an insight into my life with severe asthma, advocacy, awareness & research
This week is mental health awareness week. Mental health is still such a stigmatised topic often leaving people feeling weak, vulnerable and embarrassed, some even fear what might happen if they acknowledge that they may be struggling with their mental health. I hear so often that people with a physical health condition worry about opening… Continue reading Mental Health Awareness
Medical gaslighting is a term that I have seen around on social media quite a bit over the last year or so. I would read stories about patients experiences of poor medical care or incorrect assumptions made by medics which have been devastating for the patient and feel blessed that this has never happened to… Continue reading Medical Gaslighting
Healthcare is a minefield sometimes and being a patient navigating through it can be really hard work and not the type of hard work you want to be doing when you are unwell or in pain. With chronic illness you often become an expert in your own condition and can therefore speak up for yourself… Continue reading The Impact of Conflicting Information
2020 has been a really challenging year for everyone. After the initial worry of COVID-19 was over I then started to think about what I would do while we waited for the pandemic to be over. The government advised those classed as clinically extremely vulnerable to shield and protect ourselves from the virus. Shielding meant… Continue reading Doing PPI Virtually
Perspectives of being a younger person in the Intensive Care Unit. Over the years I written about my experiences in ICU in a very factual manner but I have never really spoken about the true impact it has had on me and even now I don't really tell people all the details of some things.… Continue reading ICUsteps Webinar
I recently read a blog post by Sally Crowe, who wrote about how her mental health was impacted after going through cancer treatment. She was diagnosed with cancer related post traumatic stress (you can read the blog post here). Sally chose this image: “Gardening as a metaphor for ‘tending trauma’, and learning to live alongside… Continue reading “I can only please one person at a time. Today I choose me”
"Disabled looks like me" campaign with Leonard Cheshire and Mimi Butlin is very close to my heart for a number of reasons. The first one is that the aim of the campaign is to breakdown disability stereotypes. One thing I used to get really upset and angry about is being judged because I didn't look how… Continue reading Disabled looks like me Campaign
Hero, warrior, asthmatic, advocate, inspiration, strong are just some of the words I have had people refer to me as recently. While I really appreciate them and am flattered I feel uncomfortable hearing them. Some adjectives I can learn to adapt to such as advocate but others not so much. The word health advocate a… Continue reading What words describe you?
How did I end up with 6 other conditions plus just from one medication I take for severe asthma. The scary thing is I am not alone. This word cloud represents all the conditions a small selection of people have as a result of severe asthma. I asked a support group on social media as… Continue reading Did you know severe asthma is way more than only severe asthma??
I hate crying. In fact Im not sure anyone would say they like to cry. It is an emotion relating to sadness and distress so one we never want to experience if possible (There is the odd occasion that laughter renders us crying in which case it's not so bad). I am not much of… Continue reading Its ok to cry
ANONYMOUS-ASTHMA 