This blog is a follow up from Learning to battle and has in depth definitions of Television Programmes that are both enjoyable, interesting to watch and convey the correct information that people with mental health problems find so difficult. It’s worth thinking about as although some programmes put up that the social distancing was put into place before the programme this can be confusing for people watching and seeing people doing whatever they want to and therefore struggle even more with the concept of that is real and what is in their head. This may lead to them breaking ‘lockdown’
Wading through the TV guide every night has the potential to cause significant amounts of brain fog for those with long term medical conditions or disabilities as you sift your way through the repeats and add breaks that always carry significant messages and requests for money. Therefore building a ‘base of programmes’ you can write your own schedule.
Whether you end up loving whats below or whether you see something different when you are following our links, this could provide some unique opportunities to learn, support your mental health and shape your future.
These links below are some of our favourite finds as above and not only are they a great watch they are also supporting my wider knowledge and hopefully ensuring that my writing is well rounded, with new skills gained and The Pituitary Foundation and All Together Active Essex and Essex council all asking to use and sharing my work. Below you will also find some exercise links that I have used, the Jodi Picoult site for reading examples, the Great British Bake off for all things yummy and exercise programmes that we have been able to tap into with the official definitions of the programmes.
Ben Fogle.
Channel 5 description ‘Native Glaswegian Susan rejected retirement for a remote region of Africa, where she has set up both a school and a mountain-top restaurant. In another episode 'Ben visits an ex-photographer who lives an isolated life in the wilds of Oregon, harvesting weeds for nutrition. There, Ben experiences a Native American-inspired sweat lodge'.
'Next he journeys to the freezing coastal waters of Iceland to live with Hakon, a former carpenter who overcame alcohol and embraced a clean, solo life in the wilderness on an private island'.
'French-Canadian Julien lives in a remote Buddhist monastery in the jungle-mountains of Thailand, far off any conventional map. Ben learns how and why this former teenage student from the West stripped away all complications of a modern life for a primitive Eastern and religious existence, and how this choice affected his family’.
Cruising With Jane McDonald.
The first programme aired back in 2017 and has won British Academy awards.
‘Singer Jane McDonald, who found fame on BBC's `The Cruise', returns to the seas in this travel series. The former cruise ship entertainer embarks on an odyssey as she boards a mega-cruise to explore the cruising life. Carrying over 4000 passengers, the vessels are seven times larger than those Jane has previously worked on. Jane immerses herself in the food, activities and community the ships have to offer. From Scandi-cruises to Australia and New Zealand, Jane does not stop until she has explored all the cruises in this ocean bound travelogue’. Google search definition.
Escape to the Chateau
‘Escape to the Chateau is a Channel 4 documentary series which follows the story of couple Dick Strawbridge and Angel Adoree along with their family as they buy,renovate and redecorate the 19th-century Château de la Motte-Husson in Martigné-sur-Mayenne, France, and simultaneously juggle growing both their business and family. The first season follows Dick and Angel's quest to restore the chateau from its uninhabitable state by installing running water, heating and electricity throughout the 45-room castle, which had not been lived in for the past forty years. They are working against a deadline: their own wedding, which is to be held at the property. The subsequent seasons continue their story as they grow their events and wedding business and continue restoration, renovations and maintenance of the castle, and document the family events and milestones going on around them’.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Get Cooking
‘The Great British Bake Off is the ultimate baking battle where passionate amateur baking fans compete to be crowned the UK’s Best Amateur Baker. Over the course of 10 hour-long episodes, the series follows the trials and tribulations of the competitors, young and old, from every background and every corner of Britain, as they attempt to prove their baking prowess. Each week the bakers tackle a different baking skill, which become progressively more difficult as the competition unfolds’.
Exercise - Something for the little ones in your household
Mental Health Meditation with Sesame Street! Through this you can also enjoy other videos to help young children through a very difficult time.
Active Essex
Active Essex are the source of some great online ideas for exercise that are safe and easy to utilise.
Active Essex Timetable
Active Essex You Tube Channel
Active Essex Instructors
Essex at home
Reading
Lastly if TV really isn’t your ‘thing’ then why not try some reading instead!
Jodi Picoult is my favourite author. The way that she works her narrative is so clever, the twists and turns, the way the characters all have their own voice. The complexity and research that goes into her novels are astonishing. My favourite will always be My Sisters Keeper. She has a fantastic online page where she shares a huge amount of information and is great to be a part of. Other authors do the same, you just need the trusty Google to help you get there.
Jodi Picoult
‘Picoult is the recipient of many awards, including the New England Bookseller Award for Fiction, the Alex Awards from the YALSA, a lifetime achievement award for mainstream fiction from the Romance Writers of America, the NH Literary Award for Outstanding Literary Merit and the Sarah Josepha Hale Award. She holds honorary doctor of letters degrees from Dartmouth College and the University of New Haven. She is also a member of the advisory board for VIDA: Women in Literary Arts.
Picoult is the recipient of many awards, including the New England Bookseller Award for Fiction, the Alex Awards from the YALSA, a lifetime achievement award for mainstream fiction from the Romance Writers of America, and the NH Literary Award for Outstanding Literary Merit. She holds honorary doctor of letters degrees from Dartmouth College and the University of New Haven. She is also a member of the advisory board for VIDA: Women in Literary Arts.
Picoult lives in New Hampshire with her husband. They have three children.’ Jodi Picoult Website.
I hope you have found something that you can enjoy, learn from and take forward into the new ‘normal’ that we are being presented with at the moment. Remember to make a list of ‘staple programmes’ and then put a schedule of your own together ready early in the day when you can see clearly. Both of these will give you and your sofa a much easier ride when it comes to the time of day when you just need to relax and revoker from the trials, tribulations and frustrations of your day.
Look out for the next blogs in the series
Exercise for all - Learning As We Battle - Part 3
From Exercise Alternatives anyone can try to supporting athletes sporting skills in an imaginative and creative way that can reinforce and support your journey to good physical health.
Are you missing your normal exercise or sporting activity? Tried to weave through the ever increasing you tube workouts but not found the right one? Not sure if they are real instructors? Fancy something different or unique to try?
Are you finding it hard to motivate yourself to exercise whilst on lockdown? As an athlete, are you finding it hard to fill your day and want to add something fresh?
No matter where you sit on the spectrum of exercise or sports participation from the very beginner of someone stuck at home and ill or or disabled to Paralympic Athletes and able bodied athletes, there is something here that EVERYONE can access and enjoy with the bonus being that the same activity can be used to meet all of your needs.
We at Time to Heal have created our top 5 ideas especially for you and through careful research. We look at a variety of activities at all levels and with the qualified instructors you need to stay safe, have fun, learn something new and challenge yourself to endeavour to participate in something that you can continue and enjoy beyond the COVID-19 Panademic!
These activities aim to convey to you some unique ways to supplement your current training programmes as athletes as well as supporting those who are limited in terms of what they can do. Sit back, and enjoy the ride and see where you go!
So knuckle down and let’s do this!
16th May
Dazzle Box - Learning as We battle - Part 4
Do you find yourself at times wondering what to do with yourself? You’ve finished your planned activity and don’t know what to do next? Do you get anxious because there is so much choice around you? How about your family members? Perhaps the things you wanted to get done are all sorted and you are feeling lost and overwhelmed wondering what’s going next?
This blog materialises from the concept we recently used to create a log book for children with Pituitary Conditions which has been promoted by The Pituitary Foundation as well as on my own site.
It’s easy to set up and to use and will ensure that you and your family members can all have something that is personal for you and fills those difficult to do moments where you find your self with spacey eyes wondering where you begin.It’s like giving your brain a break and working out what to do next will come easier. Developed from a mental health perspective it’s great for all the family, from children up to grandparents and the over 100’s!
Let us guide you to create a ‘Dazzle Box’. It’s a simple way to keep you motivated through these difficult times that we are facing. We guarantee that you won’t be disappointed! There really is something for everyone and we can hit exercise, reaction times, learning and calm reflection activities.
23rd May