Author Archives: Betsan
Creating a Space for Healing
We need to be in a state that is conducive to healing and repair in order to heal and repair and even sleep well. That may seem like a blindingly obvious statement but it’s not one I’d thought about enough until I came across a quote by Psychologist, Dr Alex Howard who said “We need…
Going Beyond the Bio Psycho Social: the complex human in a complex environment and uncertain world
I’ve been contemplating writing an article about the wider picture of health for quite some time but found the complexity of trying to convey the sheer complexity of the subject really challenging. Then I came across the Theory of Complex Systems – developed by engineers – and realised that it can be applied to the human…
Socially Prescribing the Arts – Will it happen? Will it work?
The media has been full of reports that doctors can now prescribe ‘the Arts’ for a range of physical and mental health conditions. In July 2017 an All-Party Parliamentary Group in the UK published a comprehensive report on the importance of the Arts for health and wellbeing. They concluded that it was ‘time to recognise…
Life’s Uphill Challenges
Living well is about variety, learning new things and setting challenges that require you to move out of your comfort zone from time to time. Over this summer (2018) I have been following the NHS ‘Couch to 5K’ running plan. I’ve attempted it a couple of times before but this time I got to…
Pain Signals and Other Bad Language
I have written an article based on a talk I gave to the Ethics and Philosophy special interest group of the British Pain Society. The subject is the language used in healthcare with a specific focus on pain. It discusses how poor choice of language can cause harm and prolong pain whereas skilful use of…
Adventures in Human Being by Dr Gavin Francis
The human being is a miraculous entity. If you stop for a second to contemplate its complexity, the millions of chemical reactions going on every split second or how a grey, rather gelatinous structure enables you to read this book review, and makes you YOU, it can get quite mind blowing. Adventures in Human Being was…
Cure – A Journey into the Science of Mind over Body by Jo Marchant
Cure explores the science behind Mind / Body medicine. It investigates the inextricable link between mind and body and looks at how changing your thoughts about events can affect physical symptoms. Cure is full of real life stories of people who have changed their lives, significantly improved their wellbeing and reduced symptoms of medical conditions by altering…
Escape to the Lakes – Switching Off
Wherever you live in the world you cannot have escaped the storm that raged through British politics following the vote to leave the European Union on June 23rd 2016. It caused turmoil and sudden change that dominated our news from morning to night and this uncertainty continues. A few days after THE vote, I was…
A Turning Point – Refocusing on a wider perspective
It took a funeral and a beautiful walk on bluebell carpeted cliffs to shift me out of a crash. I’m calling it a crash because that’s exactly what it felt like… a sudden plummeting of all my energy and motivation…a state of inertia that had actual physical symptoms. It has been a hugely valuable experience…