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Showing posts from June, 2017

A new perspective in grief

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Typically, the beginning of a new year has always prompted in me a fresh resolve to begin or recommit to a resolution that fell by the wayside long ago; usually a casualty of the inevitable hurly burly of life and the big beautiful mess that it so often is. The turning over of a brand new calendar page will evoke in me an optimism for the year that lies ahead. I am an optimist at heart and therefore am hopeful that a new year will be a little better. Summer has naturally been a time to take stock and plan for the year ahead.  However, this year I’ve approached things very differently. The events of the past 18 months have left on me a big heart wound. Last year was filled with so much sadness and grief, one does not simply turn the page and move on as if all that was in the past has no lasting impact on the present. While the end of a year naturally brings to a conclusion some things, feelings and emotions are a little more elusive to box up. Rather than resolving to do and be someth
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Van Gogh Inspires

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  I have long admired the work of Vincent Van Gogh; his use of colour and texture has always given me pleasure and his subject matter has been of an engaging nature. However, it wasn’t until I saw his work in the flesh (so to speak) that my appreciation and love of him grew. I can recall quite vividly the first time I stumbled upon one of his most famous paintings. Up until that point, my exposure to art had been 6 years of study at school and a board game called ‘Masterpiece’ (which was a family favourite we often played on holidays). At school, I’d had the privilege of seeing exhibitions of Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso, both of which I enjoyed, but never Van Gogh. It was not until the first year of living in London with my family, that I unexpectedly came to behold his ‘Sunflowers’. I had been through several rooms of the gallery, when I realised that there was a growing number of paintings I recognised from the well-worn board game I had played many years previous. A growing sens
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Lessons in Mental Health

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  If you had asked me 5 years ago, “What is mental health?” I would have given a vague answer that showed my ignorance; highlighting a subconscious idea that mental health held negative connotations. However, a growing awareness and education on this important part of well-being has shown me how little I knew.   While the experience of others has taught me, (and is still teaching me) that taking care of one’s thought life is extremely important and healthy; it was not until I began to explore what mental health meant in relation to pain management (concerning my back), that I have appreciated the value and importance of it.  For years I have struggled with bad back pain; to the point of which I lived on paracetamol and ibuprofen to get through the day. However, it was not until I started seeing a new Osteopath, that I began to have a new perspective.  The holistic approach to health encouraged me to examine more closely how I thought about pain, and consequently helped to change my thi
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