Do you know what sweets the above tagline represents?
Well I was indulging in some of these lovely little fellows during the week, yes I know during lent, did I not tell you i've given up jaffa cakes and cream eggs, i've actually carried this wave of abstenence on since I first tasted both of them, but that's beside the point! I left my favourite flavour sweet til last as I normally do , had you asked me to be sharing and caring at that point you would have uncovered my selfish streak, probably a bit OCDish ,but it's not dominating my life so feck it .
Trying to be mindfull as I ate my sweet I commented ooh these are yummy, they almost taste like "real strawberries", guess which ones I'd left til last, although the makers of said sweets have invented a new kind in a turquoise packet where the colours don't match the flavours, so if you leave the red ones til last you may end up with the dreadful lime flavour!
So there is actually a point to all my rambling, why do we delight when we find a sweet with a flavour which closely ressembles the actual fruit? Why don't we choose the fruit , which contains less sugar , less colours, less sweeteners , more vitamins, more minerals, more anti oxidents instead. Why do we offer kids fruit flavoured sweets as treats instead of actual fruit! What is it that made me treat myself to a packet of sweets instead of a fruit salad??
Could it be mind over matter, is it a case of "the forbidden fruit" or do the sweets actually taste nicer?
Any thoughts on this one?
Sunday, 24 February 2013
Thursday, 14 February 2013
We're all Superheroes, Heavy
Two weeks ago I watched a thought provoking documentary on
gambling on RTE, last week I tuned in to the first episode of Des Bishops
documentary Under the Influence, this week is Eating Disorders Awareness Week. I’ve
previously blogged about the response to death by suicide, and strategies I
think may help to prevent stem the tide.
Perhaps there is a group
of people who may provide a valuable insight into what needs to be done to help
those in distress, those who find this life difficult to bare. It has long been recognised that addictions,
including eating disorders, are maladaptive coping strategies or forms of
avoiding and escaping distress. In addition they tend to be extremely
destructive behaviours, many which severely damage the health and well-being of
individuals. In fact I have often heard certain addictions described as slow
forms of suicide.
Perhaps these questions should be explored:
Why do those trapped in the destructive cycle of addiction
need to escape?
Why do they have such low self-esteem, how was their sense
of self-worth reduced to such a low level, what can be done to build up their
self-belief and sense of self-worth?
What is causing this unbearable degree of distress?
How can they be supported to endure this distress without
self-destructing?
It appears to me that there are those, most notably in the
arts, who have managed to harness powerful emotions and distress and construct
as opposed to destruct. The result being some amazing works of art or ground-breaking
inventions. What was it that enabled them to channel and harness their
distress?
How do we build and teach resilience and coping skills?
How can we prevent those we love, those we care about being
exposed to unnecessary suffering?
Life is crap at times, we will encounter bullies, we will
have to deal with heart break , loss and grief, we may be abandoned,
traumatised it’s part of life an unwelcome , unwanted part of life but the life
we live is volatile, unpredictable, uncertain. Nonetheless no one should be
left to deal with these dark times completely alone, or feeling alone and misunderstood.
It’s then that we as a country need to step up to the plate, provide the
support, love, hope, and the courage and encouragement to live, but how?
I don’t expect you to have the answers to all or any of
these questions, I certainly don’t , but
if you’re lonely , if you’re struggling, if you’re concerned about family or
friends. I hope you remember You Matter, as do you’re views in fact You May
have the much needed insights that this country needs to tackle the mounting
problems of suicide and addiction.
What do you need? What could help? Call someone and let them
know, ask for help. Have the courage to fight on.
In times of distress
everyone can be a superhero, you can
save lives, speaking out, offering insight , offering support, we all have a
role to play.
Tuesday, 5 February 2013
Collectors Items Light
Do you collect anything?
I have friends who collect keyring, pandora charms, concert tickets, postcards, baseball caps, stamps.... nearly everyone I know collects something. I too collect stuff, my favourite books, euro coins from different countries, china tea mugs and probably a few other bits and pieces that I can't recall. Why do we collect things, mementos Is it that we think they will gain value over time, is it that we like looking at them, Are we holding on to things that remind up of happy experiences, do we want to have something special that others don't, do we want to share our collections with others?
I collect books because I love them, I love the pages, the font, the intrigue which lies inside. I keep books I've really enjoyed, perhaps thinking I'll read them again, or will pass them on to someone else who will enjoy them, others I'm intending to read and others I dip in and out of now and again.
The euro coins from different countries was a collection I started when the Euro was introduced and it's interesting to look at the different symbols on the coins. I also think I'm afraid of forgetting what was on the coins and want to keep them as a reference, I guess I also get a sense of accomplishment from adding to the collection and also from the discovery of a coin which I haven't yet come across.
China tea mugs is a new collection which I started when I was looking for new mugs for the house. I became a muggosieur of sorts. I spent ages looking at mugs in shops, the design, the weight, the shape of the handle, the shape of the mug. You see I believe that tea and coffee are nicer depending on the mug you drink it from! In the course of this search I came across a beautiful ornate set of Wedgewood mugs in beautiful colours and I decided I'd start a collection of them and display them in my room. I love looking at them, I'm not planning on drinking from them, not unless the president himself pops around for a cuppa, there's some I don't particularly like , but I intend getting them, why? I want to complete the collection I guess.
This post was inspired by a book collection I've started, I must admit I laughed at myself on Monday morning when I put the latest addition to the classic book collection that's coming free with the saturday newspaper on the shelf. Why was I laughing , I realised that I, a single female who has rarely even considered having children was collecting these books to read to my children!
I have friends who collect keyring, pandora charms, concert tickets, postcards, baseball caps, stamps.... nearly everyone I know collects something. I too collect stuff, my favourite books, euro coins from different countries, china tea mugs and probably a few other bits and pieces that I can't recall. Why do we collect things, mementos Is it that we think they will gain value over time, is it that we like looking at them, Are we holding on to things that remind up of happy experiences, do we want to have something special that others don't, do we want to share our collections with others?
I collect books because I love them, I love the pages, the font, the intrigue which lies inside. I keep books I've really enjoyed, perhaps thinking I'll read them again, or will pass them on to someone else who will enjoy them, others I'm intending to read and others I dip in and out of now and again.
The euro coins from different countries was a collection I started when the Euro was introduced and it's interesting to look at the different symbols on the coins. I also think I'm afraid of forgetting what was on the coins and want to keep them as a reference, I guess I also get a sense of accomplishment from adding to the collection and also from the discovery of a coin which I haven't yet come across.
China tea mugs is a new collection which I started when I was looking for new mugs for the house. I became a muggosieur of sorts. I spent ages looking at mugs in shops, the design, the weight, the shape of the handle, the shape of the mug. You see I believe that tea and coffee are nicer depending on the mug you drink it from! In the course of this search I came across a beautiful ornate set of Wedgewood mugs in beautiful colours and I decided I'd start a collection of them and display them in my room. I love looking at them, I'm not planning on drinking from them, not unless the president himself pops around for a cuppa, there's some I don't particularly like , but I intend getting them, why? I want to complete the collection I guess.
This post was inspired by a book collection I've started, I must admit I laughed at myself on Monday morning when I put the latest addition to the classic book collection that's coming free with the saturday newspaper on the shelf. Why was I laughing , I realised that I, a single female who has rarely even considered having children was collecting these books to read to my children!
Friday, 1 February 2013
Hi Guys
The old grey matter has been pretty busy this week and i've tried to piece some pieces of the jigsaw together. It all started on tuesday reading an article on the back page of the Irish Times Health supplement http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/health/2013/0129/1224329390088.html, basically outlining that we're wasting vast amounts of money on promoting health without reaping real rewards, ie informing and frighteneing people about unhealthy behaviours is not managing to reach those in lower socioeconomic groups who are most at risk of ill health and as a result those behaviours don't change and health inequalities persist. This was demonstrated clearly by the stats relating to the incidence of cancer in lower socio economic groups and particularly cancers known to be linked with unhealthy lifestyles.
So today there's a fanfare about new images on cigarette packages, somehow the policy makers believe that these images will be more effective than the audiovisual tv advertisements we are subjected to demonstrating the effects of smoking, drinking to excess, being overweight.....
Another relatively new program was introduced by the government this week I think, called Momentum, where those on social welfare are encouraged to avail of specialised training to help them reenter the workforce. Looking into the courses on offer in my local area they are all in the area of ecommerce and digital technology. Many of the courses on offer to job seekers appear to be in the area of healthcare/chilcare and computers. I'm sure they appeal to some people, but not to everyone and I know beggars can't be choosers, but is there any point in funding courses for the sake of it, ie for someone to study something they really have no intention of pursuing as a career, which they have no passion or interest in just so they're doing something!
My suggestion is prompted by two very interesting lectures I attended in the RCSI, free mini med series which dealt with the importance of exercise and the multiple benefits that incorporating exercise into our lifestyles has on our health. If you want to see this very clearly try this youtube clip even the first couple of minutes, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUaInS6HIGo
So it's quite clear that exercise in addition a range of other lifestyle changes such as healthy eating, moderate drinking, social engagement is extremely beneficial for all aspects of health, mental and physical. If these messages could be effectively delivered to those in the lower socio economic classes and if those in this group could be actively facilitated to put them into practice, huge health benefits could be realised and as a consequence reduced costs and stresses on our health system .
My suggestion is that as soon as someone becomes unemployed they are offered participation in a health education program, this could incorporate talks, healthy cooking classes, exercise classes, first aid, smoking cessation, stress management and reduction, mindfulness and mediation as a start. This option could also be extended to those who are unable to work due to illness or disability , which by the way is increasing at an alarming rate.The number of people who receive disability benefits in Ireland is above the OECD average, Ireland now has the third highest number of people receiving disability benefits, 2.8 % compared with an OECD average of 1.5 %.
Delivery of these classes could provide employment to nursing and allied health professionals among others who are struggling to find employment in this country.
Worth a try , what do you think?
The old grey matter has been pretty busy this week and i've tried to piece some pieces of the jigsaw together. It all started on tuesday reading an article on the back page of the Irish Times Health supplement http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/health/2013/0129/1224329390088.html, basically outlining that we're wasting vast amounts of money on promoting health without reaping real rewards, ie informing and frighteneing people about unhealthy behaviours is not managing to reach those in lower socioeconomic groups who are most at risk of ill health and as a result those behaviours don't change and health inequalities persist. This was demonstrated clearly by the stats relating to the incidence of cancer in lower socio economic groups and particularly cancers known to be linked with unhealthy lifestyles.
So today there's a fanfare about new images on cigarette packages, somehow the policy makers believe that these images will be more effective than the audiovisual tv advertisements we are subjected to demonstrating the effects of smoking, drinking to excess, being overweight.....
Another relatively new program was introduced by the government this week I think, called Momentum, where those on social welfare are encouraged to avail of specialised training to help them reenter the workforce. Looking into the courses on offer in my local area they are all in the area of ecommerce and digital technology. Many of the courses on offer to job seekers appear to be in the area of healthcare/chilcare and computers. I'm sure they appeal to some people, but not to everyone and I know beggars can't be choosers, but is there any point in funding courses for the sake of it, ie for someone to study something they really have no intention of pursuing as a career, which they have no passion or interest in just so they're doing something!
My suggestion is prompted by two very interesting lectures I attended in the RCSI, free mini med series which dealt with the importance of exercise and the multiple benefits that incorporating exercise into our lifestyles has on our health. If you want to see this very clearly try this youtube clip even the first couple of minutes, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUaInS6HIGo
So it's quite clear that exercise in addition a range of other lifestyle changes such as healthy eating, moderate drinking, social engagement is extremely beneficial for all aspects of health, mental and physical. If these messages could be effectively delivered to those in the lower socio economic classes and if those in this group could be actively facilitated to put them into practice, huge health benefits could be realised and as a consequence reduced costs and stresses on our health system .
My suggestion is that as soon as someone becomes unemployed they are offered participation in a health education program, this could incorporate talks, healthy cooking classes, exercise classes, first aid, smoking cessation, stress management and reduction, mindfulness and mediation as a start. This option could also be extended to those who are unable to work due to illness or disability , which by the way is increasing at an alarming rate.The number of people who receive disability benefits in Ireland is above the OECD average, Ireland now has the third highest number of people receiving disability benefits, 2.8 % compared with an OECD average of 1.5 %.
Delivery of these classes could provide employment to nursing and allied health professionals among others who are struggling to find employment in this country.
Worth a try , what do you think?
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