Tag Archives: depression

Interview with Brilliant Author Jack Messenger

Posted on by

His debut novel, Farewell Olympus, might be a “laugh-out-loud” read but its humour belies Jack Messenger’s fierce battle with depression. In a candid Q&A, he tells Frost Magazine about the sadness behind the jokes and the inspiration for his wonderful work.

Q: Tell us about your book and who it will appeal to.

A: My new book is an outlandish novel called Farewell Olympus. Set in Paris, it’s about love and rivalry, ambition and morality, Armageddon and the quest for the perfect croissant. It will appeal to readers who enjoy a fascinating story with lots of twists and turns, bizarre characters, and, of course, humour. There’s a mystery to unravel, but mostly it’s the story of two half-brothers who drive each other mad.

Q: What inspired you to write the novel? 

A: My wife and I spent some years in France, where I also learned the language. It was partly a desire to process that experience which led me to write Farewell Olympus. It seemed to me that a brilliant novel could be written about British people abroad who were trying to work out the complexities of a different culture. I had always assumed there was so much in common between the UK and France that it would be easy to make the adjustment. While that is true in many ways, I was taken aback by the differences, which were all the more perplexing for being subtle and unexpected. Attitudes and assumptions, ways of looking at the world, are often dissimilar, especially when it comes to harvesting your leeks. And, at a practical level, some conventions were potentially deadly, such as the rule that a vehicle joining a road from the right had priority over vehicles already on the road. Tractors and combine harvesters would pull out from nowhere, regardless of traffic and speeds. My life flashed before my eyes on more than one occasion.

Q: Do you have a particular writing schedule and how strict or otherwise are you in this respect?

A: I like to relax in the evenings, so I don’t want to set myself an arbitrary target each day; I write as much or as little as I feel inspired to, and will often spend time reworking material until I’m happy with it.

Q: You’re a copywriter and editor by profession. You’ve also written a number of Berlitz travel guides. To what extent, if any, did your professional background help in the crossover into writing a novel?

A: It helped enormously. Many inexperienced writers have a surprisingly blasé attitude towards errors and inconsistency, for example; consequently, they don’t have their books copyedited or proofread. I am asked to review a great many books which turn out to be riddled with basic spelling and grammatical errors right from the first page. Readers notice these things and are put off reading because it 

shows a casual indifference to their intelligence. Travel writing was also a helpful discipline, as I had to produce a book to a specified word count by an agreed date – no exceptions. A writer has to be organised and care about every last detail in their work. There is no such thing as an unimportant sentence; every sentence, every word, has to be thought about. This is my mantra.

Q: What challenges did you face bringing the book to market, and what advice would you give to other aspiring authors to help them avoid a similar fate?

A: I decided to publish my book independently, so that I could control every aspect of the process. This entailed a great deal of learning by trial and error – everything from setting up a website to completing tax declarations. Marketing proved to be the hardest aspect by far. There is a great deal of useful marketing advice available online, but there is also a lot of stuff that is out of date. Social media use, for instance, grows in sophistication year by year, often outstripping our ability to keep up with the changes. As a result, my social media experiences were hugely disappointing. Nothing beats an organized publicity campaign run by professional people who know what they are doing and who have the necessary contacts. My advice to myself and others would be to produce the best work you can – that’s why you’re writing, after all. Make sure it’s copyedited and proofread, give it a professionally designed cover, publish it as widely as possible, and give the major marketing and publicity to someone you can trust.

Q: Did you base the central characters on anyone you know – and have you told them?!

As far as I know, I didn’t. If I had, I probably wouldn’t have told, just in case they were offended. My nose bleeds easily.

Q: What three words would you use to describe yourself?

A: Hirsute, indolent, callipygous.

Q: You’ve suffered with depression for some time; what effect has this had on your writing?

A: Humanity’s need for stories is all about broadening our experiences in an attempt to understand ourselves and our world. My writing is largely concerned with people rather than plot – with the ‘why’ rather than the ‘what’. I think my mental health problems have led me to take an interest in the complexity of people and the situations life puts them in, how they cope with themselves and interact with others. I am attracted to eccentricity as a form of personal defence, which often leads to humour and misunderstanding.

Q: Writing is said to be a form of catharsis. Is this true in your case?

Until recently, I would have said not, but Farewell Olympus was cathartic in a strange way I still don’t understand. It was written at a time when I was

dangerously unwell, yet it is full of humour and hope. I enjoyed writing it because characters and their words arrived easily. Readers find it amusing, which is great. I can also see my own sadness in it, lurking behind the jokes. There is a lot of me in Howard, who is perpetually thwarted by his misperceptions. 

Q: What plans do you have for the future?

A: I have an idea for a science fiction novel that I’d like to write under a pseudonym. It takes me a long time to come up with ideas, but I’ve had a lot of fun inventing a biography for my alter ego, and a title for the book. Many of the characters and incidents are already there, but one major thing still eludes me. If I can get that, I’ll start to write. I love stories set in confined spaces, so I am thinking of a space station or craft of some kind. In addition, I have other novels already written that I really should get around to publishing. Their characters keep badgering me to let them out.

Jack Messenger is a British author whose debut novel, Farewell Olympus, is a laugh-out-loud witty and intelligent farce about sibling rivalry, love and ambition set in the heart of Paris. It is out now through Greyhound Press on Amazon UK priced £8.99 in paperback and £3.99 in eBook.

 

 

THE BUSINESS OF BOOKS: MENTAL HEALTH IN FICTION – Jane Cable on romance in the wake of World Mental Health Day

Posted on by

When I was a rookie author working with my first editor I wanted to write a book with a central character who had OCD. I had a friend with quite a severe form of the illness and he was willing to help me to get it right. But I was told in no uncertain terms that I couldn’t write romantic fiction with a hero like that because no-one would want to read it.

I was prepared to accept the fact I couldn’t write it due to my technical ability, but not that the subject was taboo. Yes, it might make uncomfortable reading but surely it fitted perfectly with the romantic genre: X wants Y and Z stops them getting it.

I put the manuscript to one side (it’s still there, but for a different reason) and in the meantime The Cheesemaker’s House won the suspense and crime heat of the Alan Titchmarsh Show’s People’s Novelist competition. I was almost relieved when judge Sophie Hannah told me I needed a better editor. And totally vindicated when Jeffery Archer found Owen (who is teetering on the brink) a fascinating character.

With The Faerie Tree I was inspired to take things further. I had a good friend who’d suffered a major breakdown and I suppose I wanted to show him that a character with similar problems could get their life back on track. Robin’s struggle with depression is central to the story but he’s just like any other romantic hero – he’s funny, self aware and loving – he certainly doesn’t have ‘damaged goods – pity me’ stamped across his forehead.

The Faerie Tree, book, book review, review

Readers loved him too. Amazon reviewers said, “I fell a little in love with Robin myself,” and “Love, relationships, grief, depression, hope. The Faerie Tree covers it all, yet it’s not all doom and gloom.” But the best was from blogger extraordinaire Ann Cater: “Jane Cable creates characters that are believable, who have problems, who are often annoying and frustrating, but whose story is compelling. She cleverly takes the reader into the heads of two damaged and fragile people, and this is done so very well. Despite their faults, both Izzie and Robin are characters that the reader will root for throughout this really excellent novel.”

I’m not quoting these to show off – I’m making a point. People with mental health issues do make good characters in romantic fiction. Not just shuffling on and off the side-lines, but right in the centre of the story. The reviews also made me brave enough to tackle the thorny issue of PTSD amongst service personnel in Another You.

I’m not the only one: search PTSD romance in Kindle books and there are 341 titles in contemporary alone. Big publishers and writers are tackling the issue too, with books like Kristin Hannah’s Home Front (published by Pan) and USA Today best-selling author Kallypso Masters’ Nobody’s Lost.

Sadly it seems more people are suffering from mental health issues. But perhaps it’s just that happily they are more likely to seek help and not feel ashamed. There is a greater understanding that depression and other illnesses have a physical source in the imbalance of brain chemicals (read Tim Cantapher’s Depressive Illness: The Curse of the Strong if you want to know more) so stigma and taboo really shouldn’t come into it.

While readers want romantic fiction to take them away from their everyday lives, many need to be taken to a world they recognise. And in a way that gives them hope. X wants Y and despite Z, they get it.

End The Stigma Of Mental Health With #itaffectsme

Posted on by

endstigmaofmentalhealth

I am always on the lookout for amazing things, and what could be more amazing than ending the stigma of mental illness? Laura Darrall has created a social media campaign for mental health awareness called #itaffectsme. It is a great campaign and I hope you can get behind it. Here is what Laura has to say: #itaffectsme is going globally viral with the aim of ending the stigma that surrounds mental health and to get Mental Health Education onto the school curriculum. It has celebrities like Tony Gardner and Antonia Laura Thomas already backing it and has reached America, Pakistan, Australia, Canada, Holland and Italy.

We need to get Mental Health Education on the curriculum to give our children a future where they too are unafraid to speak out and ask for help. We teach sex education, physical education so why not Mental Health Education. We teach them the symptoms of chlamydia, herpes, gonorrhoea, so why not OCD, depression and anxiety? 1 in 4 people suffer from mental illness that is 25% of the world’s population. It is staggering and we need to arm our children with knowledge, with compassion and build a world for them where the word “stigma” is extinct.

The idea for #itaffectsme first came to me after I came out the other side of a mental breakdown, six months of panic attacks, anxiety, OCD and depression. I was sat on the edge of my bed and for the first time in months I felt clarity of thought and a fire in my belly and I knew that I had to use it to make a change, to make people unafraid to speak out and to put an end to stigma. But I had no idea how, so I said a prayer, looked over at my desk, spotted the post-its and then it was like a light bulb switched on in my brain, a real Eureka moment, and it has snowballed from there.

I am so overwhelmed and thrilled with the response. If I can get just one person who is suffering to speak out and ask for help then it is worth every single tear I ever shed last year.

If anyone is suffering and is too afraid to speak out, I would say this: Take it ten seconds at a time and do not fear. Help is out there and only by talking and sharing can we find it. And you will come out the other side. You don’t know who else you may help by sharing your own sufferings and surely the one good thing that can come out of suffering is to help someone else when they experience it too. If we share our mental illnesses with people, they can be strong for us when we cannot. And people want to help, they want to hold your hand if you give them the chance. So do, talk to them and give them that chance.

If I could say one thing to my pre-treatment self it would be, “This is temporary”. Because when you are in the pits of mental illness, in a panic attack, an OCD spike, a black hole of depression, it feels like it will never end. But it will, and if you speak out and seek help you will find tools to help you combat it if and when it returns. I know that one day I may find myself attacked by mental illness again but I know that when and if that day comes I will be ready for it, fully armoured and unafraid.
itaffectsme

To take part just take a selfie with a post-it note on the forehead with #itaffectsme written on it, upload it to social media with the link to the Mind donation page, donate and then share.

#itaffectsme is simply the statement the mental illness affects every single one of us, whether directly or indirectly and the selfie is to put faces to it, to stop people being embarrassed or afraid to ask for help. Mental illness has no prejudices about who it affects so we should have no prejudices about it.

www.itaffectsme.co.uk

 

How To Delay The Menopause

Posted on by

how to delay the menopause, menopause, health, According to the NHS, the most common age for menopause to start is 51 – which is when we start to experience symptoms; aching joints, depression, lack of energy, lack of libido, weight gain, concentration problems, headaches and, most commonly, hot flushes and night sweats.

Although the onset of menopause is strongly influenced by our genes and ethnicity, the good news is that there are simple lifestyle changes you can make to delay it.

We asked Dr Marilyn Glenville, the UK’s leading Nutritionist, fertility and women’s health expert and an author of Natural Solutions to Menopause: How to stay healthy before, during and beyond the menopause, to give us her top tips on how to delay the menopause.

Choose low-fat dairy

Low-fat dairy is not only beneficial for a diet but it can also delay the menopause.
Cow’s milk may contain a number of metabolites — or enzymes formed possibly during the process to remove the fat — which boost the amount of oestrogen (female sex hormone) in a woman’s system, helping to keep her reproductive organs working for longer. “Try and stick with organic milk and cheeses and put the emphasis on eating more yogurt because of the beneficial bacteria.”

Stop using old pans

It’s not just what you eat that can delay the menopause but also what you use and how you cook your food.

It’s wise to choose your cookware carefully, especially as PFOAs (a synthetic chemical used to repel grease and water) appear to build up in the body over the years and has been identified as a hormone disruptor. We don’t yet know how big a factor these chemicals are, but they may have a cumulative effect over a woman’s lifetime. “Using the right kind of pots and pans to cook your food may be important because the actual surface of the pan that you are using can end up being absorbed into your food when heated to high temperatures.”
“Try to avoid any non-stick pans or utensils completely as it’s just not worth having the possibility of that toxic exposure. It’s just as easy to cook with stainless steel, cast iron or glass cookware.”

Eat more fish!

Don’t just save fish for Fridays, eat it through the week to keep menopause at bay. It’s thought that omega 3 oils in fish help the pituitary gland in the brain to stimulate a woman’s ovaries to keep producing eggs and can help with many of the symptoms. “The Omega 3 fatty acids should be added separately because they are not usually included in a multivitamin and mineral and if they are, the levels will not be high enough.” If you find it hard to include fish in your diet, try taking NHP’s completely natural Omega 3 Plus (available from www.naturalhealthpractice.com, £27.77).You will also notice the difference in your skin and hair condition.

Use natural products

A key area of concern is phthalates, found in four out of five beauty products. Mostly found in foundation, face cream, lipstick and nail varnish, they can disrupt hormone balance.
“Think more carefully about the products you regularly put on your skin. As your skin is the most absorbent organ of the body, do you really need or want all these chemical entering your blood stream?

Check the ingredients list properly and, where possible, stick to natural, plant-based products.”

Stop using the clingfilm

Not only we use cling film on daily basis to keep our food fresh but these days much of our food comes wrapped in plastic.

This could have an effect on our hormones because these pliable plastics contain chemicals, which have been found to disrupt the reproductive and hormonal systems in animals and children.

“Although it’s not yet clear how this would affect the hormones of older women, some experts advise a ‘better safe than sorry’ approach — pointing to the rise in health problems such as breast cancer and other oestrogen-dependent conditions like fibroids or endometriosis, which are possibly linked to these chemicals.”

“Remember to never heat food in plastic — and if you must buy food wrapped in it, remove the packaging when you get home. Instead, store food in the fridge in a dish with a saucer covering it or use greaseproof paper.”

Expand your mind

“Help keep your mind sharp before reaching menopausal age. Daily crosswords, Suduko or even learning a new skill or fitness class will help keep the mind sharp and help increase concentration levels.” Or take a good supplement designed specifically for supporting brain and memory function, such as NHP’s New Brain and Memory Support (available from www.naturalhealthpractice.com, £27.77). This includes Amino acid tyrosine, which increases attention and mental physical focus and B6, B12 and folic acid that support normal psychological function.

Reduce your family stress

A falling menopause age is not just due to workload, but also to women being caught up in the sandwich generation — caring for parents and children — and feeling they are being constantly bombarded physically and emotionally. For women over 40, there can be the pressure of everyday life coping with caring for elderly parents as well as children who are staying at home for longer. At this time of life, the hormones are constantly changing. This constant pressure can act as the last straw — and their periods stop and never come back.

Dr Marilyn Glenville PhD is the UK’s leading nutritionist specialising in fertility and women’s health. She is Former President of the Food and Health Forum at the Royal Society of Medicine and author of a number of internationally bestselling books including Natural Solutions to the Menopause, The Natural Health Bible for Womenand Fat Around the Middle: How to Lose That Bulge – For Good. Dr Glenville runs clinics in Harley Street, London Tunbridge Wells and Ireland www.marilynglenville.com. If you are interested in a consultation, call Dr Glenville’s clinic on 01892 515905 health@marilynglenville.com.

 

 

Feel Good: How To Change Your Mood And Cope With Whatever Comes Your Way

Posted on by

feel good

By Dr Shane Pascoe & Dr Graham Law

Published by Capstone, February 2014

Paperback, £10.99

 

 

If you are feeling down, overwhelmed, stressed or depressed then this book takes two of the ‘it’ therapies of the moment- Mindfulness and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy- and combines them to get you back on your feet and keep you there.

It is easy to read and apply thanks to its invaluable post-it technique and lay out. It also has an entire chapter on relaxing and the stuff on confirmation bias is very interesting. The book is like you are being talked to and supported by a friendly, intelligent and concise friend.

The book is actually fun and enjoyable to read, surprising considering its subject matter. It has a unique combination of science and psychology which really works. It also has exercises and is practical and accessible.

A very good and helpful book.

Feel Good: How to Change Your Mood and Cope with Whatever Comes Your Way

Mood can affect every aspect of life, from performance at work to personal relationships. Being able to take control of moods, rather than have moods control them, is something all the most successful people have in common.

In their new book, authors Dr Shane Pascoe and Dr Graham Law combine techniques from two powerful, complementary therapeutic approaches – Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Mindfulness – to help readers keep their spirits and confidence high and instil a more upbeat, positive, can-do attitude, come what may.

Packed with practical information on how to start feeling happier and more positive about life, and optimise how you deal with people and situations in life and at work, this expert guide to beating stress and anxiety is designed for quick reference, letting readers access practical information relevant to how they are feeling at that moment.

Individual chapters cover areas including anger, self-efficacy, distress, unhappiness, well-being and happiness, self-esteem, leading a balanced lifestyle and relaxation techniques. The book finishes by discussing “Where to go from here?”.

 

For those that are feeling overwhelmed, overstressed, or just plain down about life, Feel Good is a practical, inspirational guide to help manage moods, improve outlook and beat stress and anxiety.

 

Feel Good: How to Change Your Mood and Cope with Whatever Comes Your Way

How to Stop Being a Couch Potato and Start Enjoying Life

Posted on by

Lululemon_Yellow_Yoga

 

It’s no joke: a sedentary lifestyle can contribute to numerous preventable causes of death. A person who is seated for over five hours a day is put considerably more at risk of contracting cardiovascular disease than one who exercises for even just four hours per week. Furthermore, lack of exercise can cause depression or anxiety. If you want to start enjoying life you have to stand up and say no to being a couch potato.

 

Here are some useful ideas to help you get up off the couch and back in the game:

 

  • Avoid eating on the settee. The more you get used to doing this the more time you will be able to spend on the couch. Try to make a habit of setting aside time for meals away from the TV.
  • Rest and relaxation are integral ingredients of a healthy and happy life, but too much idle behavior will do you no good in the end. When you go to sit down in front of the TV, set yourself a limit on the time spent in front of it.
  • Get rid of your unwanted DVDs and video games. You’ve seen or played them all before and it’s time for something new. You can sell them easily on http://www.musicmagpie.com/ and use the money for a gym membership or a bicycle.
  • Why not watch TV while riding an exercise bike and THEN see how many episodes of Prison Break you can watch in a row!
  • Studies have shown that prolonged periods of little or no movement inhibit the effectiveness of one of the key enzymes which break down blood fat. If your occupation requires you to spend lots of time sitting down, make sure to periodically stand up and stretch your legs.
  • Apply the principle of active transport to your daily life. We spend too much time in a sitting position, even while travelling. Walk or ride a bike, leave early and take the scenic route to work and you’ll feel the benefits of a greater sense of wellbeing.
  • Get a hobby. Count up the hours you spend on the sofa in a year and think what you could do with that time. If you cut out just an hour of TV time every day just imagine what you could achieve in a year. Whether it’s Ping-Pong or marathon running, find something to suit you and stick at it.
  • Join a sports team. It could be at your local soccer club or it could be as simple as forming a bowling team with good friends. The commitment necessary to be a valued team player will give you the encouragement you need get off the settee regularly.

Everybody needs time to relax and a good long couch session every now and again can be good for your state of mind – but too much is detrimental to your health. Don’t think of it as a loss of relaxation time, but rather as time gained socialising, improving your health and extending your lifespan

 

Why Yoga Makes Mummies Happy: The role of Yoga in creating the love hormone ‘Oxytocin’

Posted on by

Why Yoga Makes Mummies Happy
The role of Yoga in creating the love hormone ‘Oxytocin’

By Cheryl MacDonald BA Hons CYT E-RPYT

The fact is that yoga actually makes you happier. The ‘love hormone’
Oxytocin helps you to relax and reduces blood pressure and cortisol levels.
Yoga is now well recognised as one of the ways to encourage the body to
release this amazing hormone and built in anti-stress mechanism.
When the various limbs of yoga are practised, oxytocin is released. Deep
breathing warms the body, and warmth is one of the key elements that allow
us to release Oxytocin. By taking the body through the practice of yoga
asana (postures) we warm the muscles and joints, make the physical body
more comfortable and relaxed. By then continuing the practice with
savasana (deep relaxation) and meditation, we encourage the production
of oxytocin even further.
Lululemon_Yellow_Yoga
What is Oxytocin?

Oxytocin is that magical hormone that rushes through the body when we first
fall in love. Oxytocin can take us to the dizzy heights of a love sickness that
makes food and sleep seem so much less important than looking into the
eyes of our new found love.

Some of oxytocin’s main functions are preparing the female body for
childbirth, stimulating milk production and ‘let down’ so that baby can nurse,
and encouraging the bond between mum and her newborn baby.

The hormone is also plays an important part in sexual arousal and is released
when you have an orgasm. Its important in nonsexual relationships too and
presence of the hormone has shown to increase trust, generosity, and
cooperation. It can also create a nurturing aspect within males and females
who are not parents.

Why does Yoga make you happy?

Yogic breathing (of course!) When the vagus nerve is inflamed your breathing
becomes more shallow. Your body has gone into fight or flight mode and you
have started to panic. Stop right here and allow yourself to breathe deeply.
Pranayama (or yogic breathing) encourages to take time to just stop, and
focus on the breath.

Pregnancy and motherhood can bring a lot of huge physical, emotional and
environmental changes that can be difficult to adapt to. Taking some time
each week to just BREATHE during yoga class, bringing your attention to the
breath, focusing on the breath alone, not worrying about anything else, can
allow oxytocin to be released and deepen that relaxation. Slow steady
breathing is all that you need. Sometimes we get so caught up in ‘getting the
posture’ that we forget to breathe. Check yourself and make sure you ARE
actually breathing (you’d be surprised.)

Warming the body through the practice of Asana

It is important to warm the body before undertaking the physical practice of
yoga (asana) so as not to damage any joints and to ease the body gently
into the postures. This is especially important for pregnant and post natal
women, whose bodies are and have undergone physical stress and growth
over a period of time. During the practice of asana and pranayama, the
body generates heat and warms the body inside and out. Extra bonus?
When we are warm and relaxed, the body releases more oxytocin…

Chilling in Savasana

At the end of class, don’t just jump up and run out of class. Savasana, deep
relaxation at the end of class is your reward for all of your hard effort earlier
on. Learn to enjoy the relaxation, be aware of any random thoughts that go
through your mind – and just let them go. This is known as ‘monkey mind’
(What will I have for dinner? What did she mean by that?) – acknowledge
these meaningless thoughts and really take time for yourself – just focus on
the life force – the breath. That’s all you need to do. And enjoy the scrummy
feeling of the copious oxytocin rushing through your body. Sigh.

Why is Oxytocin so important for mummies

In a study of 65 women with depression and anxiety, the 34 women who took
a yoga class twice a week for two months showed a significant decrease in
depression and anxiety symptoms, compared to the 31 women who were
not in the class.

During Birth

Oxytocin helps birthing women through labour encouraging surges or
contractions as well as providing pain relieving endorphins and an altered
state of consciousness or bliss (known as labour land) that makes most of
childbirth seems ‘dream like’ or surreal. As soon as baby is born, it makes
mum fall in love in the greatest way possible, with their newborn baby.
In the first few moments after giving birth, a mother receives the largest rush
of oxytocin that she will ever experience in her lifetime. Oxytocin flows
between mother and child every time baby is breastfed which encourages
bonding and attachment.

During birth we can encourage the release of oxytocin by making sure that
mum has privacy, feels safe and comfortable, has a dimmed room and is left
in peace. Yogic breathing and practice of adapted savasana during
childbirth can aid the release of this special hormone.
Antenatal and Postnatal Depression

Yoga helps to balance hormones and stabilizes the endocrine system. By
practising yogic relaxation techniques, we can balance cortical activities
and the nervous and endocrine systems, reducing the body`s reaction to
stress. As a result, the body produces less adrenaline, noradrenaline and
cortisol, (all stress hormones) and mum feels much more balanced and stress
free.

Also, prenatal depression studies indicate clinical depression alleviates by half
if only we can talk to a friend who listens to us and oxytocin is shown to
increase when we receive empathy. The social aspects of getting out to
perinatal yoga classes either before or with baby help mum and baby
socialize with other mums around them.
Baby Bonding

Remember oxytocin is about being personal in ways that give our time
together significance and shape moments of laughter and pleasure. Follow
the instinct to reach out and strengthen ties with invitations to share together
and enjoy your pregnancy and life.

There is ample evidence, that oxytocin and another hormone known as
vasopressin are critical for the bonding process, especially as it relates to
social and reproductive behaviour. Both chemicals help encourage bonding
and maternal behaviour.

Cheryl MacDonald is the founder of YogaBellies® which specializes in
perinatal yoga and natural birth preparation. She is the creator of the Birth
ROCKS® childbirth preparation method and has trained YogaBellies®
teachers across the world. Cheryl has been working with pregnant and
birthing women for almost ten years. She is mother of one lovely three year
old buy and lives with her husband in the west end of Glasgow.

Trying To Quit Smoking? Get All The Help You Need.

Posted on by
My entire immediate family smoke. Yes, my parents and my two brothers all smoke. I am the only non smoker in my family, and I am incredibly anti-smoking. I have nagged my family for years and finally they are listening to me and are all trying to quit. But this is easier said than done. Smoking is addictive and it takes willpower of steel to go cold turkey.
Smoking is by far the worst thing you can do for your health. According to Cancer Research UK, more than one in five people smoke in the UK. Smoking is an expensive habit and smoking is also directly linked to multiple health concerns and can shorten life expectancy. I have never understood why people smoke, you are basically paying money to get health problems, it also ruins your clothes, and make you smell of smoke. It’s not nice.

If you need help to quit Dr Winwood, who is the clinical director for psychological health at AXA PPP, will be on hand to answer your questions on smoking and the effect it can have on your health. Dr Mitra M Shahidi  is a Consultant in General & Respiratory Medicine with a specific interest is all aspects of respiratory medicine and Tuberculosis.

Join in! Dr Mitra M Shahidi will be available to answer all your questions here on Wednesday 13 March 11am-1pm.

The health conditions that smoking causes range from cancer to heart disease, and is proven to be detrimental to your overall well-being.

Often the withdrawal from nicotine can cause a range of side effects such as anxiety, depression and difficulty sleeping. Despite the huge benefits of quitting the habit, these side effects can often lead to the temptation to smoke again to make them go away. AXA PPP healthcare will be hosting a live chat with expert Dr Mark Winwood to help you tackle the anxiety of giving up, whether you are currently attempting to quit or are planning to in the future.

Dr Winwood is the clinical director for psychological health at AXA PPP and his extensive knowledge of mental health means he will be well equipped to address your concerns and worries on smoking-related anxiety and stress.

Join in! If you have any questions about anxiety and smoking, or even just needing advice on how to kick the habit, please join our chat here on Friday 15 March 11-1pm.

You can tweet your questions either before or during the live chats on each day using #axapppexpert – those taking part will be entered to win £100 pamper pack from The Sanctuary.

Sponsored Post