About Us
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How did I get started…
Well back in 1992 I had hit a really low patch in life. Since my teenage years, some years ago now, I had battled daily with depression, why?. A baby on the way, (i was lead to believe) an early marriage, an unfaithful better half (wife) god I was so naive. Doctors and their wonder drugs as they called them back in my teenage days were supposed to help me through my problems.
Like a good patient I took the pills without question, got on with my life, held the same job I would in a much later part of my life be forced to give up, remarried, had a couple of kids. I did not realise then that medication would become away of life for me.
My doctor did not say, or looking back what he did not realise then was that some years down the line I was not going to be able to give up this wonder drug because unknown to me then I was becoming addicted, and was soon to learn I could not live without the drug. (even though as time went by my life improved 100%)
I learned about and suffered awful side effects that this new medication was causing. Both my young, and adult life have found those dam pills walking hand in hand with me, and for many future years I kept hidden the stigma of taking antidepressant….
Come 1992 found me working long and tedious hours 14+ a day six days a week something I had been doing for many years previous, and regretting the years I had missed my kids growing up.
My doc reckoned I was close to burnout.
Like I said I had hit a really low point in my life, so much so my doctor gave me one of two choices end up in hospital or pack up my work. It took sometime for me to come round to his way of thinking I had responsibilities mortgage, wife, family I deeply loved (still do) I had never been out of work so the decision to quit did not come easy, plus finding a new job of work back then (1992 sound familiar) was becoming impossible for most people. After months of repeat doctor appointments I agreed, the thought of going into a certain hospital just did not float my boat.
As part of my rehab my doctor got me into a charity run day center for depression. That was where a total new life style took place. In a very short space of time I went from being a member to becoming a volunteer within the charity based organization. They funded me to qualify in an area I had taken to quite quickly (counselling)…
Back To School
I first discovered my tutor at an Anger Management course all staff, and volunteers within the charity had been asked to attend as part of Mental Health Awareness week. I enjoyed the course that much I checked up on my tutor, and discovered she tutored near by at a local Uni. So from late 1992 it was back to college for 8+ years… (I confess here I never did like school so going back to that environment was a challenge a battle I won).
My schooling was to last 8+ years and consisted of my very first ever certificate NCFE City and Guilds for Basic Counselling Skills Core And Development Modules, Code of Ethics, and Practice for Counsellors.(1993 through 1994) this only increased my appetite for more especially where my new-found tutor was concerned just brilliant. My courses, and passes were many, and all founded on the rights of the individual, something I had been starved of in my then occupation.
The main area of learning leaned toward Carl Rogers, and his belief that being prepared to take people as we find them regardless of whether they appeared willing, unresponsive, even scepticism then create an understanding from the very beginning that the client/parent/child had arrived at a place which would not impose, or judge, and would focus on helping them to clarify where/what next.
In a nut shell (so to speak) Rodgers believed each client was an unique individual, and despite their lives being a struggle to survive circumstance, and experience they would still continue towards growth. “This actualizing in the human being can be trusted, and the therapist’s role would be to create the best possible conditions for its fulfilment”…
Enough you did not come to a lecture. I went on to other courses and passes next was my NCFE City and Guilds 3703 In Counselling (1994 through 1995) this included Counselling Skills, Counselling Theory And Practice, and Personal Development. My next course was my NCFE Counselling For Professionals (1996 through 1998) this included Psychosynthesis, Counselling Issues, The Process Of Change, Creative Processes, and Techniques, Gestalt Theory, and Practice last but not least Transactional Analysis, and to think this all started with my doctor some 16+ years previous. Further courses included Bereavement Counselling, Counselling Diploma For Professionals, Carl Rodgers Client Centered Therapy, Sexual Abuse, Aromatherapy, and a further course on diabetes.
Still connected to the charity found me in the The Basque city of Bilbao Spain for a week. Myself and other members of staff had flown out for a week to studying their mental health regime… The glass fronted stores, the scenery, the people all brilliant, certainly worth a visit. Further Pictures of Bilbao can be seen here Photo © Benoist Sébire
About 18 months later found me in Belgium Spa attending a world seminar also for one week. Here we met, spoke on and exchanged information on mental health issues with other delegates from around the world (brilliant). I have been involved in the setting up and running of Care programs for almost 3 years. The program was a weekly venue and covered all the relevant information on mental health. It became a platform to give Carers a voice to a topic that even today most people would like to brush under the carpet. I can not emphasize enough the feeling of sadness I experienced at how this army of Carers had very little going for them at the time. If you are still with me I guess I have bored you enough. To cut a long story short then (so to speak)…
The Final Mile
In 1999 as I said I was looking for diabetes information on the web much of which was very medical (difficult) to understand even though I had/have completed two one year courses. That’s where mum enters the story. Looking back I remember thinking to myself what was wrong with setting up my own website. I had plenty of college courses and practice under my belt, and if you count my own personal experiences it gave me more than just a casual view in mental health problems especially when I myself had suffered with many issues, not to mention the various drugs I had been on. (I had been used as a guinea-pig back in those days for the many so called wonder drugs of there time)
Mum had had Diabetes for many years, trying to get easy understandable information was hard to come by. I figured the more I understood then the more I was able to help mum understand about her Diabetes. I was trying to help mum something a nurse, or doctor should have done many years previous, and never did.
Mum came from a generation that thought the doctor knew best, because of this attitude mum never learned anything about her condition other than when, and how to inject the needle. I was going through a bad patch with depression at the same time, so I included mental health as a topic in the hope I could help myself while helping others. It seemed to work out OK.
Back then I felt society in general thought sufferers of this problem should be avoided and brushed under the carpet, best forgotten about.
The use of Essential Oils on the site came from two courses I have since completed. There were a lot of areas, and a lot of media news on complementary medication. I was interested in what I was hearing. I also thought it might be away to help myself with depression. I can hand on heart say that it worked brilliant for me. That well I even talked my partner and our children into using the oils. It has helped us as a family, in many ways from a recipe for my sons leg problems to my daughters problems with mouth ulcers, coughs, colds, minor chest problems, complementary medicine even has oils that can be of use as a pick-me-up.
I have never used complementary to replace orthodox medication, if we had a problem that needed the advice, and treatment of the doctor then we went to the doctor. In the main though we have had very little need for a doctor, when it came to the usual coughs and colds the essential oils won the day, and in many cases it stopped the bug in its track. I do believe that for most people the use of essentials oils are quite safe. However having said that we are all individuals, and what may appear to be good for one person may not apply to all of us.
I point out that essential oils should be used (in a mix of grapeseed or almond based carrier oils etc.) with the same caution as you would when taking conventional medication, and should NEVER be taken internally.
There are some oils like Tea Tree and Lavender that are the exception, and can be applied to the skin from the bottle. However, even here CAUTION is the watch word.
Well mum died has since died, she had suffered pain, and serious discomfort for many years as well as being insulin dependant diabetic, which in the end knocked out mum’s kidneys. I decided on this page to write a little verse to mum. Kind of saying thanks mum if it had not been for you this website would have never gotten off the ground… Webmaster
