I absolutely love a story in the paper today about an acclaimed choirmaster Barry Todd, who, having been in a coma after an aortic aneurysm, was awoken by a tape of his choir singing the song from Pinocchio 'Give a little whistle'.
Mr Todd, choir leader of Midland Voices, was taken ill very suddenly, and doctors gave him a 1 in 100 chance of waking up. His wife Carol, not one to give up easily, spent days by his side, playing tapes of his choir to him. How she must have felt when he began whistling to the song 'Give a little Whistle' we can only imagine.
Mr Todd, whilst still quite poorly and having had to have his leg amputated, will be going back to his role as choirmaster later this month.
Some would call it the power of the sub-conscious mind, others a simple faith and hope in our ability to triumph over adversity.
Whatever it is, its quite wonderful.
Warmest good wishes to Barry and Carol,
Wendy x
Friday, 20 June 2014
Saturday, 7 June 2014
Naughty at ninety
I love the story about the wonderful D-Day veteran Mr Bernard Jordan who, having been told he couldn't go on the British Legion trip to the 70th anniversary of D-Day, decided to make his own way there, and 'broke out' from his old people's home in Hove. It shows such devilment and determination, and apparently Mr Jordan had a wonderful time with old comrades, before having to come back to face the music.
So often, when people reach a certain age, they lose their confidence, and end up having a life that is very restrictive and confining. Unfortunately, this becomes a vicious cycle, as the less they do, the less they feel able to do.
I regularly meet with people who find that, on reaching retirement, they lose their confidence in their own abilities, and find any little thing becomes anxiety-provoking. Even people who have had high-powered careers somehow find that, once they retire, they lose their sense of self and end up fearful and anxious about the most basic things.
Once again, it is all about balance. Of course, when we get older, we look forward to having an easier and less stressful life. That's important, but equally is the sense that we still have some structure and meaning to our lives, whether this means working part-time, finding absorbing hobbies or doing voluntary work. Above all, it is essential that we still have some contact with the outside world, otherwise we can find ourselves retreating into a lonely, tedious world.
Mr Jordan clearly has got the balance right, even though it must have been a little worrying for his care home. He is determined to still 'get a part of the action' for want of a better phrase, I do hope he will not get into too much trouble, and that they have booked him onto next year's trip.
Hope I'm still naughty at ninety.
Wendy x
So often, when people reach a certain age, they lose their confidence, and end up having a life that is very restrictive and confining. Unfortunately, this becomes a vicious cycle, as the less they do, the less they feel able to do.
I regularly meet with people who find that, on reaching retirement, they lose their confidence in their own abilities, and find any little thing becomes anxiety-provoking. Even people who have had high-powered careers somehow find that, once they retire, they lose their sense of self and end up fearful and anxious about the most basic things.
Once again, it is all about balance. Of course, when we get older, we look forward to having an easier and less stressful life. That's important, but equally is the sense that we still have some structure and meaning to our lives, whether this means working part-time, finding absorbing hobbies or doing voluntary work. Above all, it is essential that we still have some contact with the outside world, otherwise we can find ourselves retreating into a lonely, tedious world.
Mr Jordan clearly has got the balance right, even though it must have been a little worrying for his care home. He is determined to still 'get a part of the action' for want of a better phrase, I do hope he will not get into too much trouble, and that they have booked him onto next year's trip.
Hope I'm still naughty at ninety.
Wendy x
Monday, 2 June 2014
D-day
This week marks the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings, a pivotal moment in World War II which then lead to the allies defeat of Germany in 1945.
Whilst my dear dad, who will be 88 soon, was not there at the time, he did sail to the Normandy beaches sometime after the landings on a Royal Navy minesweeper, with the object of finding the undetonated mines and clearing this area of them. We cannot comprehend the bravery of the troops who served in this war and WWI, and in the many conflicts since. This is impossible, even with the many films, accounts and images that are relayed to us as, unless you are actually there in the situation, you do not go through the experience. Many of these boys were not yet 20, and yet had to endure the most traumatic experiences, that if they survived, would still leave them with severe emotional, if not physical scars.
Post-traumatic stress disorder is thankfully now recognised as an illness, but it was not always so. I am currently reading a wonderful book 'Regeneration' by Pat Barker which is about the First World War Hospital Craiglockhart and the psychiatric treatment of shell shock under the direction of Dr W.Rivers. Rivers was reasonably enlightened in terms of his understanding of how war mentally damaged young soldiers, but was caught between this empathy with the men and his duty as a war doctor to get troops back to the front as quickly as possible. Amongst his patients were the First World War poets Siegfried Sasson and Wilfred Owen, who wrote so descriptively of their experiences, so that we are able to still have an insight into this brutal conflict. Another patient, an emaciated soldier called Burns, was sick every time he ate, as he had been blown up by a mine and had landed on the dead body of a German, which was bloated with gas, and the impact of Burns had made him explode. As I write this, I feel sick myself, these are terrors that would have caused the most resilient person to break down. And yet, at the time, shell shock was not fully recognised and thought by some to be a cowardly way to avoid service.
Thank goodness that we are now so far from this, yet we still have to make sure that we find the most effective treatments for post-traumatic stress, and make them available for all those affected by the traumas of war.
I am signed up to the National Council for Hypnotherapy's 'Help for Heroes' campaign, which means that I offer one free session of hypnotherapy to any serving armed forces men or women who have experienced PTSD and feel that hypnosis would help them.
Do please get in touch if you, or anyone you know would like to find out more. My telephone number is 01449780352 or 07817158429 or you can email me at wendy@wendychalk.co.uk.
Best wishes,
Wendy x
Whilst my dear dad, who will be 88 soon, was not there at the time, he did sail to the Normandy beaches sometime after the landings on a Royal Navy minesweeper, with the object of finding the undetonated mines and clearing this area of them. We cannot comprehend the bravery of the troops who served in this war and WWI, and in the many conflicts since. This is impossible, even with the many films, accounts and images that are relayed to us as, unless you are actually there in the situation, you do not go through the experience. Many of these boys were not yet 20, and yet had to endure the most traumatic experiences, that if they survived, would still leave them with severe emotional, if not physical scars.
Post-traumatic stress disorder is thankfully now recognised as an illness, but it was not always so. I am currently reading a wonderful book 'Regeneration' by Pat Barker which is about the First World War Hospital Craiglockhart and the psychiatric treatment of shell shock under the direction of Dr W.Rivers. Rivers was reasonably enlightened in terms of his understanding of how war mentally damaged young soldiers, but was caught between this empathy with the men and his duty as a war doctor to get troops back to the front as quickly as possible. Amongst his patients were the First World War poets Siegfried Sasson and Wilfred Owen, who wrote so descriptively of their experiences, so that we are able to still have an insight into this brutal conflict. Another patient, an emaciated soldier called Burns, was sick every time he ate, as he had been blown up by a mine and had landed on the dead body of a German, which was bloated with gas, and the impact of Burns had made him explode. As I write this, I feel sick myself, these are terrors that would have caused the most resilient person to break down. And yet, at the time, shell shock was not fully recognised and thought by some to be a cowardly way to avoid service.
Thank goodness that we are now so far from this, yet we still have to make sure that we find the most effective treatments for post-traumatic stress, and make them available for all those affected by the traumas of war.
I am signed up to the National Council for Hypnotherapy's 'Help for Heroes' campaign, which means that I offer one free session of hypnotherapy to any serving armed forces men or women who have experienced PTSD and feel that hypnosis would help them.
Do please get in touch if you, or anyone you know would like to find out more. My telephone number is 01449780352 or 07817158429 or you can email me at wendy@wendychalk.co.uk.
Best wishes,
Wendy x
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