76 - Michael Coates - How my experiences of war shaped the vision I had for my business & Podcast23/11/2018
He and a mate decided to start a business of their own with very specific founding pillars, employing veterans and military spouses as well as funding education for children in Afghanistan and clearing land mines or IED’s with specially trained rats!
Now Michael is running a very successful podcast alongside his business commitments covering stories from members of the Armed Forces and their life experiences. By starting conversations he hopes to end stigma and taboos and increase improved mental health within the community. Michael is such and interesting and compassionate man, you need to watch this interview and be inspired. https://www.combatpestcontrol.com/ https://declassifiedpodcast.com The BeGlad Movement is aiming to collect 100 stories of good coming out of bad and reasons to be glad by the end of 2018 to help support each other with our experiences and to raise money for the Samaritans and Action for Happiness. If you would like to donate it would be so greatly appreciated. Thank you! https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/beglad
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75 - Faye Kilgour - how my career change and subsequent anxiety led me to study psychology22/11/2018
It can be even harder to accept when you embody what most people would consider a privileged position, with ‘everything’ going for you. It makes it twice as hard to reconcile why you should be feeling down, which then makes you feel even more down, you start accusing yourself of being a bad person etc and so the vicious cycle continues.
My granny used to say, ‘everyone has their cross to bear,’ which meant everyone has their own struggles, some of which we are not even aware of. Who are we to judge? How can we really ever know what battles are raging on inside someone’s mind and soul? I feel it’s important to add here that the idea behind the BeGlad Movement is to create a space where someone going through a tough time can come and hopefully find a similar story to their own current situation and see an example of light at the end of the tunnel, so they too can search for their own light at the end of their tunnel. The glad game is about searching for any small positives in a sea of black that you can hold on to and hopefully enjoy in the moment, about wondering what this adversity could mean for you in the long run in a positive way, how you could use your experiences to help others etc. It’s certainly not about saying ‘look what this person has lived through, therefore you’re not entitled to feel bad. We must be kind to each other, we must support each other, we should always aim to lift each other up, when the tide rises it can lift all the boats. Kindness is what we need, kindness for ourselves and others. Thankfully Faye has been able to get on top of her anxiety for now and it has led her to embarking on a psychology degree. I wish her all the very best in her endeavours, I love that she is mostly interested in how to help people build their mental resilience so they are better equipped for the future. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The BeGlad Movement is aiming to collect 100 stories of good coming out of bad and reasons to be glad by the end of 2018 to help support each other with our experiences and to raise money for the Samaritans and Action for Happiness. If you would like to donate it would be so greatly appreciated. Thank you! https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/beglad
Luckily her parents were close by to take her to the doctor. Thankfully the doctor recognised that Vicky probably had Fibromyalgia and was able to prescribe suitable medication sooner than later.
She was bedridden for a month, all her limb hurt, her ears and eyes even hurt, it was an absolutely horrific situation as she couldn’t sleep. Determined not to give up after a period of trying to rest she tried to go back to work. Thankfully her employers let her go part time, she would work in the morning then sleep all afternoon, sometimes being so exhausted that she even had to sleep in her car in the town centre after work before driving home. She had to earn money so she had no choice. When she moved back to the UK she managed to secure a job in the hotel industry but the pressure of dealing with her condition and everything else resulted in a nervous breakdown. Another blow and set back. A consultant in Bath explained to Vicky that the only way she was going to feel any better was to lose weight, change her diet and sort her head out. No small challenge. Vicky thought it would be easiest to start with her diet and so began her journey to recovery, her diet endeavours leading her into the world of self development. Watch to hear how Vicky turned things around and how unexpectedly when she embarked on a three day course to try and sort there was a chain reaction of events which also led her to rid herself of the crippling pain of her fibromyalgia. Vicky now coaches others to do the same. www.ascendperformancecoaching.com https://m.facebook.com/ascendperformancecoaching/ www.twitter.com/AscendPCoaching https://www.linkedin.com/in/vicky-henderson/ The BeGlad Movement is aiming to collect 100 stories of good coming out of bad and reasons to be glad by the end of 2018 to help support each other with our experiences and to raise money for the Samaritans and Action for Happiness. If you would like to donate it would be so greatly appreciated. Thank you! https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/beglad
Sport was where he felt most at home though, being able to demonstrate his many other skills on the field rather than in the classroom. He says ‘sport was like another language for me.’
Ed was 12 when his parents divorced which was devastating for him as an only child. Not only that, he changed schools and at the same time he had to undergo a spinal fusion operation meaning he couldn’t play his beloved sport. But rather than look back on this time with bitter disappointment he credits it as the time he became independent. Ed managed to get into university despite being told he wouldn’t, that statement just gave him extra fire in his belly to do it and prove others wrong. Through his study he realise that there was a massive disconnect between the professional sports industry and the universities teaching sports. Because of Eds tenacity he managed to get work experience at Sky Sports, he used this time wisely and jumped at every networking opportunity to further his prospects. I won’t give too much more of the story away as it is well worth watching, Ed now runs his own podcast interviewing all different types of people within the sporting industry, not only pro-athletes and he also coached aspiring sports students into the careers they want. Website: https://education2sport.com Sports Industry Career Guide: https://education2sport.com/Playbook Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/education2sport/?hl=en ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The BeGlad Movement is aiming to collect 100 stories of good coming out of bad and reasons to be glad by the end of 2018 to help support each other with our experiences and to raise money for the Samaritans and Action for Happiness. If you would like to donate it would be so greatly appreciated. Thank you! https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/beglad
making new friends, people she could connect with and who would understand what it was like to have a partner serving.
Little did she know at the time that she would become one of the founding members of the Military Wives Choir. Watch to hear Sharon's story on what it was like to experience that journey and how the original choir evolved into a massive network and a charity. And what it is that she is doing now with her new venture 'Strength Behind the Strong' bringing women together to support each other and help each other in their times of need. This group is about empowering each other to live again on their own terms and not just wear the 'dependent' label. www.thestrengthbehindthestrong.com http://www.militarywiveschoirs.org/ --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The BeGlad Movement is aiming to collect 100 stories of good coming out of bad and reasons to be glad by the end of 2018 to help support each other with our experiences and to raise money for the Samaritans and Action for Happiness. If you would like to donate it would be so greatly appreciated. Thank you! https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/beglad
Guess what? It did!!! I was diagnosed with Invasive Ductal Carcinoma, a 1.8cm tumour! The day I got diagnosed my husband came with me and he was beside himself... His mum and wife both with breast cancer! I automatically went into protective mode for my husband's sake and I actually managed to stay pretty calm while we talked about what would be happening next. The plan was I would be having a lumpectomy in 2 week's time.
I had 3 older children Danni 23, Amy 21 and Brandon 19, me and my husband also had a little girl Olivia 3 years... That day I told my children I had breast cancer will live with me for the rest of my life, I was totally heartbroken for my children. No matter how hard i tried to play it down to them, they were adults and were aware what cancer was. I felt so guilty telling my family this news, I know it wasn't my fault I had cancer but that really did not make me feel any less guilty, the fact that I had no answers for them was also hard because I didn’t know what all this would mean for us as a family. There were numerous appointments to the hospital for different tests, we felt like we were never away from the place, I had never really suffered any illnesses until now... Trust me to have something so serious after 43 years of being healthy! I had a lumpectomy which was a drama in itself, I was allergic to the blue dye they use in surgery to find your lymph nodes... I went into anaphylactic shock, thankfully I was in the right place! I was not well after my operation and took longer than normal to recover. My family and friends were amazing and really supported me through this tough time. My pathology report came back 2 weeks after the operation and I was told the news that they did not get all the cancer so I would need a mastectomy and reconstruction. I found this really hard to cope with, I thought I would be done and dusted after the lumpectomy. My tumour was sent to America for a new test they were using to see if I would benefit from chemotherapy... Another 2 weeks wait! It came back NO chemotherapy well that was a blessing at least I got to keep my hair! I had my mastectomy, it was an 8-hour operation which again didn’t go so smooth. While I was in the recovery room, I started suffering with sleep apnoea which was setting all sorts of alarms off. I was taken back to the ward and I had an almighty panic attack, I was petrified and I really did think I was going to die! My results came back from pathology 2 weeks after my operation, and would you believe it they found another 5.5cm of Ductal Carcinoma in situ! Now that was hard to swallow as it had not been found on any of the scans I had had, this really scared me. My cancer was fed by Oestrogen, so the next step was to go onto hormone therapy for ten years, I could deal with that or so I thought... After I recovered physically from my operation I went back to work and was fine for the first couple of months, but then the side effects from the hormone therapy really started to take their toll on me. I was fatigued all the time, fuzzy headed, my bones ached and I had no concentration. I really felt like I had no standard of life, I hated taking them and they made me feel so low in myself. The emotions from the whole situation had started to catch up with me and boy did I know about it! I started to get obsessive and was googling secondary cancer, cancer reoccurrence and things like that but I was doing this every spare moment I had, I also started to check my breasts everyday then it got to about 5 times a day! That mind battle about reoccurrence or secondary cancer is so hard to control and it really does take you down to a very dark place. It eventually all came to a head, I ended up off sick from work again with mental health problems. I was so determined to get better I had enough of living life with this negative attitude I had to start focusing on living again. I was missing out on precious time with my family because I was so wrapped up in myself! I normally am a very positive person and I needed that part of me back! I told myself I had 2 choices... I can either give in and just worry for the next 5, 10, 20 years or I could sort myself out and just bloody live my life! I chose the latter! I went to see my GP and told him everything, I was prescribed anti-depressants which also help with the side effects of my hormone tablet. I also attended counselling which really helped. I used breast cancer care support charity's free services which were amazing, I used the online forum where I linked up with other women feeling the same way and I started to use the BECCA app which gave you tips for your wellbeing after cancer. Slowly I started to get better and knew that it was going to take time to get to know this new me, to be honest with you I actually think I grieved for who I was before the cancer and I didn’t half miss her. I was more determined than ever to make this terrible experience into something good and with this at the front of my mind I pushed forward with my life. I eventually went back work and settled in fine, my work colleagues were very understanding which really helped. I started to think about what I wanted to do with my life, I knew I wanted to give something back to women. I contacted Breast Cancer Care support charity about volunteering and a new post had come up 'breast cancer care speaker' I had an interview over the phone which I smashed, I think she was most impressed when I told her 'I'm not a quite person, I have a bit of a gob on me so I may as well put it to good use'. I went and completed the training and set to work on encouraging people to be breast aware. My little sister has recently been diagnosed with breast cancer so I am supporting her at the moment with her journey but she is very strong and is doing great at the moment, another part of this story is that my sister has been checked for genetic links as she is only 30 years old we are awaiting results from this which may mean I have to have more operations but what's the point in worrying it might be negative fingers crossed so we are just getting on with it... My sister is amazing and her strength is something else! l really want everyone to be breast aware I've even told strangers like cashier's etc., I always like a natter when I'm packing the shopping ha-ha. I have moved on with my journey even more this last two months (yes, I have come to terms that this is a life long journey) and whatever I am going through, it is how I react to it that makes the difference. My mother in law is over her treatment to now and is doing very well. I have started my own blog about my story to raise as much awareness as possible and it has taken off really well, if you want to hear more of my story go to cuppawithayorkshirelass.com... I have changed so much these last two years, for the better I might add. I am so much more focused about life and I feel I am a more compassionate person. I wouldn’t say I'm grateful for having cancer but I am grateful for the lessons it has taught me... one last question... Do you check your boobs regularly?? --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The BeGlad Movement is aiming to collect 100 stories of good coming out of bad and reasons to be glad by the end of 2018 to help support each other with our experiences and to raise money for the Samaritans and Action for Happiness. If you would like to donate it would be so greatly appreciated. Thank you! https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/beglad
Very sadly Lisa’s little sister Zara suffered a brain haemorrhage when she was only 4 years old and Lisa was 10. She remembers how scary it was to see her in intensive care.
Thankfully Zara survived but she would never be the same little girl again. Lisa became aware of people staring in the street when her sister was out in her special wheelchair; all she wanted to do was protect her sister. Sadly Zara passed away when she was 10 years old, for Lisa this was like losing her again, she had to cope with the grief and loss just as she was about to take her GCSE’s. In her 20’s Lisa was involved in a terrible Jet-Ski accident that she was lucky to survive. She had to endure many painful operations and learn to walk again with long stints in plaster. Eventually everything came to a head as an accumulation of the traumatic childhood, losing her sister twice essentially, the accident and twinned with some failed and abusive relationships. Lisa did not leave her flat for 3 months. She was given a lot of labels for her symptoms during that time and she has tried a lot of different therapies since. The thing Lisa noticed about herself was that her coping strategy up until that point was to always be helping others. Having dealt with her own pain, anxiety and depression with various treatments she decided to train a Holistic Therapist, she is a Reiki healer, who also teaches mindfulness and does Emotional Freedom Therapy as well as Tarot and Angel card readings https://araztherapy.weebly.com
2 years in and there had been no hint of a pregnancy and it was starting to affect me. I’d be counting out my cycle, I’d lie with my legs up in the air, looking at what I ate, I was trying everything but still nothing and I was becoming quite depressed by it. It felt like Clear Blue had a vendetta against me, every pregnancy test was always negative and I was just desperate to fall pregnant.
My husband and I agreed that we needed to seek help, so we started the proceedings with the GP to get referred to the fertility specialist, it was found that there was indeed issues with both of us and so explained why it wasn’t just happening. Fast forward 6 months and the week we had an Appt with the GP to write the formal referral letter to the specialist and I wasn’t feeling great, nauseous, exhausted and generally yuk. So we took a test.....it was positive!!! I couldn’t actually believe it, we were so excited! The Dr agreed to hold off the referral and we started to think of life as parents. Then 10 weeks into my pregnancy I passed some fresh blood. We went straight to A&E and they were amazing. We had a scan but the doctor refused to state either way what was going on, he wanted us to wait a further week before confirming if the pregnancy was still viable. That week was the longest week ever and although friends and colleagues were really supportive, it was really hard to stay positive. The day of the scan arrived and that day my world crashed down. The sonogram confirmed our baby had indeed died, it had stopped developing at 6 weeks, I’d had what’s called a Silent Miscarriage, where the baby dies but you don’t lose it. So I was booked in for emergency surgery and my poor baby was removed from me 2 days later. The drive home from hospital was the hardest thing we’d ever done, we just didn’t want to leave the baby on it own. The following weeks and months were tough, I had a lot of pain postoperatively and mentally I was just drained. My husband supported me all the way through but it took its toll on him to, all our plans and thoughts of the future...gone. Our marriage was affected too, it took us a long time to be happy together again. But life had to go on, we were posted and I had a new job to start. Then this yucky, nauseous, exhausted feeling returned and this time it felt 10 times stronger....I was pregnant!!! We were so shocked and surprised, we really hadn’t been thinking about it, the loss of our first baby still felt so raw. The nausea continued to get worse and I was diagnosed with Hyperemesis Gravidarum. Our 12 wk scan finally came and there was a heart beat, our baby was alive!!! The next 9 months weren’t easy and my anxiety never really settled but then our beautiful baby girl was born, our Rainbow Baby. Fast forward another 2 years and we’ve just welcomed our little boy into the world, who really was a surprise and unexpected but has completed our family. Although those years were some of the hardest for me emotionally to endure and losing the baby devastated me, it make me appreciate my beautiful, sassy little girl and my handsome little man all the more. These things/events happen in life, we can’t stop them, it’s what we do about it and how we react to them that makes the difference. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The BeGlad Movement is aiming to collect 100 stories of good coming out of bad and reasons to be glad by the end of 2018 to help support each other with our experiences and to raise money for the Samaritans and Action for Happiness. If you would like to donate it would be so greatly appreciated. Thank you! https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/beglad
This lead to low self esteem, poor mental health and anxiety issues. To add to this he has suffered with osteoporosis, brain seizures and chronic pain, with a six month stint in a wheelchair and two months in hospital recuperating from an accident amongst other things.
Daniel says ‘The thing I’ve learned through all of this is the importance of not giving up, of finding the positives and focusing on the future.’ Based in Bristol, Daniel is now using his experiences and hypnotherapy to help others. Looking past the list of symptoms and seeing his clients as a whole person, concentrating on what they can do rather than what they can’t do. https://www.danielbatemanhypnotherapy.co.uk/ https://www,faceboook.com/danielbatemanhypnotherapy The BeGlad Movement is aiming to collect 100 stories of good coming out of bad and reasons to be glad by the end of 2018 to help support each other with our experiences and to raise money for the Samaritans and Action for Happiness. If you would like to donate it would be so greatly appreciated. Thank you! https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/beglad 67 - Dave Bolton from the Heist - I may have cancer but that doesn't mean cancer has to have me.16/11/2018
Dave has faced up to some seriously life changing situations. From a major motorbike accident where he had his legs run over by a truck de sleeving the one leg and resulting in major surgery as well as lots of skin grafts to living with terminal cancer after suffering a major seizure in his sleep which resulted in the discovery of a glioblatoma brain tumour.
Watch the interview to get the full details on what he has lived through (it’s pretty incredible) and how he has been to the lowest lows and managed to pick himself back up again with the help of maintaining a positive mental attitude and healthy diet and exercise. Dave says ‘I may have cancer but cancer doesn’t have to have me, you don’t need to let your circumstances dictate your life.’ And he really doesn’t, Dave actually says in this interview that he wouldn’t change a thing because now he is helping others and spending more time with his family and loved ones where as before he was working all hours. Through motivational speaking and telling his story Dave’s network increased and it was because of this that Dave found out about a TV opportunity, you may now recognise him from the Sky One series the Heist. Dave is using his increased public profile to raise awareness and funds for UTS Foundation. Dave Bolton, 'So do a job you love and you’ll never work a day again. Take that course, go on that holiday, call the loved ones you fell out with, enjoy life every single day as you never know when life will change In a blink of an eye. There are no do overs, no mulligans, no restarts don’t just work to pay the bills as your only existing. Live your life as it’s not the amount breaths you take but the amount of time life takes your breath away.' https://myjourney4survival.com/ http://www.journey4survival.co.uk https://www.facebook.com/myjourney4survival www.utsfoundation.com www.twitter.com/daveybolton www.instagram.com/davey_bolton The BeGlad Movement is aiming to collect 100 stories of good coming out of bad and reasons to be glad by the end of 2018 to help support each other with our experiences and to raise money for the Samaritans and Action for Happiness. If you would like to donate it would be so greatly appreciated. Thank you! https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/beglad |
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