I've lived with Chronic Migraine and Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension (IIH) since 2014. I’ve also had to manage Anxiety for many years.
I was a Primary School Teacher, Early Years Specialist and Mentor before I became disabled and mostly bed-bound from cruel and constant pain.
I share my experiences and provide tools and strategies to help Mums manage their live with invisible illnesses.
Pushing down our feelings leads to explosive interactions as, just like the weather, we have no control over how it affects our daily lives. My emotional responses as a highly sensitive person or Empath meant I needed to set boundaries with myself and others. This allowed me to have emotional vulnerability, on the path to understanding my emotions. I developed a plan for coping with my responses to big feelings, whether this was negative or positive.
Carers Rights Day is a day for making Carers aware of their rights, where they can get help and support, as well as raising awareness of the impact caring has. The theme for Carers Rights Day 2020 is 'Know Your Rights'. Here I interviewed Lesley. who cares for her husband, about the stress she experiences as a Carer to raise awareness about Carers mental health.
Do you want to be part of a network of Instagram mums supporting each other? My new @strongmumssocial Instagram group is a great place to meet other mums. The group is a supportive and inclusive community that empowers mums of kids of any age, including step-mums and carers. If you’re a mum to be, new mum, mum with teenagers or a mum with adult children we’d love you to join us. If you’re a stay at home mum, working mum or mum with chronic illness wanting support through life’s challenges join our private DM support group through @strongmumssocial.
Life’s hard for us all at times but some of us may be feeling low, stressed or anxious. We learn to self-regulate so that we can calm ourselves when mixed feelings and strong emotions become too much. This blog has 5 emotional well-being activities that can be made cheaply and used with children, teens or adults and as a family to improve communication skills.
On my self discovery journey, I’ve listened to 2 insanely good self awareness books that have helped me understand my feelings better. Being self aware is a big part of understanding who we think we are, rather than being truly self aware. Braving The Wilderness by Brené Brown on courage in finding where you belong and Becoming By Michelle Obama, a reflective memoir.
I believe that we need to build the foundations of our well-being and part of that is having tools for personal development. We have to open ourselves to a mindset for change and develop these seven skills to live a fulfilling life; positive thinking, setting boundaries, healthy relationships, managing stress levels, being self aware, drive for learning and emotional resilience. This gives us hope so we can keep see our hopes and dreams.
This October has hit me hard with one of those feelings so familiar: chronic illness relationships and trust. I believe we go through seasons of connections and I’ve been burned too many times. These are my thoughts on the consequences of ending old relationships with friends and connections in online communities and changing up other relationships so I only have those that I need in my life.
Mum Guilt is a term used to describe the inferiority a mum can feel. Guilt is described as a feeling of worry or unhappiness, explaining why so many mums feel this way. This blog tells you how to overcome genuine anxiety or chronic illness in 7 practical steps. Understand that feeling that’s holding you back in your parenting role and making you feel guilty so you can overcome meltdowns.
For IIH Awareness Month, Amy has written this amazing guest blog about her experience as a 24 year old, newly single mum of a one year baby boy, recently diagnosed with Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension or IIH after suffering from crippling hypertension headache. She’s written an open letter to IIH about her lonely challenge of living with this rare brain condition.
I asked 6 amazing mums from the IIH UK Facebook support group, about their secrets as a mum with Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension or IIH, to help other mums in a similar position. We’ve done this in the hope that we can fundraise for IIH UK during IIH Awareness Month by sharing how IIH affects us as and our children to raise awareness of this rare brain disease.
This story is about the impact chronic pain conditions have had on my life. I have a rare brain disease called Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension or IIH, as well as Migraine, Hypothyroidism, Depression and Anxiety. The strategies I’ve used help me feel like a strong Mum as I emerge with my story despite the challenges I still face.
Discover 10 opportunities for time management benefits for better physical and mental well-being and consider throwing out your To-do list for a more structured plan. Audit your time management strategies and consider how making small changes will help you focus on your achievement. Explore simple ways to adapt your routine for a schedule that helps you create better life balance.
This exclusive guide is for every mum, regardless of how old or young your kids are. I am sharing how I learnt about wellness and well-being to help me look after myself and prioritise my family when I had to make myself priority for my physical and mental health. This guide supports you to make simple mindset shifts for better well-being for you and your family to build solid foundations for well-being for life.
Practical ways to talk about race with your child.
Children as young as three recognise race so I’m sharing my experiences of teaching children and teens about race and cultural diversity. I acknowledge you may find this uncomfortable but hope that as mothers we can come together and lift up different races and cultures in your community. By taking action by learning and talking to others over a long period of time, you and your child will continue to learn and talk about race and racism. I’ll share practical examples and tools to help you talk about race with your child.
MS Awareness Week 2020 UK began on Monday 20th April and is a chance to raise awareness of Multiple Sclerosis so I’m sharing information about what MS is, the symptoms and how it affects those living with this invisible chronic condition. Everyone affected by this neurological condition will experience it differently and will have varying degrees of symptoms so the MS Society wants to raise awareness of life with MS. They want to show how someone may be feeling on the inside, when from the outside they ‘don’t look ill’. raising awareness of the hidden side of this invisible illness, by asking people to share their stories of living with MS.
Get 10% off your first product purchase via my website. get exclusive offers, blog post updates & sneak peeks of new products!
I just wanted to say thank you for signing up to the Strength Of Tears newsletter. Click here to download your free Productivity Planner.
Make sure you catch your following emails from laura@strengthoftears to get your 10% discount code.
