• TEDx Here I Come

    Although I’d wanted to be a TEDx speaker for a long timer – after all, the TED stage is legendary – the experience is quite different to what I’d imagined. If you are wondering what it’s like to be a TEDx speaker, or how to manage a big event when living with chronic illness and life challenges, then I’m here for you. I’m sharing my experience in the hope that it’s useful – which in many ways, is what speaking is all about. TEDx begins with an idea worth spreading. Once you find your idea worth spreading, it needs to be summed up in one sentence. If you can’t do…

  • Ferguson, The Middle East, Terror and War: How To Cope In Times of Fear

    The world can be a scary place. All around us – on the news, billboards, Twitter, the internet, our inboxes, on the lips of neighbours. As our global village gets smaller and our means of interacting with others grows more bountiful, so too do the often frightening realities of others become larger. More vivid. Graphic. Overwhelming. Scary. And though observing isn’t as difficult as actually living in a war zone, surviving an unfathomable social injustice or experiencing a violent incident, it can trigger anxiety, stress or even depression. When we lose touch with our own reality and self with each manifestation of upset and fear, the effect on our lives can…