. But in the long run I feel these things all add together to make us stronger people. We get stronger in the places we break because we have to fill those broken parts with something beautiful.

I'm not happy but I'm not unhappy about it

Tonights blog is probably going to turn out to be quite philosophical as I've just watched 'The History Boys' and am feeling quite mellow. Firstly I implore you to watch the film, as it really is truly fabulous! The quote I heard in it tonight which inspired me to sit and write something was the following: 

'I'm not happy but I'm not unhappy about it' - Posner (The History Boys; 2006)

 I felt there was a parallel here with experiencing mental health problems in the idea that often they can take some time to get over. The issues remain however the individuals ability to perceive them in what may be considered as a 'better' way changes. People with depression, for example, often have the condition over a period of time, but their ability deal with their experience and perception of it can change and take a more positive form. They may well not be happy but that unhappiness does not cause them further sadness.

I feel there is also a parallel with the outside perception of mental illness and conditions. On the inside people have something that isn't always obvious to others. They may not demonstrate an unhappiness about what is happening on the outside so often it can be difficult for people on the outside to complete understand what's going on. For all intents and purpose they may 'seem' completely 'normal'... whatever normal is.

I'm not really sure what the point is I'm trying to make. I think I just felt a sense of meaning from the quote that seemed to fit with my blog.

Mellow Kate over and out xx

Mindfullness in the form of baking

Being mindful is a form of self awareness- something that's a real popular buzz word in the mental health field at the moment. Practicing mindfulness is seen to be really beneficial for positive wellbeing and there are many ways to do it.

I found a pretty mindful activity in the form of baking with my other half Beth yesterday. Have a look at her blog for the recipe and baking wisdom. I am currently writing this with the smell of freshly baked bread wafting through the house!!

So we made some bread. Well.... Beth did some proper baking... she made an 8 stranded plait with mozzarella, pesto and herbs in it.... it was pretty impressive. Beth is a rather talented baker to say the least. She basically did all the baking and then left me to revert to being a small child again and gave me some dough to play with/make into cute shapes and just generally have some fun with!!

Here's what I made... the before and after pictures...


From right to left the ingredients are as follows:

1- Mustard seed roll

2- Caper roll

3- Garlic and parsley knot which has got the unfortunate appearance of a turd....

4- Parmesan, garlic and parsley plait

5- Should be a poppyseed pinwheel but the picture went funny and didn't load... but it is pretty honest!

6- Herby roll with mustard seeds, basil, parsley, mixed herbs, garlic and poppy seeds

7- A baked Stitch!

So... the process of baking involves patience and time. The bread requires a lot of kneading, especially if you're trying to put stuff into it e.g. herbs e.t.c. Also if you want to make an interesting shape like a plait or a knot then you need to have the patience to keep rolling the dough out as it's really springy and likes to go back to the original shape if it gets the chance.

So... clearly I am lacking in artistic and baking skills. However back to the original point I was making.... this is a really good activity for mindfulness.

Here are the pictures of the finished products! I was rather pleased with my effort!

And from a mindful point of view, I really found the process of making the bread really great for focusing on what I was doing and being able to just clear my mind and do something that wasn't too taxing but was a beneficial thing to be doing.

Beth and I then spent the next part of the afternoon doing some papier mache... who says we're grown up hey?!

A lovely relaxing a industrious day well spent I feel.

Loves xxxx

In memory of Matt Ryd

Now first of all I would like you to watch the video above. This is a video of a wonderful musician, Matt Ryd, and his story of having an eating disorder. I think his explanation and the things he says (or writes as the case might be) are truly amazing and very brave. 

My introduction to this wonderfully brave and talented musician came about in a very sad way indeed. I read a blog post by MGEDT (Men get eating disorders too) that was written in memory of Matt who very sadly lost his battle with an eating disorder recently. Initially the idea of watching the video knowing that this brave man had passed away felt wrong and wasn't something I wanted to do. However, I did go ahead and watch the video and I was glad, feeling really privileged to see what he chose to share as an awareness for eating disorders. 

MGEDT have a really important role to play in raising awareness of male sufferers of eating disorders. In their report of eating disorders in the media 'Warning this picture may damage your health'  B-eat found that the majority of individuals surveyed (72% in fact) could name anorexia as a type of eating disorder and only 3% said binge eating. The thing is, only 10% of eating disorders present as anorexia! There is also the common misconception that most eating disorder sufferers are female and are underweight, when in fact 80% of people with an eating disorder are overweight. 

Eating disorders do not just affect teenage girls. Anyone can be affected at any age, regardless of their gender, race, culturally upbringing or background. It is important to think about those individuals who may be suffering in silence as they don't feel they fit into the stereotypes so are ashamed to seek help or feel that they don't fit with what is expected so therefore don't have a problem. 

Matt Ryd's death is horribly sad, but hopefully some awareness may come from this tragedy and help more people to seek help that need it. 

Kate xx

Appearances can be deceiving

I was inspired to write something this evening after reading my wonderful friend Anna's blog. Anna has already featured in my blog recently... but hey she's so freaking awesome that she might as well have another mention! Anna blogs about mental health in a really brutally beautifully honest way. I think it's really reflective of how we should all talk about mental health issues. There's way too much stigma and avoidance about talking about it and as these issues can affect 1 in 4 people.... that's a BIG reason we should be shouting about it and making sure everyone knows. 

Anna's recent blog post chatted about the misconceptions of mental health. I came across this Marilyn Monroe quote recently and thought the two fit together beautifully. There always seems to be a certain element of surprise when people 'come clean' about having a mental health issue. Even I HATE that turn of phrase... but I'm using it to kind of reinforce and demonstrate my point. There's a feeling of 'wow... but you don't seem mad' or just a lack of realisation that people who struggle with mental health can totally look like normal people... Shock horror I know!!! I realise it's rather unbelievable that all people with a mental health problem don't wear a sign or a badge that says 'hey, I'm cray!!' but they don't... and often a huge part of the problem is hiding the fact there's a problem!!! 

So today I want to chat about a wonderful project called Time to Change  one of their current campaigns is called 'Talk about mental illness: we dare you'. I personally suffer from some mental health problems... not quite ready to completely talk about them out in the open... but I'm getting there and I think it's massively positive to do so. So yeah.... let's all talk mental health and move away from some of these crappy preconceptions and misconceptions. 

Loves xx 

Tomorrow I shall be more like my labrador

I've become a little too addicted to Buzzfeed at the moment. I'm not ashamed to say it... it's a fact. I just love all the interesting and useless facts and funny things that exist in the world and come together on the magical site that is Buzzfeed.

The other day... whilst browsing something along the lines of 'cute animals that are fluffy'... or something along those lines... I found this gem!

As I read the caption alongside the picture of this adorable labrador (I'm not biased much of course....) I melted at the cuteness of it! I thought about my own labs... pictures below... (Meg doesn't look this cute anymore.... but for everyone's positive wellbeing I felt it imperative to share her cute puppiness with the world!)  

Meg and Bert demonstrate this beautifully. Especially Bertie who hates the car. He looks at you before jumping into the boot with a sad look that clearly asks if he really has to get in the car. Despite his obvious worry and the fact that once in the car he practically melts into the floor of the boot until the journey is over, Bertie places all of his trust in us and still gets into the car. He trusts that we will keep him safe and take him somewhere nice, on a little adventure. 

As I was reading this and thinking about my own dogs; I started to think about how this would be a benefit in life. How actually taking the labrador approach and just looking at the world in it's simplest form without all the complications might actually be beneficial for us and our own positive wellbeing. If I think about myself... something which I am not all that comfortable doing... I realise I spend a huge amount of my time overthinking absolutely everything and anything I can. It's something that often leads to a huge amount of anxiety and above all a TOTAL WASTE OF TIME!!!!! If I lived more in the style of Meg and Bert and just accepted things happening as they come and think about the positive outcome at the end rather than any discomfort and yuck along the way... then perhaps I'd feel better overall. 

Therefore my goal is to be more like Meg and Bert... fingers crossed this won't extend to sniffing butts and peeing outside... perhaps that would be a little too far to go! 

Life is full of beauty.

'Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Smell the rain and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential and fight for your dreams.'

Today I'm feeling rather thoughtful. I'm not sure where it's come from but I've spent a little time today thinking about the world and all sorts of things. I spent a lovely relaxing afternoon with the wonderful Beth in town mooching about and now I'm feeling decidedly relaxed.

I don't think there's a particular theme to todays blog other than it being full of some shout outs really! I have some pretty awesome friends and family. A few of whom will feature in today's post.

The first is my little sister Lizzie. I find it funny to call her my little sister, as she's all grown up now and almost ready to head off to University. Lizzie has always been a bit of a style icon to me.... I can sense her head expanding as I write this!! She's always had a way of being able to put together outfits e.t.c. and just look effortlessly beautiful, demonstrated by these photos.

So clearly she got all of the attractive genes!! Anyway.... this stylish lady has her very own fashion blog. I think everyone should have a read. It's actually quite good.

http://elizabeebee.blogspot.co.uk/

I also want to share two other bloggies! The first belongs to my lovely honorary wife Beth and the second belongs to my lovely friend Anna. Now these two blogs couldn't really be more different! Beth's blog is a gorgeous homely look into her baking genius. Anna's is a beautifully realistic view of mental health and inside the human mind. Both are really good and worth a look.

http://thebakingginger.blogspot.co.uk/
http://annapob91.blog.com/

Fin.

Sleepy ramblings with rain relaxation

I decided to spend the weekend at home. I love being at home but one problem I always have is the fact that being home muddles up my sleeping pattern. Both my Mum and sister are early risers... I mean really early risers. They both have an ability to be awake and fully functioning early in the morning. Something I develop an adversity to whilst being back in York. Not only are they able to be awake, cheery and fun; but they also have a habit of having conversations that tend to wake me up!! They know I still love them despite this irritating habit. Due to their earlybird nature, they also both go to bed early in order to be able to wake up early. Again this is something that isn't rather compatible with student timings. Whilst at home I quickly slip into the early-to-bed early-to-rise routine and therefore return to York with a bit of a wonky sleeping pattern; aiming to stay awake later with my housemates but undoubtedly waking up early as my body wants me to be awake as per Suffolk-time. The result of this is usually a week of being rather sleepy and grumpy!!

Today I was wide awake just before 6am, determined to get back to sleep and be victorious over my body clock... however this was not to be so... and I find myself wide awake at 7am having been so for over an hour... HUMPH! Clearly today will feel long...

Anyway... this is just the background to today's entry. During my hour of attempting to get back to sleep... browsing on Etsy on my phone (the fact I had yet to open my laptop at this stage demonstrated my determination to remain asleep... my phone clearly doesn't count!); I came across the inspiration for a blog. Now for me to have such a strong blogging idea is something rather unusual. I am definitely developing the view that writing is very cathartic and therapeutic; something I am keen to do and enjoy a great deal. However, often strong inspiration takes it's sweet time coming to me. So... alas today was a unique experience of morning inspiration.

So my idea for today... now that it's had one heck of a build up and will undoubtedly now end up sounding like a bit of an anticlimax... HA! Basically I was thinking about mental health problems, as you do, and was thinking of a way to try and describe the constant battle an individual who has them faces each and everyday to someone who perhaps hasn't had this kind of experience. The idea that came to be as I attempted to doze was that of two dogs who were forced to be together who didn't get along. Now bear with me... there is solid 6am reasoning behind this of course!!

Imagine the scene. There are two dogs out on a walk who are on one of those funky double leads. They have something they are both trying to do (go on a walk) which represents someone with mental health problems trying to kind of get along and through each day. So.... these two dogs... one represents the person (let's go for the little dog) and the other represents the mental health issue (let's go for the black dog for depression symbolism too.... wooo check out all this symbolic-ness!). Check out funky diagram!

So... these two pooches are pretty excited to be on their walk... the trouble is they don't get along at all. There are the obvious issues that they each have different length legs, so one walks faster than the other which is irritating for both or them. Also the black dog doesn't really feel like walking after all and wants to go in a different direction and stop to sniff different things along the way. Basically the two of them aren't really compatible, but they can go for little periods where they can get along on and make compromises for each other and manage their walk. They're not happy about it... but they manage to do it with some kind of normality. Apart from anything... whilst not really getting along, they have to remain about 2 feet away from each other at all times. They're together if one of them needs to take a dump, or stop for a drink or even while one of them takes a moment to sniff another dog's backside. They are forced to share all of these experiences together. Obviously at points it all gets too much for them and conflict erupts. If you've ever seen two dogs having a spat who are forced to be in such close proximity... it's a bit messy and violent. 

So what am I trying to get at? For someone with a mental health issue.... and I really feel this analogy works for a whole host of mental health problems... there is a constant battle with the individuals own form of 'black dog'. There's something there beside them or within them that constantly makes things difficult for them whilst trying to do everyday things, whether these are mundane things or something a little more unusual. Rather like the dogs on the lead, often it's possible to muddle through or carry on as normal as possible, but the mental health problem is always there in the background. I think however there's a certain sense of empowerment about this. The mental health problem is close and part of the person but it can be temporary... the dogs don't have to be on their shared lead forever... the mental health problem can be moved further and further away until it has less of an impact (through different coping mechanisms and self development) or it can be separated from the person entirely. 

I wonder if this little analogy will seem a bit pants later on today. But right now I like it and I'm going to run with it. Perhaps now I've written it down I might be able to have a snooze for an hour or so before accepting defeat and properly waking up. On the subject of therapeutic things, it's raining. The sound of rain is one of the most relaxing things ever for me. In terms of my analogy... my own personal black dog gets soaked when there's rain and left outside in a puddle! I love the sound of rain on the rooftops or on a window. Back home in Suffolk I have a sky light above my bed which amplifies the sound and acts as the best relaxation soundtrack ever. I guess I'm not as huge a rain fan if I have to go out in it and get soggy, it was a real pet hate when I used to do all of my horsey things. Wet, muddy rugs are the worst and tend to get you drenched and filthy as soon as you touch them... but when I know I can spend a good majority of the day inside watching the weather and having a play with my new little vintage jewellery shop... it's just bliss! 

Anyway... I'm going to stop there. I hope you have gained some insight or enjoyment from the ramblings of someone who is clearly not properly awake/totally insane. 

Loves xx

Feeling rather industrious

I decided over the weekend to try my hand at being a bit of a business-woman. I need something at the moment to get my teeth stuck into, something to keep my mind busy and to act as a good old fashioned distraction when I'm in need of one.

So.... I've started up a little business.

http://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/FlorenceAndCecilia

Named after the wonderful Florrie and Cissie and inspired by their beauty and glamour... my jewellery is designed to appeal to everyone and be affordable and beautiful.

Florrie and Cissie were my relatives and part of my circus family. Both of them performed in the family circus before starring as a double act, 'The Transfield Sisters'. Florrie later became a wardrobe mistress in Hollywood working with the starts of the 50's-70's especially. 

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0870999/

Makes me seriously proud to be related to such wonderful women. 

xx

#Bodylove

Firstly I've realised how totally rubbish I have been at blogging recently! Sorry about that for anyone who might have been eagerly awaiting my next blogging instalment.... not that it's all that likely haha!

Today I attended the York Body Confidence day at the Coppergate Centre. I was invited along as a Body Gossip Ambassador and did a workshop with the lovely 'Miss York' Maryann. Now... it's the first body confidence style workshop I've ever done, so it was a little nerve wracking at first. I had a really lovely time and felt really privileged to meet the girls from Joseph Rowntree School and talk positive bodies with them.

Here are a selection of pictures from the event! What a YAY kind of day <3

A crisis of faith in my ability to write

One day I'd like to be able to write something really inspirational, to have that effect on people and make them really stop and think about what they've just read. I want to be able to make a difference or raise awareness through my words. The trouble is I'm not really sure how to get to that stage, or even if my writing is good enough. It seems to me, to be a commonplace among writers to show doubts about their abilities. I don't think I'm anywhere near a point in my life where I can self-define as being a writer yet, I like to think of myself as a baby writer or a writer in training perhaps.

On the subject of something inspirational and in an attempt to break up my inane ramblings of the morning a little. Here is a video for you. I think it is perhaps my second favourite Body Gossip video. My favourite of course being the original 'This one's for you'. This video however speaks volumes about society right now; what is it that makes us so scared of the real human body? Inspirational YAH!

Now back to my writing saga... I recently started a part-time job as a Copy Editor. It was something that came as a surprise around a time (during exam and assignment hell!) where it was really lovely to have the confidence boost of being approached and told I'd be perfect for the job and that they really wanted me/had thought of me! From now on this is how I wish to receive all of my job offers, thank-you! The idea of being hand picked in a kind of headhunted type of way is enough to brighten anyone's day or week! But anyway... I digress... so being offered this Copyediting job, I guess, was a sign that I must be an ok writer. I'm one for evidence that is quite based in proof and during my miniature 'I'll never be a proper grown up writer ever' style crisis, this was a definite boost to the old confidence! 

I think it all harks back to my natural fall back of assuming I won't be able to do something to prevent the disappointment of failing at it. It's much easier for something to go wrong and for me to be able to say... ah yes but I did say it would go wrong. I think it must be some sort of face saving tactic (ah yeah get in there identity revision!!) that prevents having a demonstrate having failed something. 

At the moment I'm trying to make a really conscious effort to celebrate and acknowledge when I do great stuff and not beat myself up if something doesn't go too well. Now I'm going to sound completely big headed and I don't mean to. But last week the shortlisted nominations for our student union awards were released. Again there was 400 nominations and by some sort of miracle I've been shortlisted for two awards again!! The lovely thing is that one of the awards 'RAG volunteer of the year' is an award I have now been shortlisted for every year I've been at Uni. Last year I was also shortlisted for 'Outstanding contribution to student support' and this year I've been shortlisted for 'Outstanding contribution to student life'. Now what I'm trying to do here to be proud of what I've done and think.... wow I must be doing something pretty freaking good right now! Yay! 

I suppose what I'm trying to say in this post today is that it's ok to feel proud about the things you do, and there's no need to doubt yourself. I mean what's the use of wasting time doubting your ability when you could use that time to work on it? 

Happy Sunday everyone xx

From my stinky pit of revision hell

So... tomorrow is D-day! The exam is now 21 hours away. AGHHHHHH.

So I shall not properly blog, however... I want the world to see this AWESOME video which made me really happy! <3

All I can say is squeeeeeeeeee!

First world problems

This video made me think. We throw around the #firstworldproblems line way to much and I don't like it anymore. I think this video was quite poignant to me and made me think about it and what a yucky phrase it really is.

Inspiration

I found an interesting article the other day. Baileys surveyed 4000 women to ask them who inspired them. The results were quite astonishing as most of the women picked fictional characters rather than real women!! It made me think about who inspires me.

• My mum and the women in my family- ok... it's a broad group here! But my mum, sister, aunties, cousin, grandma and my lovely Nannie who is no longer with us are all wonderful in their own rights. I love them dearly and I think that makes them all the more important! 

• My friends- I have some really wonderful friends. I don't really want to bore you by going through and naming every one of them. But they're wonderful and each and every one is special to me!!

• Now actresses are an interesting one- again in the Independent article, many of the inspirational women were actresses. I have actress heroines such as Judy Dench, Julie Walters, Helen Mirren, Maggie Smith and Julie Andrews who are all women I admire for their talent. But again, I wonder how much of my admiration is for their characters rather than precisely for them as individuals. Julie Walters and Helen Mirren particularly inspire me in Calendar Girls, my favourite film. I think this therefore means that I'm actually inspired by Angela Baker; the original calendar girl who raised money in memory of her husband. 

• Now many people know I'm a huge fan of the Bodygossip; through being an ambassador for the campaign I have met the wonderful Tash Devon, Ruth Rogers, Sarah Fullager and Charlotte Gatherer. Now this lot are all pretty incredible too! They inspire me to love my body in all of its real glory! 

• Now the reality is... I could go on for a long time thinking of all the women who inspire me in life. It heartens me to know there are so many fabulous ladies out there who I hope one day to be even a fraction as great as they are. 

Here's to having real life heros! 

My friends are pretty wonderful!

I wanted to write something quickly to acknowledge the amazing things a couple of my friends are doing right now! It has to be a quick post as I should be working haha! I'm not saying that all my friends aren't wonderful but I wanted to mention Gerry and Jazz today.

Today Gerry is walking 13km in aid of a really lovely charity that's fairly new in charity terms!
Associação Livro Aberto is an organisation that provides books and literacy training to children in Mozambique. It's a really lovely idea that by teaching these children to read, they can then go on to change their own lives and the lives of their families. 

Jazz, my other fabulous friend, comes across as being one of the strongest most determined people I know! She's walking 10 miles in aid of the Children's Chronic Arthritis Association. Now for Jazz 10 miles is a lot as she has arthritis herself. Jazz is a bit of a hero for me... not that I tell her as I don't want to inflate her ego too much!! She doesn't complain about her arthritis and just gets on with life in such an awesome and determined way. For her to completing this walk is going to take a lot of strength and energy and I think she's being totally amazing doing it. She deserves tons of sponsorship!!! 

So yeah... my friends are pretty damn fabulous! xx

Better sleep

So tonight is just going to be a really quick post. I feel the need to blog but don't have the energy for a long one! This week I have realised the importance of sleep. Arguably I have the ability to go rather nutty without it. So I'm going to try hard to get myself into a bit more of a good sleeping routine. I've had a read of the national sleep foundation website and they have some pretty useful information about sleep hygiene.. something which sounds a bit random! Sleep hygiene is what's needed for you to have good sleep. Simple enough! I thought I would share some of their tips about ways to get better sleep. My aim is to adopt these to try and improve my own sleep quality!

• Avoid stimulants during the day... now as I don't drink caffeine this should be easy enough.
• Avoid napping in the day- again this is something I rarely do... so hopefully not something I need to worry about too much! 
• Do some vigorous exercise during the day, then something relaxing close to bed. I'm a massive fan of pre-bedtime yoga! 
• Eat earlier on in the evening, late night meals can cause wakefullness. 
• Sort out a good nighttime routine! This is something I need to sort out! I'm going to give myself a bedtime again... like off of when I was 5! 
• Create a pleasant sleep environment. Now this is tricky as a student as my room often doubles as a working area. I guess avoiding the temptation to work from bed will be a good start! 

To finish, here are some pictures of some really cute sleeping animals. 

Night night xxx

What a lot of rage.

Today I have been working on my research methods project proposal. I chose an area to focus on that I am passionate about and interested in, for research methods this is a rarity. I realise the importance of it as an area of study... but knowing this doesn't make it any more fun! So my chosen topic area was 'Body Image and Anorexia', finally a choice on the list that really interests me. So anyway... today I have been writing a proposal based on investigating thoughts and feelings associated with the use of images of low weight anorexics in media articles. Essentially my thoughts seem to echo those of Esther Rich and Ilona Burton in that the use of these images is damaging for individuals who see them and definitely doesn't promote recovery and raise awareness of these psychological conditions. I wholeheartedly agree with B-eat's suggestions for a better media guidelines surrounding the publication of stories about eating disorders. 

It seems slightly ironic that whilst writing this today my Facebook timeline seems to be full of a lot of rage about a topic that seems to tie in with my work and kind of prove my point. It takes a lot to make me really really cross about something but Samantha Brick's ridiculous article has managed to propel me into such a high level of rage; at least I could congratulate her on her ability to write the most awful article I think I have ever read. 

I saw the article described as 'attention-seeking drivel-bollocks' by the wonderful Natasha Devon- co-founder of Body Gossip, Body Image guru and essentially one of my idols! Tash had a really interesting response to the article which is definitely worth a read. That lady is pretty wise! 

As a feminist and body image campaigner and activist Brick's article made me feel cross and disheartened that something like that was published. I agree with Tash that the fact she's cause so much controversy will ultimately mean she is asked to write again. But I still fundamentally disagree with the fact that an article that promotes such unhealthy habits is allowed to be out their in the human sphere. I'm not a great believer in the age old thoughts that the media is a causal factor in the development of eating disorders, as a psychological condition there is a heck of a lot more to it than that. BUT I don't think the media is a helpful influence. Brick has basically tried to pass off disordered eating as something women should strive to achieve. In a sense I feel sorry for her that she has such a negative opinion in herself and self esteem that seems to be so reactive to her weight. 

The main problem I have is that the Daily Mail have published an article that is basically a form of pro-anorexia 'thinspiration' and that makes me sad and cross simultaneously. I want to see articles about real people with healthy lifestyles who are happy in their own skin. How can we expect young people to feel ok about themselves with this kind of rubbish being published by influential media sources. I mean come on... there are media guidelines surrounding suicides that prevent reports to provide intimate details that would allow someone to use them as a guide to take their own lives. Yet this kind of article is allowed to be published and people like Samantha Brick gain a position in the media that they shouldn't have. 

I'd like to see more in the media like this incredible video Dove recently released and more campaigns like those Body Gossip bring to the world. I want to see more about REAL people who don't have to damage themselves to be 'accepted' as beautiful. If that's what beautiful really is... then I'm pretty happy to not be like it at all. 

Why we don't need pictures of skeletal individuals to raise awareness of eating disorders

Now... I fear this post may become somewhat of a rant! I have a real pet hate of the media's need to publish pictures of excruciatingly thin people when talking about eating disorders. Programs like Supersize Vs Superskinny end up making me so angry. One of the first things that is told to people who suffer with problems with their eating is that it's NOT all about their weight. Not only are the images, in a way, offering the idea to young people that such a size is not only achievable but that you can look 'ok' weighing the same. I'm not even really raging about skinny models or mannequins now, but more about the 'look at me at my lowest weight' type articles that fill trashy mags.

It makes me sad that these images are such an important part of a sufferers story for a number of reasons:

1. Eating disorders are not ALL about food/weight, showing images of very very thin people not only implies that you have to be that thin to be unwell, but also minimises all of the psychological symptoms of the disorders. 
2. It's not a good image to portray to people who are unwell with an eating disorder and can feel that these kind of weights are what they should look like.
3. It makes a statement that your weight has to be very low to have an eating disorder and completely over simplifies the range of different weights of sufferers. 

I read an article by a B-eat ambassador who had been told my a journalist that she would need to provide images of her lowest weight to prove she had an eating disorder and this made me rage! I want to see images of healthy people who have overcome eating disorders and can celebrate having their healthy bodies back!! 

Ambassador's article

Kate xx

Autism Awareness Month

April is Autism Awareness Month. Autism is a condition that I feel isn't talk about enough. The Autism spectrum is interesting as some of the individuals who are deemed to be on it are able to function much more normally than others who are severely affected by the disorder.

The guardian have produced a gallery of photographs that were collated by individuals with the condition to help people to understand a little more about it. I thought the idea of doing this was a really amazing one. To me, the pictures demonstrated a lot of the feelings of isolation that come along with being Autistic; that sense of 'watching the world from the inside' but finding it hard to properly interact with it.

Guardian project

My feeling is that conditions such as Autism should be a topic for conversation, we should be talking about all of these forms of human difference and be embracing them and working them into everyday life more. The dichotomy between those who are normal and those who don't quite fit into that idea needs to radically changed. I'm not one for polar opposites and this is an area where I think we need to do a little more to make individuals with conditions that make them slightly different to the norm more included.

Kate xx

It would appear all I shall do is share videos...

A nine year olds perspective on the universe

One day I hope to have a child who is this great! How amazing is he?

The art of procrasti-blogging

Today I have a list of things that I need to do... here is a selection of my list:

1. Sell some things on ebay
2. Decide what I want to take home with me on Thursday/potentially start to pack
3. Clean my room... it's tidy but could do with a really good hoover and dust
4. Do some washing
5. Do some more catch up reading/lecture stuff
6. Book my car into the garage
7. Sort out my life in general! Ha! 

So.... with this big long list of things to do... I feel the urge to write lots today and ignore all of the things I really ought to be doing! Therefore today will be filled with a selection of things that take my interest and excite me more than my to-do list! 

Also... I really like this picture from Dove, it's just amazing! 

A jumbled collection of thoughts of the day!

Today I had a very brief moment of writers block... well perhaps not even block but the precursor to what may have developed into it! I quashed this quickly by asking a few friends for some blogging ideas for today. Hence my rather muddled combination of topics.

My first thought for today is an Easter based thought. My lovely friend Meg suggested I write something about making new starts. Easter eggs have historical significance as being symbols of rebirth and new starts. I found a blog with some Easter egg history on it that looked pretty awesome.

Virtual Victorian Easter Eggs

I like the thought of Easter eggs being a more symbolic gift than one of basic chocolatey greed?? I'm not sure I want to use the word greed here... but in some cases it seems that way with the over indulgence that is shown with these kind of holidays. But anyway... enough of my chocolate based cynicism for now!!

There tends to be a real sense of new beginnings around New Year, but I don't see why this needs to be the only time people can take stock of their lives, make changes and benefit from them. I think being able to make new starts by working out what isn't quite working in life and being able to modify it to be better for yourself is a huge part of Mindfulness. I know I have aspects of my life that I really ought to try and modify... such as my inability to say now to exciting projects and roles even when I know I don't have another second to spare or my harsh sense of perfection that haunts my degree work.. however perhaps these are things I need to gradually work on. Maybe a new start doesn't have to be completely drastic but more of an acknowledgement that you're making changes slowly but surely for the positive.

Now my friend Laura wanted me to write about farm animals. I had a bit of a temptation to find some really cute pictures to fill my blog with, but then I came across a really interesting article about farm animals being used to help individuals with mental health problems! PAT animals aren't anything new. Cats and dogs are often considered to be helpful to individuals suffering with mental health problems but Norwegian researchers found that being on a farm could help with a number of mental health conditions.

Mental health on the farm

For me, animals have always been a huge part of my life. I find in times of stress or upset or just general difficulty it's really helpful to have a creature who is reliant on you to look after them. I think they do have a therapeutic power and I know my... arguably slightly odd relationship with my cat is evidence that animals can be a real friend to you too. I know Stitch will always love me in his own funny way.

And I guess if you can't find a real life farm to visit.... Fourways Farm is a pretty good substitute and it doesn't smell... Oh how I used to adore this program!

My final suggestion for the day was monkeys! I found a lovely article about Orangutans, I have a real soft spot for them since my trip to Borneo with The Blue Cross... more on that in another blog! However, I found an article about the International Orangutan Foundation and how they make sure their quarantined orangutans have lots of toys to play with and things to do to help keep them health both physically and mentally. I thought it was lovely and think it's really relevant to people too... if you're not keeping your mind active, you're more likely to have a harder time keeping your mental health at it's best. So perhaps thinking of new things to do each week is a good start to helping you feel more on top of things.

Enriched Orangutans!

I think that's all for today

Love Kate xx