Snuggle muffs for mental health

I was desperate for therapy in 2018. This need led me back to knitting and cuddly toys and eventually twiddle muffs. Twiddle muffs were invented for dementia suffereres. I call mine snuggle muffs, because they only have twiddles on the inside, the outsides are smooth and soft, I find this to be more comforting.

The Ghost Station

I have always found the London Underground fascinating, the deep tunnels, the map that isn't really a map but a diagram, the Labyrinth Art designs which all London Underground stations possess. Above is an underground poem I rediscovered in my great clear out at the end of 2018. Below are a couple of my own London Underground inspired designs.

Blue knitting challenge

In May 2018 my friend challenged me to make a number of knitted creations out of the blue wool, ribbon and buttons I bought in Uxbridge, these are the small selection of items I managed to produce.

Terminal Therapy

Over the past three years I have been sharing various therapeutic ideas with this blog. I have found the therapies quite helpful at some times and very helpful at others. Mostly it's mindfulness and meditation that gets me through my days, sometimes St John's Wort. Art and crafts, music and drama, reading and writing are probably the therapies I like best. I made up my mind a few years ago that writing, art and music were most important to me. That view hasn't changed.

Star heart and cross line dolls

I was in a bit of a crafting and doll-making frenzy from 2010 until 2016. I really enjoyed making my dolls but ended up with too many with limited opportunities to sell them. I was very much inspired by the beautiful dolls made by Jess Brown. I started with my contrary virtue dolls in 2010 and ended with my diverse Shepherd Bush dolls in 2016. The boy cross-line dolls came along in about 2014. I haven't given up on crafting, but have lost a lot of the energy I had for it. I don't know what the future holds for my craft-work or my craft stall.

Garden Therapy

    

In some ways garden therapy can be more accessible than forest therapy. Forests are wild, as nature intended, gardens are more under control, nature with human intervention, a bit more organised. One great thing about living in London has been my association with Kew Gardens. My dad used to work here, his ashes are scattered here, I used to work next door. We mostly visit it in the Spring and Summer. These are some of my favourite photos from our frequent visits.

   

Everyday is a mindful ACT

2018 was such an unsettling year, my need to find sustainability and stability through mental health, healing and therapy went into overdrive. I read dozens of Buddhist psychology and third wave therapy books and tried many guided meditations. They did work and I felt much better in 2019, despite continuing problems at home and work and with my menopause. 'Everyday is a Mindful ACT' features a selection of thoughts and meditations for every month of the year, a book a fortnight and twelve mindful colouring sheets (below are eight of them).

Travel Therapy

Sometimes it's just good to get away. My favourite week in my life was my week alone in New York. I like travelling alone to cities. I travelled alone around Europe. My first taste of Paris was on my own, it can be lonely, but if you enjoy your own company it's great. I love my own company and love solitude, but often I am accompanied by my mother and daughter, who generally need a holiday, so they come with me. Often we are just travelling around Great Britain, but that's fine, there's plenty to see here. It's especially nice at the seaside, but also our cities and countryside are good too. Holidays are great for gaining a new perspective on life, for practising mindful meditation, for doing something different, for just having a break from the norm.

A tale of three cities

From a young age I was brought up on the idea that London, Paris and New York were the most glamourous, happening cities in the world. That's probably not true anymore, if it ever was, but I think they are still, all three, worth at least a brief visit. These are some further thoughts on these three great cities.

London

I've been living in London for over 50 years. There is something liberating about a city. You can quite easily feel lost and anonymous, but people, food and shelter never feel far away. These days I seek solitude and freedom in the middle of a city, amongst strangers. Some of my favourite places and things to do in London can be found by following my London links.

Paris

I have visited Paris about five times in my life, first in 1990 and lastly in 2015. Over those twenty-five years, much has stayed the same. Paris is romantic and edgy and everything in between. I have fond memories of it. To find out more about me and Paris, please follow my Paris links.



New York

Possibly the best week of my life was the week I spent in New York in 2017, just before I turned 50. It was quite a tiring time, I was out sight-seeing from 8.30 in the morning until 8.30 in the evening. I saw everything I wanted to see and feel I don't need to go back. You can find out more about my 5B450 and NYC adventures by using the search bar and the link.

Eat Pray Love holidays revisited

 

I was attempting to go away at least three times in 2020, to Belfast, to Brighton and to Cromer. Needless to say planning any holidays in 2020 quickly became very difficult and what should have happened in one year, actually took three.

Eat - Cromer - August 2020

We were lucky to have got away anywhere at all in 2020, so the week we got to stay in Cromer was all that bit more special and I cherish that week away very much, even though we only had takeaway pizza to eat every evening.

Pray - Belfast - June 2021

This holiday was cancelled twice in 2020 so it was a great relief to get here in 2021. It was exciting to fly in an aeroplane once more and to finally visit this remarkable fourth UK capital city.

Love - Brighton - April 2022

We visited Brighton last in 2017 so it was exciting to find out how it had changed in the past five years. I have visited Brighton regularly since I was alittle girl, so it feels like visitng an old, dear friend everytime I go.

One thing the Eat Pray Love holiday saga has taught me is that it is much better to be just organising two holidays a year rather than three. I am aiming on going on two holidays a year, one far and one near, in the upcoming future.

 

Flower sketches

I drew these flowers to illustrate 'Get Well Soon' and 'With Sympathy' cards for my craft stall. I love drawing, especially faces and flowers, and hopefully will continue to do so. Drawing nature is a good way to de-stress and relax.

Dance Therapy

My daughter and I have tried various dance styles over the years, starting with ballet, which we both pursued when we were young girls and which we were both not terribly good at. Since then, between us, we have tried modern, jazz, salsa, line, barn, street, tap and zumba dancing. We are not dancing atm, but I hope our dancing days are not over and we will find an opportunity for more dancing in the future.

5-4-5b450 (5455)

It occurred to me recently that in 2022, it would be 5 years since I completed my 5b450 project. To celebrate this anniversary I decided to reflect on 5 things I have achieved over the past few years which follow on from my 5b450 goals.

1. Visit Belfast 4 visit New York City

Visiting New York was the biggest and best part of 5b450. My travel plans have been much more modest since then. Even so it took one and a half years for me to get to Belfast because of the Covid19 lockdown. Belfast was the last of the UK capital cities I hadn't seen, I thought is was a very good city to visit and I'm glad I finally made it there in June 2021.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Paint garage 4 redecorate house

One thing that was easier to do in the lockdown of 2020 was paint the garage. I wasn't going anywhere much and I spent more time in the garden looking at the garage. It was looking quite shabby and I decided to paint it grey. It took me two weeks doing a bit everyday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Do a reading challenge 4 join a book club

My time at the book club was short lived, possibly due to 2018 being a very difficult year. I began to set myself reading challenges in 2019. I have set myself a special 6 book challenge for the first half of 2022, it features books related to my original 5b450 project.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. Work on the Calm Book 4 a School of Life event

I very much enjoyed the face-to-face 'How to be serene' event in 2017. In 2020 we purchased the School of Life's 'Small Pleasures' cards to help us through lockdown. For Christmas 2021 I purchased 'The Calm Book' for Amy and I to work through in 2022.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 5. See another play 4 see a play at the Globe

After seeing 'Romeo and Juliet' in May 2017 we managed to see three more plays before the pandemic hit, the last one being The Twilight Zone at the Ambassadors Theatre in April 2019. I hope we will see another play in a theatre someday, but I don't know what or where or when.

Mindful doodling and colouring

When I was going through a very dark period in my life in 2018, I discovered new therapeutic ideas to hep me through my difficulties. I knew about mindful colouring, but didn't know how therapeutic it could be until 2018. Soon after mindful colouring I discovered mindful doodling. Sometimes I think I could spend my life mindfully doodling and colouring, but unfortunately I can't.

Summer Term Therapy

Life generally feels a bit calmer, kinder and more leisurely  in the summer. Therapies I have chosen to explore in the summer months concern nature and relaxation; self expression in dance, restorative holidays and the healing power of water, trees and cosmic contemplation in our lives.

Amy's Eyes

While working on her A'level Art projects Amy drew and painted a lot of eyes. They were supposed to represent various psychological states such as psychopathy, BPD, avoidant personaltiy, schizoid personality, depression, PTSD and anxiety. These are a few of the most striking images.