Volunteering Kirklees is celebrating women who volunteer in Kirklees and we need you to tell us who they are.

Launched on International Women’s Day, we want to show how women who volunteer are making a difference. This isn’t about saintliness and sacrifice, it’s about abilities, skills, learning, determination and achievement.

Tell us about a woman that you know who, steps up, volunteers, gets things done and loves it. From litter picks to galas, playgroups to sports clubs, the PTA to who knows what – get in touch and tell us all.

Stepping Up | Celebrating Inspirational Women In Kirklees
http://steppingupkirklees.org/

Our very own Cherie  Inspirational Women in Kirklees | Stepping Up

http://steppingupkirklees.org/inspirational-women-case-studies/

About Patient Opinion -

Patient Opinion was founded in 2005 and since then has grown to be the UK’s leading independent non-profit feedback platform for health services. Patient Opinion is about honest and meaningful conversations between patients and health services. We believe that your story can help make health services better.

How it works:

1. Share      your story of using a health service
2. We send your story to staff so that they can learn from      it
3. You might get a response
4. Your story might help staff to change services

Share your story and help make our health service better!

https://www.patientopinion.org.uk/

Tell Your Story

If you have an experience of health care in the last 3 years, either as a patient yourself or as a carer or friend of someone else, please tell “Patient Opinions” us about it.     What was good? What could have been better?

https://www.patientopinion.org.uk/opinions?tag=anorexia

 Dialogue groups in Kirklees in 2013

Dialogue groups are where the public can meet staff, hear about and discuss changes and hear useful information. They are part of commitment to public involvement.

Please note we sometimes have to adjust dates, times and venues from the usual. We would endeavour to give good notice, with apologies, should this occur. They usually occur in the afternoon. We endeavour to refund travel costs on the day and to provide refreshments. Please share these dates with interested parties. If there is anyone you think should be on my mailing list please let me know.

 South Kirklees Dialogue Group

(for people who use mental health services and reside in south Kirklees)

•  1.15-3.45, Wednesday 20^th March, in room 49/50 Folly Hall Mill,  St Thomas Road, Huddersfield, HD1 3LT
•  10-12 Tuesday 28^th May in room 49/50 Folly Hall Mill,  St Thomas Road, Huddersfield, HD1 3LT.
• Special feedback session on the new vision and values for the Trust with Steven Michael (chief executive of SWYPFT) and Jo Vickerman (Assistant director of Corporate Development, SWYPFT) (We apologise in advance as this represents a change to the usual date, time and day).
•  1.15-3.45 Tuesday 16^th July in room 49/50 Folly Hall Mill,  St Thomas Road, Huddersfield, HD1 3LT. Please not change of usual day.
•  1.15-3.45 Wednesday 18^th Sept in room 49/50 Folly Hall Mill,  St Thomas Road, Huddersfield, HD1 3LT.
•  1.15-3.45 Wednesday 20^th Nov in room 40, Folly Hall Mill,  St Thomas Road, Huddersfield, HD1 3LT. (Please note change of usual room)

 North Kirklees Dialogue Group

for people who use mental health services and reside in north Kirklees

•  1.15-3.45 Thur 7^th Feb, reception room, at Dewsbury Town Hall. (Please note change of usual venue.)
•  1.15-3.45 Thurs 4^th April, seminar rooms 1 & 2, Dewsbury Health Centre
•   2-4  Tuesday 7^th May, Seminar rooms 1 & 2 Dewsbury Health centre
• Special feedback session on the new vision and values for the Trust with Steven Michael (chief executive of SWYPFT) and Jo Vickerman (Assistant director of Corporate Development) (We apologise in advance as this represents a change to the usual date, time and day).

Because of the special meeting in May there is no meeting of the north Kirklees Dialogue Group in June.

•  1.15-3.45 Thurs 1^st August, seminar rooms 1 & 2, Dewsbury Health Centre
•  1.15-3.45 Thurs 3^rd Oct, seminar rooms 1 & 2, Dewsbury Health Centre
•  1.15-3.45 Thurs 5^th Dec, seminar rooms 1 & 2, Dewsbury Health Centre. Please bring festive food and drink to share.

  Carers dialogue group (South Kirklees)

for carers of people with mental issues who reside in south Kirklees. This group is facilitated by Helen Parnell from the Carers Support service at Pathways in Mirfield.

•  1.15-3.45 Tues 19^th March room 39, Folly Hall Mill, St Thomas Road, Huddersfield, HD1 3LT. Please note change of usual room.
•  1.15-3.45 Tues 18^th June, room 49/50, Folly Hall Mill, St Thomas Road, Huddersfield, HD1 3LT.
•  1.15-3.45 Tues 17th Sept room 49/50, Folly Hall Mill, St Thomas Road, Huddersfield, HD1 3LT.
•  1.15-3.45 Tues 17^th Dec room 49/50, Folly Hall Mill, St Thomas Road, Huddersfield, HD1 3LT. Please bring festive food and drink to share.

Carers dialogue group (North Kirklees)

for carers of people with mental issues who reside in north Kirklees. This group is facilitated by Helen Parnell from the Carers Support service at Pathways in Mirfield.

•  1.15-3.45 Tues 9^th April, room 4 in Pathways, Nettleton Rd, Mirfield, WF14 9AQ
• 1.15-3.45 Tues 9^th July, room 4 in Pathways, Nettleton Rd, Mirfield, WF14 9AQ
• 1.15-3.45 Tues 8^th Oct, room 4 in Pathways, Nettleton Rd, Mirfield, WF14 9AQ

Parents chance to have their say – please take the time to read this report and respond to it

The All Party Parliamentary Group on Body Image  published its report on 30 May 2012 into the causes and consequences of body image dissatisfaction in the UK today.

The report is based on evidence submitted to a public Inquiry which was conducted between November 2011 and February 2012.  It includes evidence from a range of organisations and individuals, including representatives from industry, the voluntary sector, healthcare professionals, academics and the general public.   The report can be accessed here: http://www.ymca.co.uk/bodyconfidence/report

APPG Body Image Report

Central YMCA, a national health and education charity, will now be working with the All Party Parliamentary Group on Body Image and a number of other non-commercial organisations to take forward the policy recommendations in a campaign which will be launched later this year which will raise public awareness of many of the issues contained in the report.   We would encourage you to complete a short survey on the website and to comment on the report  – it will help us inform the campaign we are launching later in the year.

If you would like to know more about the campaign going forward or would like to get involved, please contact Duncan Stephenson on d.stephenson@centralymca.org.uk

 Self-esteem workshops

Beat is working with Dove to provide self-esteem education to young people in schools across the UK.

The work carried out by the Dove Self-Esteem Programme and Beat is focused specifically on preventative work, aiming to help strengthen body confidence.

The Dove Self-Esteem Programme is making a minimum donation of £250,000 to Beat to deliver workshops in schools. During the promotional period 26th March – 15th May, if more than 20 million packs of Dove are sold it will contribute an additional £10,000 for every 1 million extra packs sold to self-esteem education.

The self-esteem education will be delivered via one-hour workshops in schools in partnership with Beat, who will facilitate their delivery. The workshops, which are free to schools, aim to give 11-14 year old pupils the tools to build positive self esteem and provide a platform for group discussion on image related concerns.

To sign up for a motivating training session with a representative from Beat, or for someone from the charity to come and bring confidence into your school register online

You can also find a range of resources for girls, mothers, youth leaders and teachers, including tips for encouraging self-esteem, a “self-check” quiz and articles from leading self-esteem experts on the Dove website

The Dove Self-Esteem Programme was developed to make real changes to the ways women and girls perceive and embrace beauty.

Too many girls develop low self-esteem from hang-ups about looks and, consequently, fail to reach their full potential in later life. The DSEP was established as an agent of change to inspire and educate girls and women about a positive relationship with beauty. The DSEP is committed to help girls strengthen self-esteem and build a healthy body image. Specifically Dove want to reach 15 million girls globally by the end of 2015, with educational interventions lasting at least an hour.  It is already half way there.  In the UK Dove has already reached over 800,000 young people and aims to reach 1 million by the end of 2012.

http://www.b-eat.co.uk/support-us/professional-services/training/self-esteem-workshops/

This is a chance for every parent to have their say to improve the services available to all our loved ones in Kirklees

Let us know what you think…

The Kirklees Shadow Health and Wellbeing Board is developing the first Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy (JHWS) for Kirklees. It sets out our vision for improving the health and wellbeing of local people and reducing inequalities at every stage of people’s lives by 2020.

The Board wants to engage a wide range of people during May, June and July 2012 to:

•  increase awareness of the purpose and content of the Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy (JHWS); and
• give people the opportunity to comment on the draft JHWS.

 The feedback will shape the final JHWS which will be presented to the Board in September 2012. During this initial engagement phase the Board is keen to hear the views of a wide range of people including:

• People who live or work in Kirklees.
• People and organisations providing services that contribute to the JHWS vision and outcomes.
• People responsible for commissioning and planning services to achieve the JHWS vision and outcomes.
• People who represent local people and communities.

There are a range of engagement activities planned including meetings of established bodies/group and special one off events for specific groups.

 The draft JHWS and supporting materials are available on the Kirklees Partnership website so anyone can organise their own engagement activity and provide feedback to the Board, or simply provide feedback themselves.

• The draft JHWS – available here.
• A set of questions the Board would like responses to – available here 
• A PowerPoint presentation – will be available soon.

 What to do next

If you want your views to inform the final JHWS please send your responses to the Board’s questions using the form on the website to ask@kirkleespartnership.org or Kirklees Partnership, 2^nd Floor, Civic Centre 3, Huddersfield, HD1 2EY, along with any other comments or requests for information on how you can get involved.

 Deadline for responses/comments:  Friday 27^th July 2012.

http://www.kirkleespartnership.org/wellbeinghealth/index.asp 

Do you want to speak to other people who know what you are going through on a daily basis?

Why not try B-eat Carers Chat

Anyone supporting someone with an eating disorder can access the chats at the allocated times, to ‘chat’ with other carers, to seek support or offer support to others and to share experiences and useful information: parents, siblings, partners, other relatives, friends and housemates are all welcome.

Currently, Carers’ Chat is run fortnightly, on alternate Tuesdays, from 7:30 to 8:30pm.

http://www.b-eat-carers.co.uk/carers-chat/

Guide To Using Carers Chat

Chat will take place on Tuesday 17th April. This will be an open discussion – a space where you can chat with other carers about your experiences. The chat will take place from 7:30 to 8:30pm.

10 top tips on how to keep relapse at bay

http://www.careukeatingdisorders.com/article/10%20top%20tips%20on%20how%20to%20keep%20relapse%20at%20bay/#

09:04 – 02 April 2012

“Fall seven times and stand up eight” – Japanese proverb

This month “Care UK” have been focusing on relapse prevention for you or a loved one. If you are recovering from an eating disorder, a relapse prevention plan should be at the heart of your eating disorder treatment and recovery plan.

“Care UK” have put together 10 top tips on how to keep relapse at bay. If you are recovering from an eating disorder, keep our 10 top tips in mind and they should help you to keep your eating disorder under your control.

1. Know your triggers. Make sure you know what sets your eating disorder off. The more you are aware of your triggers, and potential triggers, the more you will be able to avoid or minimise their impact during difficult times. Make sure your loved ones know your triggers too and they can help support you if you run into trouble.

2. Know your warning signs. There are always warning signs to any illness. These signs help us to stop the illness before it starts up again. If you find that you are eating less, exercising more, have a low mood, beginning to binge again- talk to someone for support and help. Warning signs do just what they say on the tin, they warn us that the illness might be coming back, do not ignore them.

3. Create a strategy and relapse prevention plan with an understanding of your triggers and warning signs firmly at the foundation. A key element is getting input from your nearest and dearest so they can add their insights. Your relapse prevention plan should be in your hand on discharge from your eating disorder treatment centre, and then easily to hand at home. Make sure that your warning signs and triggers are clearly identified. Be explicit about the potential difficulties you may face. The more knowledge you have about your illness, the better prepared you will be to lessen the impact if the eating disorder did resurface again. 

4. Involve your loved ones and the people around you in maintaining your relapse prevention plan. This is perhaps the most important tip. You don’t have to do things by yourself. As we learnt from last week’s blog, carers and the people who love you are key to helping you overcome this struggle and keep your eating disorder at bay.

5. Never be afraid to reach out and ask for help. This is so important. Eating disorders can be a very secretive, lonely illness. Do not keep it to yourself. Open up, reach out and never be afraid to ask for help. If you feel unable at times to talk to your loved ones, there are many helplines you can call to speak to someone confidentially.  You can call the helpline on this number 0845 634 1414. For full information on Beat helplines, click here. http://www.b-eat.co.uk/get-help/get-support/helpline/

6. Know what works and what doesn’t for you and your loved ones. Eating disorders can put a lot of pressure on relationships and things can get very stressful. Discuss with your loved ones things that do and don’t work during difficult times. For example, it can really help to have cooling off space when things get heated in an argument. Rather than continuing the argument when you may both say things that you will regret, knowing each others’ pressure points and back off each other.

7. Don’t catastrophise slip ups. If you have a blip, it doesn’t mean the end of the world. It means that you have learnt for the next time a difficulty comes up. For example, if you find yourself bingeing, focus on the time that has lapsed between binges rather than the binge itself. See that as the achievement.  If you feel the impulse to binge, try to involve yourself in activity which is distracting and not compatible with bingeing. Speaking with a loved one, agreeing to meet with friends, getting into a hot bath- distracting your thoughts until the impulse has passed.

8. Celebrate successes and milestones. It is central to your recovery that you celebrate milestones and successes. Remember that these will be relative to the individual and the extent of their illness and difficulties. Be proud of yourself and celebrate the progress you have made.

9. Be kind to yourself. Again, one that we all forget at times, but it’s central to acceptance of yourself and therefore recovery. Don’t condemn yourself if you have a slip up instead remember that you are fighting a complex illness and that with time, understanding and support from those around you, you can overcome it. Treat yourself to the things you enjoy, talk kindly to yourself and allow others to treat you kindly too.

10. Accept yourself, who you are and what you feel. Don’t expect perfection. Your best is just fine. Learning to like yourself is the first step you need to take. The more you are able to demonstrate acceptance and liking of yourself, the more likely others are to follow suit. Even if others do not respond positively to you, if you are genuinely better able to accept yourself then you will be less inclined to be adversely affected by this.

When you have been through eating disorder treatment, you have the understanding and the know-how to keep the disorder at bay. Eating disorders are often at their most destructive, and the sufferer is most vulnerable, during times of stress. Keep reminding yourself of this and let the people that care for you in on your recovery. Let them support you in the difficult times and let them celebrate in your successes.

Reminding yourself of these 10 can help you keep that eating disorder in your control.

This application is the perfect companion for your loved one who is recovering from an eating disorder.  It is available free of charge http://www.androidzoom.com/android_applications/health_and_fitness/recovery-record_brlxd.html  from the android market

Thanks for sharing this