Growing up I realised early on I was drawn to both men and women. At 13 I came out as bisexual to close friends and family, this is where I realised how difficult being a bisexual woman could be. I have had several challenges during my life including being locked out of the girls locker room at school, family members being unaccepting of my sexuality and bullying. This became very
I agreed to do the blog for active ageing week as it’s something close to my heart. I’m getting very near to 50. I’ve collected lots of things over 50 years and a few of those are long term conditions. But despite them, I would still consider myself to be reasonably fit, now I can’t run, I walk, when I can’t walk I cycle. My partner has a debilitating lung
The review was set up to look at how the legislation in the Mental Health Act 1983 is used and how practice can improve. The purpose of the review is to understand the reasons for: rising rates of detention under the Act the disproportionate number of people from black and minority ethnic groups detained under the Act processes that are out of step with a modern mental health care system
Ok, so you’re reading a blog about mindfulness, maybe you already have an app or two on your phone for mindfulness and maybe you are already using mindfulness on a regular basis. Or maybe not, you could be a complete beginner and wondering what all the fuss is about. Either way, there are loads of mindfulness activities and exercises out there to try so whether you are a seasoned mindfulness
As my time working for Touchstone comes to an end, I have been reflecting on my experience here and the things I have learnt. When I first started here last year, I had just finished university and this was my first paid experience working in a charity organisation. I remember being nervous and excited about all the aspects of my new job, but I was particularly wondering how I might
In April this year Touchstone BME Dementia Service partnered with Phoenix Health and Wellbeing to provide a year of massage therapy sessions for our Dementia Café members. Once a month, we have two therapists from Phoenix join us for an hour at the Café, and they provide a variety of different workshops for our group. Phoenix’s Health and Wellbeing sessions at our Dementia Café have been absolutely brilliant and the
Learn skills to protect from and overcome depression with a unique Islamic perspective! Our latest Depression Recovery Class is a free 6 week course which starts on Monday 17th September at Leeds Grand Mosque from 5.15-7.15pm. On the course you can learn to: Look after and improve your well-being Understand the common signs of low mood including common thoughts and feelings Learn techniques to improve how you feel Manage and
When I think about forgiveness, I automatically think about it in terms of something you do to someone else. It is an idea that is closely entwined with compassion and kindness and is an active decision to let go of the anger you hold towards someone for something you believe they have done wrong. The ‘Unforgiveness Hook’ metaphor by Stephen Hayes is a great illustration of forgiving others and proposes
As part of our Celebrating Age ‘Interwoven Histories’ project, Pavilion and Touchstone's BME Dementia Service partnered with Leeds Irish Health and Homes’ CHIME Art Group to deliver a three part workshop focusing on the groups ‘first impressions’ of Leeds when many of them migrated to England from Ireland. Prior to the workshops, Teresa who runs the CHIME group had encouraged everyone to write about, draw and collect photos and objects
Hamari Yaadain Dementia Café visited Hornsea for a day of relaxation, delicious food and time to enjoy the beach. We arrived just before lunchtime and stopped at a little café, where we shared food prepared by some of our group members. A feast of samosas, chapattis, curry and an array of homemade chutneys! Members of the group shared their homemade recipes and discussed different ways of cooking from their varied