Mental Health Awareness Week

I have been so wrapped up with work, it completely escaped by attention that in the UK it has been MENTAL HEALTH WEEK 18-24th May 2020.

https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/our-work

I was working with a colleague who reminded me about it. He was great to work with and a very interesting person (a locum, so I don’t know when I will work with him again). We had such an interesting chat about a whole host of mental health related subjects. Sigh. It was quite fascinating.

When I looked at the UK MENTAL HEALTH FOUNDATION website, I noticed that the theme is KINDNESS!!! I don’t think many of us would disagree with the importance of kindness. I could write for many hours on the subject. In fact…I think I did!

At the end of the third and final part of my Annabelle Riley trilogy, there is an afterword, called “TO MY FELLOW TRAVELLERS”. It’s all about times of crisis and the importance of kindness. I guess it was my little way of acknowledging that we all have a story to tell, a journey to share. We have all been through storms and hopefully we have had peaceful tranquil seas too. Some of us have surfed exciting waves.

 

 

 

 

THE CARAMEL CRUNCH #21

WHEN IT COMES TO THE CRUNCH – WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

A friend takes photographs of you a social event. You friend later posts these photographs of you onto their social media accounts which have a large following. When you see the photos, it’s obvious the camera did not catch you at your best. In one photograph you look drunk, although you were not drinking alcohol that night. In every photograph you see, the camera has caught you at an very unfortunate angle. Frankly, you look terrible.

WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

(Do you remember social events? Another question we might have to use our imagination for!)

What is THE CARAMEL CRUNCH? Well, it’s all about decisions. When it comes to THE CRUNCH what would you do?

One of the definitions of the word CRUNCH is:

a crucial point or situation

 – generally involving a decision with weighty consequences

• Your response can be a quickie. Please feel free to send a comment to say what you would do, and if you have time or are inclined, please feel free to explain your decision.
• If you would like to create a post with a longer explanation of your decision, please pingback to THE CARAMEL CRUNCH post. (Or copy and paste a link to your post in the comments section – please feel free.)

If you know anything about CRUSHED CARAMEL, you will probably realize I am a gentle soul, so my questions are not supposed to be terrifying! What I am hoping for really is to see a variety of responses. Afterall, it’s pretty obvious that WordPress bloggers are from a huge variety of backgrounds and cultures. It would be fascinating to learn more about how we as individuals make decisions.

Some of the questions I am going to ask are questions I have discussed with friends when we have been having coffee or dinner. I often find there is no clear right or wrong. It can be so much a matter of our individual experiences and outlook. I find it fascinating how very different some of us are when it comes to decision making.

We all have different outlooks, and may make different decisions. I am really looking forward to learning WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

 

 

Not A Social Drinker Anymore

My Dad always used to say, “You should never drink alone”. He had a member of his family who was addicted to alcohol.

In all the years we were at home, there was no alcohol stored in our house. Dad was not against us having any alcohol at all. But he recommended that we buy a bottle and share it between us. He wasn’t keen on drinking it at all, but Mum and my sisters and I would share a bottle of wine – and then it was gone. There was no store of wine of any other alcohol.

Some of my friends think that was odd. I just accepted it as Dad trying to teach us moderation. Some of my friends actually have a similar approach as my Dad. They don’t usually buy alcohol to store at home. They would only ever have a drink when out with friends or family having a meal in a restaurant.

But of course pubs and restaurants are all closed at the moment. I was telling a friend of mine that I have started to buy a bottle of rose (which I dilute with lemonade) as a summer aperitif. It’s kind of odd…getting into the habit of having a tipple all on my own.

The one drink I would usually be offered at parties at this time of year would be Pimms. It is such an iconic flavour of summer (and it has been feeling like summer lately.)

Aaaaah sigh! I always used to be a moderate social drinker, or sometimes I would just have a diet coke. Now I find myself wanting to buy a bottle or something so I can have a tipple at the weekend and let my hair down.