Hoping life is kind to you all folks!
See you on 14th!
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Good meeting last night at Sainsbury's, although there was the odd clatter from the cafe staff! Hopefully this wasn't too much of a distraction! Thank you to mall who attended and shared their experiences and thank you too to everyone for supporting one another. That's was the group is all about. You are the most important person in your life, you have worth and you are heard. Especially when life throws the odd curved ball, one of our YourSpace family will catch it! Hoping life is kind to you all folks! See you on 14th!
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At last Monday's meeting we shared our week and looked at some of the "set backs" we may possibly encounter and how we can develop some strategies to overcome these. We also discussed how, as our mood improves, we start to see the happier moments in our lives and encounter a much more positive outlook and be "less sad". Thank you to all for your input and honesty. We also considered the pros and cons of "setting goals". Are they a good source of progression or a weight dragging you into antipathy and irritation? We all agreed to disagree on this one. My personal opinion? I don't like setting "goals" as I can get quite frustrated at the whole process and over thinking what I would like to achieve. However, I do like to reflect on the steps I've taken in my personal recovery and through that reflection I have to acknowledge that I do set myself "tasks", physical and emotional, to challenge and build resistance protect me from set back and be the person I aspire to be. Hope the coming week is good to you all! Ruth :-) At last Monday's meeting I posed the question "what is resilience and are we?"
The dictionary gives the meaning as:- "the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness" However the image of toughness for me is a "stiff upper lip" attitude, which is not what we need to practice, it's all about showing our emotions and letting it all out! I understand the usefulness of adopting a healthy lifestyle and keeping physically fit to help against decease, however where do I stand with the emotional resilience? Well I'm optimistic, my glass is always half full and I never give up hope. I have a strong feeling of right and wrong and pride myself on being honest and truthful, where appropriate. I am a good listener and hold many confidences. I have my family and good friends that I can confide in. Luckily I'm able to keep myself fit and enjoy time spent in the fresh air. Walking and gardening gives me a strong sense of purpose and accomplishment. I find these activities give me a spiritual presence in the world too. If I have problems that roam around my head I will search for a resolution, trying not to ruminate or put pressure on myself to be successful. I like to educate myself on what life means, without getting too detached from reality. Not sure if I'm that good at facing my fears. Although I tend to run away from them, I do face my demons from time to time and regularly challenge myself to do some thing out of my comfort zone. However, this is something I can continue to work on, see where it goes. So looking at all these aspects, it seems that I probably do have a fare amount of resistance, perhaps I just don't give myself any credit about how "tough" I am! Hope the coming week is good to you all! Ruth :-) My local "News Magazine" arrived this week. I was interested to read an article about "Adult Circle Time". It's something children do all the time, but not us adults and research is showing that talking in a circle with someone to facilitate conversation is good for our wellbeing. The object of the exercise is talking and listening, whether that's with friends, family or a group of people. The "circle" can be standing or sitting, doing an activity like knitting or in a garden shed, a pub playing darts or in an open space, where ever it feels right! So I'm particularly pleased to read that culturally the general public is getting to understand how beneficial talking is, especially when it seems we live in an age where talking openly about how we feel can leave us feeling vulnerable and unfairly judged. At our YourSpace group meetings we encourage attendees to talk freely and with dignity in the knowledge that all will be OK At our last Monday YourSpace meeting we spent some time discussing why we attended the meetings and what we would like to achieve. Talking about what we want for ourselves and summoning up the courage to take these first steps to realise our ambition can be really difficult and daunting, so to take away the groups encouragement can be a valuable aid in helping us to achieve those goals. Sometimes our heads are so full of confusion we are left feeling bewildered, not knowing what to do or where to start. Again being able to talk within a group of folk who understand where we are coming from may just put things into perspective and enable us to see which path we need to take.. Our next Monday meeting will clash with our Art Group on 9th April from 7pm. Hope the coming week is good to you all! Ruth :-) So nice to catch up at our YourSpace meeting on Monday evening! This week I'm left thinking how amazing the human brain is! The more I learn about the way it works and deals with our emotional turmoil's, the more my fascination grows. Although I think it's an organ that stays true its pre historic identity, not realising and completely oblivious to the fact that we no longer live in pre historic times! I'm encouraged that its main aim in our life, is to keep us safe! So why hasn't the brain moved with the times? Our personalities have evolved, our attitude and how we approach or resolve problems have developed, so why have our inner brain functions, such as deep thoughts, feelings and the "human" way of thinking not really moved on? ! I don't believe it's a bad thing that the brain is there to protect us by hook or by crook, whether we like it or not. But I think what the brain fails to anticipate is the fragility of the human mind when accepting it's guidance. Very often I miss understand the instruction my brain is giving me and go in the opposite direction, which leaves me confused and bewildered. I suppose the brain rules and the mind follows. Next time I will listen more attentively to what my brain is actually saying and follow it's leadership thoughtfully without assumption. Well I'll try! Our next meeting will be our Thursday afternoon Cuppa, Cake and Chat Friendship Group at Hesters Way Baptist Church on 22nd Feb from 2pm till 3.30ish and Monday Group Meeting 26th Feb at Sainsbury's Cafe Gallagher Retail Park from 7pm where we will catch up wuth "Your Theme for 2018! Hope the coming weeks are good to you all! Ruth :-) Interesting meeting this week discussing a range of topics from phobia's to quite tricky problems. It intrigues me how we cope and manage when faced with these rather fascinating aspects of ourselves that we think we have no control over. How we avoid situations that cause discomfort! Reluctance to face the "fear" but the determination to protect this "thing" we call the self. Or are we? I think that sometimes the support and encouragement of others, who we trust, can help us find a path through our difficulties. To empower us to triumph in defeat and find a greater comfort within to go forward with courage. Seek out those around you who will give you the confidence and ability to use the power you already possess! Our next meeting will be our ArtSpacers Monday evening 5th Feb and Monday Group Meeting 12th Feb at Sainsbury's Cafe Gallagher Retail Park from 7pm Hope the coming weeks are good to you all! Ruth :-) Great meeting on Monday. Good to be back, although a cold evening, it was wonderful to be able to catch up with our YourSpace folks! The meeting was spent talking about how we coped over the festive season and our contemplations about our future. It was interesting to hear what our plans are for 2018 and what goals/resolutions we have set and how we intend to acheive them. New year can be a time for new beginnings and our YourSpace meetings can help facilitate talk about our aspirations, hopes and dreams of how we would like our life to be, in a safe and comfortable way. Even making small steps towards our goals can be quite a challenge, from time to time we may feel in need of a rest to recoup, a post to lean on so to speak, so it's always good that YourSpace is there, with an encouraging comment or helping hand to guide us on our way! Our next meeting will be our Cuppa, Cake and Chat Friendship Group Thursday afternoon 25th Jan from 2pm at Hesters Way Baptist Church Meeting Room, Monday Group Meeting 29th Jan at Sainsbury's Cafe Gallaghar Retail Park from 7pm and Steve's ArtSpacers will meet on Monday 5th Feb. There are no Crafty Saturday's at the moment. Due to a lack of interest these have been put on hold. !Hope the coming weeks are good to you all! Ruth :-) It's been such a while since I last blogged. This is because my time has been used up by family commitments, which are ongoing. It's an important time and I want to make the most of it with the special people I have around me. Our YourSpace meetings at Sainsbury's have been going well. We have enjoyed a visit from three very lovely people, who offered their very valuable time to come and talk to us. We have learned about how important and influential colour is on our mood. We were told about a technique called The Three Principles and this last Monday we participated in EFT. All very interesting and useful! We also had a fantastic Christmas meat at The Harvester. The food was delicious and the staff looked after us extremely well. We have also launched a new monthly meeting. These meetings will be held at Lynworth Court on a Saturday morning from 10 till 12noon, the next being on 18th February. The aim of these sessions is to attain a sense of achievement to enhance wellbeing by participating in a craft activity. Just bring along something such as an unfinished project, some knitting or sewing or something you have been wanting to mend, but not got round to it! As long as it is transportable and you can do it by hand, as we have no materials, that would be great. YourSpace is being supported by Cheltenham Borough Homes with this new venture, who have designed the poster and allowing us the use of the Lynworth Hub. So if your at a loose end come along and join us. Perhaps you can learn something new! Hope the coming weeks are good to you all! Ruth :-) Lots of meetings this month! Thank you to all who were able to attend! Few announcements. We have completed our trial at Sainsbury's Cafe and it has been a success! Everyone who has attended this new venue has been very positive, so we have decided to make this our permanent Monday night spot! So just a reminder. The Cafe closes from 7pm, so it's ours from that time on. We are not able to make hot drinks, but you can purchase one up to 7pm, basic tea and coffee is £1. You can also purchase meals up to 6:45, which some of our attendees have done. I want to thank everyone who has come along to Sainsbury's Cafe. It was a bit strange at first from the perspective of facilitating and we didn't have our usual meeting structure. Now we are becoming much more settled we will be back to normal! Unfortunately we had to cancel our Art Session in October due to unforeseen circumstances, however all is well for November so please pop along if you are able, it's great fun and there is no need to be a great artist, any ability will do! Our Curry and Quiz Night went well. It was a really enjoyable evening and well attended. Our Christmas Social is booked for The Harvester Inn, at The Reddings for Monday 12th December from 7pm. Menu is on the Web site. If you would like to join us you will need to book yourself on and pay your £5 deposit by Monday 5th December, for those who have already paid, I will be collecting Menu choices soon as they have to be in by the 5th too. Up and coming in the next few weeks we have the Accessorising and Psychology of Colour on 21st Nov. We now have the maximum attendees for this session, but if you wish to come along please email us and we can put you on the waiting list. Plus we have Imogen coming along on 28th Nov to give us a talk about The 3 Principles so please come along and have a listen and discussion about this very interesting technique. One of the questions we discussed at Group meetings this month was, if we could do something and know we couldn't fail, what would it be. As discussion ensued it suddenly struck me that failure is just a word. It's a perception we create and attach to something we have not achieved in the way we think we should have. I didn't win the race. I didn't get the job. My cake collapsed in the middle, which happens to me quite often! We look at these events and condemn ourselves as being a failure. So if to fail is just an observation of the self then I can turn the situation around! I didn't win, but I was successful in having a go. So I didn't get the job, I have more experience now when I go for the next one. So my cake collapsed. it doesn't mean I can't make cakes. What would I do if I couldn't fail? Everything! Hope the coming weeks are good to you all! Ruth :-) Such good meetings this week at our Barlow Road and Hesters Way venue's! Thank you to all who were able to attend! Few announcements. The big announcement is that we are going to be trialling a different evening meeting venue for the month of October beginning from 10th October! Sainsbury's on Tewkesbury Road have offered us their Cafe space. The Cafe closes from 7pm so it's ours from that time on! This space may be slightly less "private" than Barlow Road, but it is much larger and has toilet facilities! We are unable to make hot drinks, but if you would like, you can purchase one at 6:45 for a £1. Plus the store is open until 10pm, so just time for a spot of shopping afterwards! So come along and see what you think as it's important to get everyone's views! I will not put notice on Barlow Road until we decide this new meeting venue is what we need. Unfortunately we have had to put our afternoon tea on hold for a couple of months. We hope to hold this in February 2017, so watch this space and don't miss out should be fun! Our Curry and Quiz Night, on the evening of Thursday 20th October, at The Elm Inn Churchdown is still on! Although some of us will be doing the Quiz it's still OK to come along just for the Curry and Company! So come along if you can, should be a great evening. Our Christmas Social at The Harvester Inn, at The Reddings, although not booked just yet, will be on Monday 12th December from 7pm. Menu is on the Web site. I will need £5 deposits soon as these will have to be paid for anyone interested in joining us. Must end with some meeting muses! We had some really interesting discussions this Month about resilience and the ability to bounce back. Personally I think I struggle with being resilient, I often back down to my inability to manage the stuff life gives or rather throws at me. It takes me some while to "bounce back" from disappointments and such like. However, pondering over some of the discussions I've found myself participating in on this subject has helped me to realise how I can possibly become more resilient. Although it will be challenging and will take some effort! So I need to start be looking at situations and asking myself, "can I change this situation"? This in it's self will be a slightly mammoth task as I get quite confused as to whether something can be changed or not, even if the answer is staring me in the face, bellowing louder than Big Ben! Then once I've considered and decided, " No I can't change this situation." Then I need to change how I think about it. Hard as it may seem, I may, overtime, start to build that resilience I lack! Then I "may" bounce back better! Someone, at our group meeting, said something that really made good sense and that is, to accept that we may not bounce back as quickly as we would like, so to allow ourselves some time so we can come to terms with our situation and then bounce back. Good Advice! Hope the coming weeks are good to you all! Ruth :-) |
AuthorMy name is Ruth and I am the YourSpace Group Facilitator, or rather, more silly than tator. This BLOG is dedicated to all who suffer from any type of Mental Health Condition. Mostly I write about my own experienes. My inspiration comes from the special people I meet at our group meetings. I am not a Mental Health Specialist or had any Mental Health training. Neither do I have any English Language qualifications so bare with....... Archives
October 2019
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