Time

Are you good with timekeeping? 

Are you person A who arrives at least 15 minutes early?  Or person B who arrives bang on time? Or person C who is always running late?

Do you prepare and organise what you need early or leave things to the last minute?

I can be all three!  If I need to be somewhere new I like to arrive early to make sure I know where I am going.  But if I look back over my life, especially when I was younger I was always person C!  And probably still am a lot of the time.

When it comes to our eternal salvation, we don’t really like to think about a life after this one has passed.  We feel that if we are ever going to pray to God and turn to Him then that is something we can leave to the last minute.  That would be a slightly more believable plan if we actually knew when our last minute would be.  Apologies for sounding morbid, but many people do believe that is what our ‘deathbed’ is for, yet how often does someone get that last minute chance?

The truth is, our eternal salvation can start right now, it isn’t some deathbed notion. When we thank Jesus for dying on the cross for us, and ask Jesus to forgive us and invite Him into our hearts and lives, it is a real and living hope that gives us eternal salvation and can equip us to navigate our day to day lives, filling us with joy and peace right now.  Mental health wellbeing is talked about a lot, and rightly so, it is important and affects us all.  All of this mentioned above, the real and living hope, the strength and guidance to navigate our daily lives, the joy and the peace in a world which really lacks joy and peace, all of this increases our positive mental health wellbeing, and all this can start right now, it doesn’t have to be left to the last minute, it can be enjoyed right now.  Now is the time.

In the bible Ecclesiastes chapter 3 says that in life there is a time for everything, one example is “there is a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance.” We can agree with that. All these things even the staunchest atheist and sceptic would agree with, it’s common sense.  In 2 Corinthians 6:2 the bible states “now is the day of salvation”.  The time to think about the rest of your life is now.  The time to consider the concept that you need a Saviour is now.  Let us be aware of time and accept the help and salvation that is available to us right now.

Person A may accept this early before it is too late, person B may just think about this right at the time it is needed, and in this scenario I don’t want to be person C.  Our mental wellbeing is important and our lives are important, our eternal life is important.  Please don’t be angered or triggered by this article, it isn’t a pointed finger preach at you, it is a discussion about time and how life passes by so fast.  Let us at least have a think about what we feel is right for us and our future. 

I am going to close with some encouraging verses from the bible.  In Philippians chapter 4 verses 6-9 we read;

“⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.⁸ Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. ⁹ Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”

Sara Sarre – Paws for support interview

I first met Sara Sarre 11 years ago at the Island Dog Training Centre, when I was very involved in the training and care of a beautiful Springer Spaniel named Winston who lived with my parents.  Sara helped with Winston’s fear of getting into the car as well as any other issues we needed help with.  This was my first experience with dog training and saw first hand the benefits of having a well trained dog.

Over the years I continued to see Sara online or hear about Sara in their role with Paws for Support, and to see the benefits of this being included within schools which my daughter has now benefited from.

This year we were blessed with owning and taking care of a special deaf Spanish water dog puppy named Rafa.  Seeing as having a deaf puppy is very rare we felt we would benefit from one to one dog training and naturally Sara came to mind.

Sara is incredibly busy and I am grateful that they have a moment to have a quick chat with us.

Sara, thank you for talking with us. 

How did you first get involved with dog training?

Probably how most people do, I went to the local dog club with my first dog and really enjoyed it. After a couple of years the club asked me to be an assistant trainer and it went from there. I enjoy learning about the dogs and helping people succeed with training a range of breeds and personality types – no dog is the same.

How many dogs do you own?

A lot of people would say too many but I love having a pack, its not for the faint hearted but each dog brings something new to the family. I currently have Spaniels and Chihuahuas.

What drew you to start Paws for support and what can you tell us about it please?

During a visit to the UK Kennel Club Offices, I say a flyer for ‘Bark and Read Scheme’ where children would read to dogs in school helping to improve literacy skills. Being a teacher and dog trainer, I could see huge possibilities for not only reading but for other aspects of the curriculum. I did some research and approached my school, found some like minded people and the Charity is now going from strength to strength, not only training therapy dogs but also disability assistance dogs.

What benefits have you seen when therapy dogs meet children, young people and the elderly?

The dogs bring such joy to people, just their presence and eye contact has been proven to make us feel good – they are so cute!

They can start a conversation, bring something different to a person’s day, opening people up to new things, help teach new skills and help embed old ones.

The therapy dogs are so happy to see us and are so unassuming, always willing to try and wanting to please. They bring out the best in all of us.

I have seen a dog be such a calming influence that a child fell asleep after a difficult incident.  They have helped children overcome fears and help them deal with worries.  One of our therapy dogs helped a child be more confident at attending school and helped them make friends.

The schools have seen improvements with reading levels and the children enjoy the educational assemblies helping them all stay safer around dogs.

In hospital and the nursing homes we have witnessed the residents and patients joy and distraction from situations, spark reminders of days gone by and gaining positive responses that may not have been seen for a while by the staff.

In the offices visits we had seen huge evidence of how its not just the young and the old that are encouragingly affected by the dogs, we hear people saying “best work day ever”, “made my day”, “aaaawwwww”, so you get the picture.

The stroking and patting of dogs has been proven to give us that ‘happy hormone’ release which benefits everyone regardless of age, ability and circumstances. The members and their dogs also get a lot out of the visits too. I know that it is always the highlight of my day being able to bring such a positive reaction to even just one person.

 Thank you Sara for sharing and for opening our eyes to the amazingly positive effect that dogs can have on us.  How stroking a dog can release that happy hormone.  An example of embracing nature and the simple things of life to help improve our mental health wellbeing.  Sometimes it just takes something simple to help us feel better.  I am so happy that these dogs can help our Guernsey residents young and old and also help restore faith in this animal and help those who are nervous around dogs too.  It also goes to show the vast benefits to the community when you invest time and effort into having a well trained dog.

Chronic fatigue and Fibromyalgia

We all feel tired and worn out.

Chronic fatigue is an all consuming fatigue mimicking flu like symptoms, heavy limbs, feeling spaced out and exhausted. This can be constant with sufferers becoming bed bound or in waves and relapses following times of stress and illness.

The frustration can be found in windows of energy and ability rapidly descending into something so debilitating that taking a shower is enough of a challenge for the day.

Unfortunately the phrase chronic fatigue or ME still carries a stigma and many people still feel that it is psychological. The same can be said for the widespread body pain and joint aches and stiffness of Fibromyalgia. This leads to patients feeling misunderstood and not supported. Feeling so unwell can rapidly spiral into depression especially if you feel that you aren’t believed or supported.

Many natural therapists will also feel that if only the patient had a clean eating lifestyle with times spent outdoors, engaging in relaxation exercises and spiritual connections, dealing with past trauma, then this would be resolved.  This is true but sometimes these relapses can still occur even with doing all this. 

For Donna her life started with being adopted as a baby. There are many studies now into the trauma of early separation from the birth mother and how it profoundly affects the brain and nervous system. Many adult adoptees Donna has spoken to also suffer with chronic fatigue syndrome. 

Donna’s blood tests have always been normal. She has eaten clean for years, exercised, has a very strong spiritual connection and a strong faith in God, sees the benefits in nature and natural treatments and yet still suffers with chronic fatigue syndrome and Fibromyalgia. She is grateful to have a Doctor and Nutritionist who understand and who reassured her that these things are real and do exist and aren’t in her imagination. Donna has always had a good imagination but not good enough to imagine all these symptoms! 

Donna manages to work a few mornings a week but during a relapse has had to sleep for a few hours in the day plus up to 12 hours at night. Having to pace herself and cut out certain daily activities to manage doing the food shop for example. 

The spaced out brain fog feeling and dizziness is the worst and makes everything and everyone around her seem to be in a daze and a dream, this makes it very difficult to find enjoyment in anything as she is just going through the motions, trying to put one foot in front of the other. When people talk to her she laughs and smiles and in those two minutes they would have no idea that she is going through this. 

Donna remembers relapses throughout her life and before children woe betide she tell a mum that she was tired! That would be met with a loud snort and a “YOU’RE TIRED?! Try having three kids then tell me about tired!” Sadly we always compare. When someone talks about their illness we automatically compare it to ourselves, we know we are doing this is if we suddenly interject with “oh yeah I’ve had that” and then start talking about ourselves and our ailments for the rest of the conversation when they hadn’t even finished, a very bad habit. Or we do as that mum did and offer a comparison which means “well I have it worse than you” or “I have that and I cope much better than you”. Even if we don’t understand, even if we think it’s stuff and nonsense, even if we think they’re just being dramatic, just be a friend and be supportive even if you can’t be understanding. We can never ever understand someone else’s pain or journey, letting them feel heard and supported is what they need. 

When Donna has energy she feels so elated and often does too much, so pleased that she is able to! When she has a relapse she is amazed that she was ever able to rush around and desperately hopes for a light at the end of this tunnel. 

Donna’s journey is ongoing. She still has a lot to learn and more therapies to try, and is currently trying the perrin technique which includes exercises which allows more effective lymphatic drainage which is thought to help chronic fatigue. 

Donna says “I definitely see the benefits of natural therapies although wouldn’t choose all of them. I like the Hippocrates quote “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”. 

It is important to take one day at a time but hard to do when you’re in a valley and when there is always so much to do. 

 Donna’s hope is that people will be more understanding of those who suffer with ME and Fibromyalgia including other types of fatigue, and that those suffering will be reassured that this isn’t all in their imagination and to seek help.