Useful Links:
Self help questionnaires
Authentic Happiness: a collection of scientifically tested questionnaires, surveys and scales from the University of Pennsylvania for you to take, to measure such things as happiness, resiliance, well-being, depression, work-life satisfaction, relationship style and much, much more
Living Life to the Full: a free online course written by a psychiatrist to help you develop key life skills for managing distress, low mood and worry using CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) principles and techniques
Gottman Institute: two questionnaires about your current relationship, and your relationship strengths and weaknesses
Ideas about Wellbeing and how to achieve it
Five Ways to Wellbeing In 2008, nef (the New Economics Foundation) was commissioned by the UK Government's Foresight Project to review the work of over 400 scientists from across the world. They have identified 5 simple principles from their study which evidence shows helps to increase a person's sense of well being and which can easily be incorporated into people's daily life:
Connect, Be Active, Take Notice, Keep Learning and Give.
Mindfulness Training
Mindfulness means learning to pay attention intentionally, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally. Mindfulness skills have been shown to offer many benefits for physical and psychological well-being.
Norwich-based mindfulness courses are run by Kathleen Madigan. In MBCT programmes, participants meet together as a class (with a mindfulness teacher) two hours a week for eight weeks, plus one all day session between weeks 5 and 7. The main ‘work’ is done at home between classes.
Distance-learning mindfulness courses are available through the Centre for Mindfulness Research and Practice at Bangor University and Be Mindful Online.
Centre for Mindfulness Research and Practice, Bangor University: In response to requests from people who live further away, they have developed different ways of supporting people to experience the 8 -week mindfulness-based course. One option is to undertake a Distance Learning Mindfulness Course from your own home.
This includes a weekly link of 45 minutes on the phone with a mindfulness teacher who will guide you through the learning of the 8-week programme. Practice CD’s, learning materials and an outline of each week’s home practice will be posted. Home practice forms a large part of the programme. You will need to commit yourself to spending up to an hour each day.
Be Mindful Online: Be Mindful Online is an online mindfulness course that helps anyone to manage stress better. People who have completed this course report an average stress reduction of 35%
This online course is run by the Mental Health Foundation, a UK charity for everyone's mental health and contains core elements of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT). As it is offered by a charity, the cost is very affordable indeed - currently just £40.
Action for Happiness
Action for Happiness is a new web-based forum for happiness and well-being, with solid ideas for increasing happiness (yours and the people around you) and making a difference to your local community too.
Managing OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder)
OCD can take many forms, but, in general, sufferers experience repetitive, intrusive and unwelcome thoughts, images, impulses and doubts which they find hard to ignore. These thoughts form the obsessional part of ‘Obsessive-Compulsive’ and they usually (but not always) cause the person to perform repetitive compulsions in a vain attempt to relieve themselves of the obsessions and neutralise the fear.
Common obsessions include contamination and germs, causing harm to oneself or to others, upsetting sexual, violent or blasphemous thoughts, the ordering or arrangement of objects and worries about throwing things away.
Sufferers try to fight these thoughts with mental or physical rituals, the compulsions, which involve repeatedly performing actions such as washing, cleaning, checking, counting, hoarding or partaking in endless rumination. Avoidance of feared situations is also common; however, this often results in further worrying and preoccupation with the obsessional thoughts.
A free questionnaire, developed by Professor Wayne Goodman of the University of Florida, to check if you are showing any symptoms similar to OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder).
Brain Lock - a four step CBT and Mindfulness based approach
In the 1990s, Dr Jeffrey Schwartz made the discovery that a four-step cognitive behavioural therapy he pioneered is capable of changing the activity in a specific brain circuit of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder. After publishing his findings in scientific journals in the mid-1990s, Dr. Schwartz used his discovery (which is becoming a widely utilised treatment for OCD and has been corroborated by other research teams) as the basis for his book Brain Lock which leads readers through the four-step Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy that he devised to treat OCD.
Dr. Schwartz's breakthrough in OCD provided the hard evidence that the mind can control the brain's chemistry, and that it can do so through the classic Buddhist idea of mindfulness. Mindfulness is another area that many sufferers are turning to in an attempt to use it to help them break free from OCD.
Managing stressful financial circumstances
It can be hard to know how best to manage stressful financial circumstances - people can commonly feel that they are on their own against big and powerful organisations that may not be listening to their plight.
There are quite a few sources of help out there, who may help you think through and better organise your financial affairs, or who may talk to organisations on your behalf.
Free Self Help Booklets
De-Stress Kit for the Changing Times is a free booklet, written by the founder of HeartMath (a leading stress research institute). It provides a few simple practices to help people take action to avoid, or manage, stressful circumstances, such as the loss of your job or major financial difficulties.
Money Saving Expert.com Guide to Mental Health and Debt is a free 40-page PDF booklet supported by Mind, Rethink, CAPUK and others, for people with mental health problems and those caring for them. It covers how to handle debts when unwell, work with banks, free debt counselling, specific tips for bipolar or depression sufferers, whether to declare a condition and more.
Free information on sources of help
There's a lot of useful information on Martin Lewis' Money Saving Expert site about what help is on offer, and which type of help might be best for different situations. The site may offer a clear overview and help you find a way through the confusing maze. There's also a great deal of information on sources of local help from Norfolk County Council.
Free Debt Management Plans
Another source of free debt help is Payplan, click the link for the website or call 0800 280 2816. Payplan offers a fresh approach to dealing with financial difficulties and are possibly the UK's largest provider of free debt solutions, including free debt management plans and Individual Voluntary Arrangements or IVAs. These may involve Payplan negotiating manageable repayments on your behalf with the companies you owe money to, and in some cases receiving your monthly repayments and distributing it to the companies owed.
Free Legal Advice
Norfolk Community Law Service is a charity providing free legal advice from local solicitors, free debt advice for certain groups of people and housing repossession advice.
Online, Telephone, and Christmas Day Support
Lifeline... an alternative to suicide A Norfolk-based telephone helpline, for people who are suicidal and need to talk to someone outside of family or friends, or who do not wish to seek professional help at this present time. The helpline is run by trained volunteers who have experience of helping those who believe that life holds nothing for them and there is no point going on. Call 01263 768604.
Big White Wall is an online early intervention service for people in psychological distress. It is a community of people who are experiencing common mental health problems who are supported to self-manage their own mental health. According to members, one of the most important elements of the service is the ability to talk freely, whilst remaining completely anonymous.
Big White Wall is provided in partnership with the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust. It combines social networking principles with a choice of clinically informed interventions to improve mental wellbeing. It can be accessed 24/7 and has staff (Wall Guides) who ensure the full engagement, safety and anonymity of all members.
It may be free to use, if your local NHS provides this (you can check by entering your postcode) or if your employee has signed up to the service (you'll need to enter your employer's code). Otherwise it costs up to £2 a week.
Horses Mouth is a social network for informal 'mentoring', where members of the public can offer informal support to others (as a 'mentor') or seek support for themselves. People can search for a mentor, apply to be a mentor, or simply browse the inspirational profiles and stories on the site. This is a free online support service.
| Norwich Open Christmas is a voluntary organisation offering Christmas Day support. It means that there is no need to spend Christmas Day alone. If you apply early enough, you could be one of the volunteers for the day - help is needed with such things as serving food, organising, and transport. Or you can go as a guest, no matter what your life circumstances, if you'd rather not spend Christmas alone. It's not only for those who are down on their luck, people who find themselves facing Christmas day alone through divorce, bereavement or far-flung families, for example, are also welcome. Open from 11am to 5pm, it's free, there's entertainment and a Christmas meal. If you need transport there, that can be supplied too if you let them know. |
Domestic Violence and Abuse support
Most domestic violence and abuse remains hidden, and only an estimated 40% or less is reported to the police. Yet a third of all clients with Relate report domestic abuse, according to an article by Anna Moore in the Times (23/7/11).
Domestic violence and abuse can happen to men as well as women, and to successful people too. There are plenty of early warning signs. As well as physical violence, it can include intimidating behaviour, bullying, cruelty, constant criticism and controlling behaviour (jealousy, getting angry or making things difficult as a way of stopping someone from doing something). When experiencing abuse over a period of time, confidence gets eroded and horizons shrink: it often feels as if there is no way out of the situation, all one can do is endure it.
The first, and most crucial step, is to start talking about it to someone, as this helps you step back from the feeling of being trapped, and start to see that you have options.
Helplines:
National Domestic Violence helpline (24 hours, free) 0808 2000 247
Emotional support and advice. Confidential, and you don't have to give your name.
Leeway 0845 2412171
A specialist domestic abuse charity supporting adults, children and young people across Norfolk and Suffolk.
Refuges:
Leeway 0845 2412171
Leeway is a local organisation (Norfolk and Suffolk) that offers drop in centres and emergency accommodation, as well as support and advice.
Refuge 0808 2000 247
Refuge is a national organisation that offers support, advice and refuge accommodation.
Norfolk Police:
Norfolk Police have specially trained domestic abuse officers who you can talk to, and find out what options may be open to you. Just talking to them won't automatically lead to charges being pressed, if you don't want this. They also work in conjunction with local domestic abuse organisations. They have an excellent web page with useful information and links.
Norfolk County Council and your Local Council:
Your council may have support services they can offer, including advice on security in the home, links to local organisations and help with homelessness. Norfolk City Council have a webpage on domestic violence, and other councils are likely to have one too.
Norfolk County Council offers practical support in situations of domestic violence, including the MARAC scheme, which draws together a team to help increase the safety of you and your children. This might include schools, health visitors, the police or the Safer Neighbourhood Team, for example.
Norfolk Says No
Domestic violence and domestic abuse are not acceptable, under any circumstances. Violence and abuse should not happen and there are no excuses which make it right.
Norfolk Says No is a campaign to get the message across to people suffering violence and abuse that there is confidential help out there, to support you in staying safe, stopping the cycle of abuse or leaving.
Useful Websites
AHP(B) - Assn of Humanistic Psychology in Britain
The Association for Humanistic Psychology is a registered charity that promotes a holistic understanding of people and publishes Self & Society, a lively and well regarded humanistic journal.
The Association of Humanistic Psychology Practitioners is a national accrediting organisation for all those who apply the theories of Humanistic Psychology in their work. It has an online directory of practitioners.
The British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy is the UK's professional membership association for Counsellors and Psychotherapists. It has an online directory of counsellors.
The UK Council for Psychotherapy promotes the profession of psychotherapy and helps maintain high standards in its practice for the benefit of the public, throughout the UK. It has an online directory of psychotherapists.
The Natural Therapy Centre, King's Lynn
The Natural Therapy Centre, King's Lynn offers a caring and therapeutic environment, giving you easy access to treatment, advice and information on a wide range of natural therapies.