Donating to Mind - April

Hi Everyone!

This month, I donated to 'Mind' mental health charity, which supports and offers guidance to individuals to with mental illnesses, and provides them with information about treatment and help with their condition. By following this link: http://www.mind.org.uk/about-us/what-we-do/ you will be able to learn exactly what 'Mind' can do for individuals with mental illnesses, as well as the work they do and campaigns they run in order to challenge and change the stigma of mental health in society today.

One of their campaigns is the 'General Election 2015', which can be found here: http://www.mind.org.uk/news-campaigns/campaigns/general-election-2015/ which focuses on ensuring our new government considers and acts on the needs of individuals with mental illnesses. Another of their campaigns is the 'Access to talking therapies', which can be found here: http://www.mind.org.uk/news-campaigns/campaigns/access-to-talking-therapies/ which focuses on making sure that individuals who are referred to therapies are given aid within 28 days of this recognition.

The charity's 'A-Z Mental Health' feature on their website is useful in educating people about the different aspects of mental illness from symptoms to treatments, in order to provide sufferers and non-sufferers about mental health as a whole, and the current stigma of mental health by educating people on the facts and opinions of mental health, making it clear to determine the symptoms of mental illness sufferers.

I definitely encourage you to take a look at the 'Mind' website, which can be found here: http://www.mind.org.uk/ to explore the different sections in order to learn more about mental health, and help change the stigma of mental health in the future.

Thank you for your continued support of '12 Months of Giving', and I will see you in early April for a post all about my deed for the month.

Be Good!

Kizzy :)

April - Donating to 'Mind' Mental Health Charity

Hi Everyone!

I came across a quote recently that spoke absolute volumes, and became the inspiration for this month's deed. The quote read: "That's the stigma, because, unfortunately, we live in a world where if you break your arm, everyone runs over to sign your cast, but if you tell people you're depressed, everyone runs the other way. That's the stigma. We are so, so, so accepting of any body part breaking down, other than our brains. And that's ignorance. That's pure ignorance. And that ignorance has created a world that doesn't understand depression, that doesn't understand mental health." To who created this 'genius-ly' put together paragraph, I have no idea, but one thing is for sure...it is so, so true. These few lines are written in such a way, and analyses mental health in such a way that makes it somehow make sense, even though mental health itself, doesn't. As silly as it sounds, this paragraph actually made me realise that my brain is a body part just as much as my heart is. 'What you think, you become.' I think it is so easy for us to go through life with a voice and being located in our heads, when in fact our bodies are a shell to all our body parts, including our brains. I realise now that someone having a mental illness simply means that their brain needs help, just as when you break your arm you need a cast to make it better. It is clear to me now that mental health has the stigma it has, simply because it is not understood. Just as so many things in the world, mental health needs awareness, exposure, and education, until it is understood for what it truly, so simply, is.

With this in mind, this month I have donated to 'Mind' a mental health charity, working towards supporting and giving respect to anyone experiencing a mental health illness. 'Mind' offers support, advice, and information to individuals experiencing a mental health illness, as well as running campaign in order to support sufferers of mental health, and raise awareness to the many mental health conditions that there are.

'Mind' has an amazing website which you can find here: http://www.mind.org.uk/ which is able to offer advice to family members and friends trying to help someone with a mental illness, define symptoms of mental illnesses, and shares stories of other individuals with mental illnesses and their experiences. There are a number of 'local Minds' located all over the UK, where individuals experiencing mental health difficulty can find help and support. 'Mind' is able to provide information about drugs, treatments, and emotional support which individuals experiencing mental health difficulty are able to consider in order to allow them to cope with their illness.

It is important to realise that although there will be periods where an individual with a mental illness is coping with their illness, as well as times when their illness is fairly mild, mental illness is something that is very much part of an individual and their life. Therefore, by donating to 'Mind' via their website, or simply educating ourselves about mental health, we are supporting the 1 in 4 of us that mental illness affects, as a way to challenge, and hopefully change the current stigma of mental health.

Although your donations to 'Mind' would be greatly appreciate, even if you were to simply take a look at the website and learn about mental health and charity for yourself, and maybe share this knowledge with another would be one more step to changing the face and negative stigma of mental health.

Thank you for your continued support of '12 Months of Giving', and I will see you later this month with a post explaining just what amazing work 'Mind' is able to do with our support.

Be Good!

Kizzy :)

Celebrating 'International Women's Day'! - March

Hello Everyone!

Welcome back to '12 Months of Giving'!

Until around 11 hours ago, today's post was a ready-to-upload informative piece about another worthwhile charity. But after waking up this morning, checking social media, and stepping into my waterfall of thought, my cave of cleanliness, my palace of inner-peace (my shower!) I realised I had a lot more to say on the subject of today than the trending hashtag and a dancing girl emoji I posted on social media.

Today is 'International Women's Day', and today I offer my congratulations to both the men and women who have made and have taken, and are making and taking choices and actions working towards the equality of genders each and every day. The fact that 'International Women's Day', a day dedicated to honouring females, exists is incredible. The fact we have come so far in the process of gender equality is definitely something to celebrate. However, there is still such a long way to go. Some women, in many places, do not have the freedom to truly be them, the environment to express themselves, the ability to speak out. So this month, I just wanted to use this space to express my freedom, to express my voice, in hope to raise awareness to the importance of this day and to highlight how amazing it is that this day exists!

In my opinion, 'International Women's Day' should not only be a day to celebrate the progression of gender equality, but be used as a fundamental reminder. Just as 'Valentine's Day' acts as a reminder to appreciate loved ones, 'Mother's Day' reminds us to thank our Mothers, and 'Father's Day' is a reminder to fist pump our Fathers' 'International Women's Day' should be a reminder to women everywhere to celebrate each other. We have so many strengths; we can bear children, work the heels, endure the pain of waxing, and make a house a home, but whilst trying to do all of these things to the best of our ability, we forget to celebrate each other.

Some of us, thankfully, have the freedom to use our voices to say anything, so why not use the small extent of it to compliment one another. We use this day to celebrate our progression as a unit, so why not celebrate our progression as individuals. We are evolving, marking our place, creating our space in society, so surely that space can be however big we want it to be, a space that is big enough to celebrate females in all their forms; height, weight, needs, personalities, ambitions, dreams. 

Today has reminded me to use my energy to support and celebrate the strengths and weaknesses, perfections and flaws of all the women in my life. My great grandmothers, my grandmothers, my mother, my sisters, my aunts, my cousins, my godmothers, my friends, my past friends, my family's friends, my teachers, my neighbours, my hairdresser, my optician, women in the news, women who pass by me each day, women who I am yet to meet: I celebrate you, and I offer my first compliment of many on this personal challenge; you are amazing, and you do not need to find flaws in others to make yourself perfect.

Please accept this challenge that I have set not only for you, but myself also: appreciate your rare, free voice and use it to define your worth, by highlighting each other's.

Kizzy x 

Donating to The Ben Kinsella Trust - February

Hello Everyone!

So as you may know from my last post, this month I donated to The Ben Kinsella Trust which works which you raise awareness for knife crime, and holds events of exhibitions in order to educate young individuals about the effects of street violence.

By donating to The Ben Kinsella Trust, events such as exhibitions and community days are able to take place in order for the effects of knife crime, and the consequences of street violence to be conveyed to young people, hopefully deterring them to be involved in any of these situations. Within the exhibitions held by the trust, young people are able to hear Ben Kinsella's story, as well as hearing from his family, and the experiences of other people in their position. They are also able to equate themselves on the facts and figures of street violence, as well as hear the realities of the law. Through the exhibitions, young people are able to learn how to make the right decisions and choices which allows them to steer clear of knife crime and street violence, and therefore helping to prevent individual's lives being put in danger. By the end of the exhibition, individuals are educated in where they can turn to for help around this subject, and what to do if they every feel that the experiences shared within the exhibition are relevant to themselves.

The trust also holds Community Open Days delivering tours to groups of young people within half terms and school holidays, in order to educate them about these very real subjects. The trust also advertises for local young people to take part as actors within their exhibitions, promoting young people to use their time to act on their talents, putting their energy into positive, and valuable use.

From the research I have done, The Ben Kinsella Trust is a positive organisation that educates young people on the realities of street violence such as knife crime, ensuring that the lives of young people being put in danger is avoided due to the work they carry out, and the people they work with. If you wish to donate to the trust, you can find the information to do this in my previous post!

Thank you all for your continuous support, and I will see you all again in early March to let you know my 'good deed' of the month!

Be Good!

Kizzy :)

February - Donating to The Ben Kinsella Trust

Hello Everyone! 

I hope that 2015 has been treating you all well so far, and that the last of the winter isn't taking too much of a toll!

I think it is safe to say for many of us a new year comes with a new lease of hope and determination, to make this year better than any, the want to challenge yourself and reach new goals, and feeling safe and stable to do so. However, I think we take for granted just how lucky we are to feel so determined and comfortable by maybe our family or home situation, or the area in which we live, and forget that for some a stable family and home situation isn't granted, and the lack of security and safety you feel is just normality. I was touched by a real life story shared with me a couple of weeks ago about someone who had never had a comfortable and secure family lifestyle, and was simply left to make their own way in life, something that when I envisage for myself, absolutely terrifies me. Due to their circumstance, the route that this individual had taken was not always positive, and the decisions they had made failed to leave them behind, even if they had decided to leave them.

In respect of this 'story', and in memory of this individual, this month I will be donating to 'The Ben Kinsella Trust.'

This charity was created by an individual whose brother died due to knife crime carried out by a gang that was unknown to the victim prior to his attack. The charity aims to raise awareness of the effects of knife crime, and stop the amount of crime on our streets. By 10th January this year, there had been 19 counts of death due to violent attacks on our streets, which to anyone is shocking just days into a new year. The trust works to educate young people and teenagers of the consequences of knife crime and the effects it has on victim's families. Eventually, the family behind the trust hope to open youth centres in order to deter people from street and knife crime. The charity also puts on exhibitions across London, within which people can learn about their story, and the facts, figures, effects, consequences of knife crime.

By showing your support to 'The Ben Kinsella Trust', they will be able to continue their education of knife crime, and change the future of our streets. You can donate to the trust through their website: http://www.benkinsella.org.uk/get-involved or by texting 'benk27' with your desired donation amount to '70070' and of course by sharing this post and raising as much awareness as possible for the charity. Trusts such as these are so important in changing the place in which we live for the better, and in turn improving many individual's lives.

Once again, thank you all so much for your continued support of '12 Months of Giving', and I will see you again at the end of the month to let you know how donations from people such as yourselves benfefits the 'The Ben Kinsella Trust' and the work to raise awareness of there effects of knife crime.

Be Good! 

Kizzy :)

Donating to Multiple System Atrophy Trust!

Hello Everyone!

As you may know from my last post, I donated to Multiple System Atrophy Trust  as my January 'deed' to begin the new year. Donating to this charity, and using my blog to promote the disease and the work of the charity is extremely important to me, and is something I feel should be done more often, whichever the disease or supporting charity for many reasons.

With the money that we donate to Multiple System Atrophy Trust, they are able to employ a small team of staff and specialist nurses who provide a range of services to Multiple System Atrophy sufferers and carers across the UK.

The services that the trust are able to offer free-of-charge as a result of the public's support are as follows; 

• Telephone and email advice service offering support and information for people with MSA, carers, health and social care professionals
• Guides and fact sheets on a variety of aspects of living with MSA
• Regular magazine
• Regional and online support groups
• Comprehensive website
• Education sessions for healthcare professionals
• Latest MSA research updates
• Contact scheme for people with MSA and carers
• Campaigning and advocating on behalf of people affected by MSA
• Advice on organising or becoming involved in a fundraising event

Information on the trust can be found on their website, which you can access here: http://www.msatrust.org.uk/the-trust/

"Multiple System Atrophy Trust is the UK’s main support and information service for people who have multiple system atrophy (MSA) – a rare neurological disease with no known cause or cure.  As well as helping people who have MSA, we are also there to support families whose lives are affected by MSA as well as carers and health and care professionals who look after and treat people with the disease.

Our vision is a World Free of MSA. We are committed to making this happen by funding research to find the cause of, and one day a cure for, MSA."

By donating and promoting this charity as much as possible, we are able to help the trust achieve their ethos and aims, and show support to sufferers of MSA and their carers throughout their experience of the disease.

Once again, thank you for your continued support of '12 Months of Giving', and I will see you in early February to tell you all about my 'good deed' for the month! 

Be Good!

Kizzy :)

January - Donating to Multiple System Atrophy Trust

Hello Everyone!

Welcome back to '12 Months of Giving.' I hope you all had a lovely christmas, and an amazing new year! 2015 will be filled with more 'good deeds', and more ways to do good!

When reflecting over the last year, I realised that for me, 2014 should be summed up with a positive perspective. I would like to think that 2014 for me, could be summed up with the optimistic phrase; "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade!" The idea that after experiencing trials and tribulations, you can use the experiences to improve someone else's life and situation has always suggested some sort of strength to me. The opportunity to become stronger after an experience that should (could) make you feel weaker has always brought me comfort and some understanding in tough experiences. By taking this experience, and using it to better yourself you are refusing to be defeated by a situation, and although you sometimes need to have a 'meltdown moment' (...we all do), you can pack your suitcase back up, checkout out of 'head-mess hotel', and use your experiences to learn and take on new challenges.

With this in mind, this month I wanted to continue to donate to another charity that could provide support to individuals who find themselves experiencing challenges that have once been relevant to me, or to people within my life. In memory of a late family friend, for my January 'good deed' I have donated to the 'Multiple System Atrophy Trust.'

This charity works with Multiple System Atrophy sufferers in order to provide them with information about their diagnosis, teach them how to living with MSA, and how to spot signs for the early development of the disease. Multiple System Atrophy is a progressive disease, and therefore the symptoms that sufferers experience are likely to worsen over time. Therefore, the Multiple System Atrophy Trust is vital in informing sufferers and carers of how to live with the disease, and to cope with the progression of the disease's symptoms.

The Multiple System Atrophy Trust website, which you can find here: http://www.msatrust.org.uk/, is able to inform individuals of what MSA exactly is: "Multiple system atrophy (MSA) is a progressive neurological disorder that affects adult men and women. It is caused by degeneration or atrophy of nerve cells in several (or multiple) areas of the brain which can result in problems with movement, balance and automatic functions of the body such as bladder and blood pressure control."

By using the trust's website to research the symptoms of the disease further, I have learnt that there are three groups of symptoms that reflect the three regions of the brain that may be involved in the disease: The Basal Ganglia causing problems with movement (Parkinsonism); The Cerebellum causing poor balance and co-ordination; and The Brain Stem causing autonomic problems such as poor bladder and blood pressure control.

Examples of symptoms with these three different groups are as follows;

Parkinsonism

• Feeling slow and stiff when moving
• Difficulty in starting to move
• Writing becoming small and spidery
• Difficulty turning in bed

Cerebellar

• Feeling clumsy, dropping things
• Finding it difficult to fasten buttons
• Feeling unsteady in crowds
• Unable to balance without support
• Difficulty writing
• Slurred speech

Autonomic

• For men, difficulty with erection
• Bladder problems
• Feeling dizzy or fainting (blood pressure problems)
• Pain around neck and shoulders (known as ‘coat hanger pain’)
• Constipation
• Cold hands and feet
• Problems with sweating control

Other problems

• Weakness of arms and legs
• Poorly controlled emotional response, laughing or crying
• Restless sleep
• Nightmares
• Noisy breathing during the day, snoring at night
• Unintentional sighing
• Weak, quiet voice
• Swallowing problems, difficulty chewing, choking episodes
• Eye muscle weakness which may cause blurred vision

By donating to this charity, you are helping to fund the work being carried out to give support to sufferers and carers experiencing this disease, allowing individuals diagnosed with the disease to be educated about how their disease may progress, and how to cope with the progression of Multiple System Atrophy.

Once again, thank you for your continued support of '12 Months of Giving.' I will see you again later this month to share with you the details of how the Multi System Atrophy Trust supports individuals experiencing the realities of this disease, and the resources they can access through this charity.

Be Good!

Kizzy :)