Mental Health - Pig Pen

Everyday acts of kindness

We are all aware that it is good to be kind. New research has found that, as well as benefiting to the person you are being kind to, offering an act of kindness has benefits for you too.

PKU

The dogs of change

Dog sitting has helped me realised how quickly we can adapt. Change may happen quickly or slowly, but we can adapt to either.

PKU

100 for PKU

The campaign aims to get people active by setting a target to hit this month. Your target is 100. 100 km cycling or running, 100 minutes exercising, 100 push-ups, 100 lengths of the pool, 100 hula hoops-a-hooping... The possibilities are endless.

PKU

PKU awareness month 2021

PKU Awareness month has been difficult for me. My adherence to diet has not been great. It is odd to admit that I’m over 40 and still find myself sneaking food.

Brain Injury

Change and neuroplasticity

Just as a brain injury survivor can find hope in neuroplasticity, so can someone rebuilding during and after the pandemic.

PKU

Resolution redux

If you have struggled with the changes, remember that by simply paying attention to what you are eating you are already making a difference. The habits and effects will come.

Brain Injury

Support for Brain Injury during the pandemic

The pandemic is far from over, but already there are positives to be found in understanding and treating Acquired Brain Injury.

Mental Health

2020 - halfway through.

Our usual pace of life has gone which means I often brood on how little I managed to do this year. To help drag myself out of these moods, I drew up a list of five things I’ve achieved. It provides solid evidence and reassurance that I have progressed, despite the chaos.

Brain Injury

Change, ambiguous loss and spoons

Change is a constant right now. We are bombarded with new concepts and rules to understand which can then change at a moments notice.

Writing

Now it’s summer

I saw a friend on Tuesday. I hadn’t seen her since January. We judged the breeze. Where to sit so one doesn’t breathe on the other?

PKU

PKU in a time of Covid

This is a worrying time so I will start by highlighting the NSPKU Video on Coronavirus and the statement on their website.

PKU

Blogging Anxiety

I have never said that the PKU diet is easy but I do try to avoid negative thinking. It is not easy to be positive about having an inherited metabolic disorder...I don't leap out of bed in the morning and shout “Hurray! I have PKU!”

Brain Injury

ABI & Gardening

There is growing evidence which shows the benefits gardening has on our mental health. Five years ago, a doctor and scientist argued that gardening should be available on the NHS.

Brain Injury

Pausing the anxiety treadmill.

If there ever was a time to be kind to yourself, this is it. Take a breath and realise that one mistake is not a failure. We are usually nicer to everyone else than we are to ourselves.

PKU

The Online PKU Community

This is PKU Awareness month and International PKU day is on the 28th of June. So this is the perfect time to get a bit more involved with PKU online.

PKU

PKU Awareness Month Challenge

Telling someone that you have PKU really can make it easier to stick to the diet; as well as raising awareness of the condition during PKU Awareness month.

Brain Injury

ABIL Conference March 2019 - Brain Injury and Mental Health

ABIL Conference March 2019 - Brain Injury and Mental Health The conference programme promised a varied group of speakers who presented to a packed house at Irwin Mitchell in Holborn, central London.