2019 in review- You are not alone

Hello everyone,

It's come to the time when I write my end of year blog. It really doesn't feel like two minutes since I wrote my end of year blog last year.

This year has been a pretty hard year for me for a number of reasons and circumstances. I've also struggled a lot with my mental health, but I'm grateful for the support of the people who I've had in my life. I've never found making friends easy or had many of them for that matter either so those of you who have taken the time to listen to me, it means a lot to me - thank you. 

There can be a lot of comfort in not feeling like you're alone, the opposite are feelings I have known well - talking about I feel and about the things I find difficult has never been the easiest for me due to social/general anxiety.  I've always worried if people will be understanding and supportive or if they will laugh, judge, simply not get it or if I will bother others. Also expressing my thoughts and emotions is difficult for me. 

Due to my anxiety/social anxiety and dyspraxia, day to day life and situations can be a challenge and I also can experience panic attacks and low mood. I’m also a big overthinker and have challenges with confidence and low self-esteem. It can take a while to get to know me and for me to feel comfortable, especially due to my anxiety and quietness. It can be so easy to think it's just you who finds these situations difficult or why you may feel down.

I also struggle to find confidence in sharing my ideas and opinions due to my social anxiety, I can worry that I will offend people or that my ideas, stories or experiences aren't interesting and others will roll their eyes and think, "what is she on about?"

There's been a lot of talk about mental health in the dyspraxia world this year which in my opinion is a long time coming, but I hope in future this is something which is developed more alongside the social difficulties people may face. I think it's really important that people aren't put into the same bubble and that people are known as individuals with their own unique circumstances so that there aren't stereotypes. 

Some people may have different challenging situations to me, or complete them in a different time frame, or may have had more of a support network - outside of close family and had more general support -than me. Understanding is also something which takes time and time to get to know people.

This year my boyfriend Matt became vice chair of the Dyspraxia Foundation. A quieter member of the board who has used his IT skills, passion and understanding from his own experiences and his anxieties and difficulties in social situations. He is building up his confidence to promote inclusion within the charity which is something important to him/us. I am also grateful for the members of the youth group I have had the opportunity to meet and spend time with and those who from
various communities I’ve spoken to online. You have really opened my eyes.

This year I've realised that things take time and that it's ok to be on your own journey and time frame. Also that I'm a lot stronger than I give myself credit for.  Next year I hope to believe in myself more, build up my confidence and manage my anxiety/low mood.

Thanks to Matt for all of his support and strength this year and a special thanks to my border collie Toby who is always happy to see me, appreciative of snuggles and for always wanting a toy to be thrown. I am very grateful for the kind words Mollie King has given me this year, they give me strength in difficult times. I hope this next year is a bit kinder.

I hope the year ahead is kind to you,
Take care  of yourselves

Lots of Love

Rosie

xxx

Inclusion & participation

Hello everyone, long time no speak, I hope you’re all well?

After a slight break from blogging, I wanted to write about something really close to my heart:
the value of inclusion. Before I begin, I think it’s important to remember that this is my personal experiences, and interests- other people may experience things differently.

Just because a person finds something difficult or more challenging doesn’t mean they don’t want to feel included or that they belong. Being inclusive is giving someone a bit of your time, patience and empathy. Being inclusive isn’t about fitting people into boxes, it’s about letting them find their feet in their own way - at their own speed. Not putting pressure on someone can give have positive results.

When people think of issues such as anxiety, mental health, confidence and/or neurodiversity there is often a focus on their impact on school/university or work. For this blog, I wanted to touch on the impact of more everyday issues such as; travelling, social situations and leisure activities.

From a young age, I’ve always struggled to find the confidence to go and to participate in activities and everyday things many people take for granted - these situations can be anxiety or even panic-inducing. Personally, these can include; stepping out of my comfort zone, trying new things, travelling, anything involving crowds or social situations. Due to my anxiety, mild depression and self-esteem issues and dyspraxia I find these difficult, also situations in everyday life such as; going shopping, days out, going on holiday or having meals with family can be challenging. Anxiety can make you want to avoid doing things like this and it can be a vicious circle and can get you down.

A month ago, I attended Dyspraxia Foundation conference in London where there was a keynote speech from Anxiety UK, I also attended the youth group workshops. The thought of being in a group of people and people I didn’t know, was quite anxiety-inducing. My friend Alice, who is a youth worker was running the icebreaker sessions. She is an inclusive person and uses her own experiences of mental health and dyspraxia in a positive way. Straight away we were met with no pressure to join in or participate and to do what we felt comfortable with and people wouldn’t think any less of us for that. Due to that many people took part. Thank you to both charities for all being understanding and for an inclusive conference.

As an avid pop music fan  growing up listening to (in my opinion) feel good, uplifting music, helps to lift my mood when I’m feeling low or down. I’ve been lucky to have some lovely handwritten messages and hugs from Mollie, her words of kindness and empathetic nature really do make a huge difference to me. Travel, crowds, the concerts themselves and finding the confidence to let go, and enjoy myself due to anxiety and panic attacks can be difficult to explain. I would love to find the confidence to join in with things I love more and whose music has helped me.

I value friendship a lot and as someone who has struggled to make them, I appreciate it a lot.  But again anxiety and social anxiety can make it hard to meet up with friends, keep up with what’s happening or participate and in group situations especially if it involves travel or meeting new people. I’ve always been quite shy and quiet and it can take quite a while to get to know me and feel comfortable with people. I worry about how I come across or if I might say the wrong thing.

I’ve recently started therapy and hopefully, I can learn to be calmer, happier and face my fears but it’s going to take time. As someone who finds it quite difficult to ask for help, it’s important that there’s understanding how difficult it is to speak up and ask for help when you’re struggling especially with mental health. But it's something I wanted to raise awareness of in this blog.

I like to hope my experiences have made me open-minded, non-judgmental and someone who will always have a listening ear.

One of the best things you can do listen, help someone to believe in themselves and give someone a chance.

Until next time....

Inclusion and participation

Hello everyone, long time no speak, I hope you’re all well?

After a slight break from blogging, I wanted to write about something really close to my heart:
the value of inclusion. Before I begin, I think it’s important to remember that this is my personal experiences, and interests- other people may experience things differently.

Just because a person finds something difficult or more challenging doesn’t mean they don’t want to feel included or that they belong. Being inclusive is giving someone a bit of your time, patience and empathy. Being inclusive isn’t about fitting people into boxes, it’s about letting them find their feet in their own way - at their own speed. Not putting pressure on someone can give have positive results.

When people think of issues such as anxiety, mental health, confidence and/or neurodiversity there is often a focus on their impact on school/university or work. For this blog, I wanted to touch on the impact of more everyday issues such as; travelling, social situations and leisure activities.

From a young age, I’ve always struggled to find the confidence to participate in activities and everyday things many people take for granted - these situations can be anxiety or even panic-inducing. Personally, these can include; stepping out of my comfort zone, trying new things, travelling, anything involving crowds or social situations. Due to my anxiety, mild depression and self-esteem issues I find these difficult, also situations in everyday life such as; going shopping, days out, going on holiday or having meals with family can be challenging.

A month ago, I attended Dyspraxia Foundation conference in London where there was a keynote speech from Anxiety UK, I also attended the youth group workshops. The thought of being in a group of people and people I didn’t know, was quite anxiety-inducing. My friend Alice, who is a youth worker was running the icebreaker sessions. She is an inclusive person and uses her own experiences of mental health and dyspraxia in a positive way. Straight away we were met with no pressure to join in or participate and to do what we felt comfortable with and people wouldn’t think any less of us for that. Due to that many people took part. Thank you to both charities for all being understanding and for an inclusive conference.

As an avid pop music fan  growing up listening to (in my opinion) feel good, uplifting music, helps to lift my mood when I’m feeling low or down. I’ve been lucky to have some lovely handwritten messages and hugs from Mollie, her words of kindness and empathetic nature really do make a huge difference to me. Travel, crowds, the concerts themselves and finding the confidence to let go, and enjoy myself due to anxiety and panic attacks can be difficult to explain. I would love to find the confidence to join in with things I love more and whose music has helped me.

I value friendship a lot and as someone who has struggled to make them, I appreciate it a lot.  But again anxiety and social anxiety can make it hard to meet up with friends, keep up with what’s happening or participate and in group situations especially if it involves travel or meeting new people. I’ve always been quite shy and quiet and it can take quite a while to get to know me and feel comfortable with people. I worry about how I come across or if I might say the wrong thing.

I’ve recently started therapy and hopefully, I can learn to be calmer, happier and face my fears but it’s going to take time. As someone who finds it quite difficult to ask for help, it’s important that there’s understanding how difficult it is to speak up and ask for help when you’re struggling especially with mental health. But it's something I wanted to raise awareness of in this blog.

I like to hope my experiences have made me open-minded, non-judgmental and someone who will always have a listening ear.

One of the best things you can do listen, help someone to believe in themselves and give someone a chance.

Until next time....

2015 in review - Making a difference

As 2015 comes to a close I thought it would be a good time to reflect on the year previous which has gone, whatever you're planning to do, I hope you have a very happy new year full of happiness and calm.

This year has seemed a bit of a whirlwind for me, but I feel very grateful to have been given so many opportunities and platforms to do what I'm most passionate about which is helping make a difference and raise awarness. Through the various conferences, blogs, charity fundraisers I have discovered how many people there are like me who have been through similar situations, have struggled with acceptance and getting the right help and support in life and experienced some of the same day to day challenges living with dyspraxia presents.

For many years of my life I thought it was just me being me, I thought I was stupid, worthless and that I would never amount to much in my life, which was fuelled with ignorance, bullying and a lack of undertanding of dyspraxia is. It was after then I decided to make a change and help others. Although day to day tasks can be a struggle, chaotic and overwhelming  and there's some things which will never be my forte in life I decided to focus on my strengths which has been my emotional sensitivity. My emotional sensitivity means I deeply care about the issues which I'm passionate about and have a lot of empathy and undertanding for others either human beings or animals.

I am very grateful to the people who have read my blogs, given me supportive messages about my speeches or in general just given me a little boost. The flip side of my emotional sensitivity means I struggle a lot with anxiety and feel emotion quite deeply and have really struggled over the years with self esteem and confidence. Which is why a lot of the blogs I write link a lot to the emotional and social side of dyspraxia and dyslexia, something which is often poorly understood.

I am also very grateful to charities who have supported my blogs and given me a platform to raise awareness. Especially to a group of ladies who work at the Dyspraxia Foundation who's words of positivity and encouragement got a very anxious Rosie up to do speeches and present me with the Mary Colley award earlier on in the year.

My thanks also go to the various dyslexia charities, Scope and Anxiety UK for also helping me raise awarness of hidden differences and mental health, I'm very grateful for all the opportunities.

This year has also been a year where I decided to make a difference to myself and seek help myself. Seeking help is a very brave step and it took me many years to have the courage and confidence to realise to help other people the first step was to help myself. If you are struggling please seek help, I know how crippling anxiey and mental illness can make day to day a real struggle. It's nothing to be ashamed of.

To the lady who inspires me to not let dyspraxia and dyslexia hold me back in life and uses her own experiences of dyslexia  in the public eye to raise awarness of so many issues close to her heart and make a differnce. I am very lucky to have an incredible inspiration in life Mollie King ( I had to bring her in somewhere!)

You don't need a reason to help someone or make a difference, making a difference  doesn't have to be something major, helping someone who is struggling, showing someone a smile if they don't have one, offering a little bit of kindness. Your words and actions can have such an impact on someone's life and can help or hinder someone. A little bit of encouragement can make someone's day in a postive way.

This blog is reaching 80,000 views, if it's helped one person feel less alone or understand themselves better it has all been worthwhile.

Finally to my incredible boyfriend and best friend who I am about to see the new year in with. Thank you for your acceptance, encouragement and everything you do constantly, it is always appreciated.

Thank you and here's to another year of awarness raising.

Rosie
Xxx