tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25810555863501967562023-11-15T17:45:50.913+00:00Anna TattonIn 2009 I wrote a well received MA dissertation on the history of dementia among older people. In 2011 I started a PhD looking into dementia, social relationships and social networks. Helping people with dementia and their carers live well with the condition. Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13579722322196967689noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2581055586350196756.post-46516854509980111632015-04-21T21:15:00.000+01:002015-04-21T21:15:04.302+01:00Dementia study group on Facebook and #demphdEverything is going swimmingly at the moment. I have moved back to my home town of Leek and it is fantastic. Friends and family coming out of my ears, the sun always seems to be shining and satisfactory broadband. What more could a woman ask for?<br />
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#demphd started over two years ago, we have a reach of about 500,000 people apparently and I now have 2,000 followers on Twitter - all dementia friends. We thought we could start something on Facebook and that has also taken off - now we have over 1,000 members of our 'dementia study group'. <br />
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And I am retraining as a dementia therapist. I will qualify in September, in the meantime I am looking for people to be case studies. I'm having amazing results already - it is quite incredible, with people telling me their lives have transformed - after just one session. Please contact me on Twitter @annatatton1 or Facebook - I'm wearing a veil. Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13579722322196967689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2581055586350196756.post-42679442057049012882014-10-26T18:52:00.000+00:002014-10-26T18:52:53.400+00:00The 24th Alzheimer Europe conference - October 2014, the first real-life meeting of #demphdHad a wonderful, inspiring and motivational time at #24aec as we called it on Twitter. My great friend Shibley Rahman has written a <a href="http://livingwelldementia.org/2014/10/26/the-24th-annual-conference-for-alzheimer-europe-put-people-with-dementia-in-the-driving-seat-deservedly-so/" target="_blank">brilliant blogpost </a>all about it, which I won't match in either quality or quantity here. But I do want a record of the highlights for me so I will not lose track of the actions I will take as a result.<br />
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Firstly you go to conferences to meet people in person 'networking' as it is now called. This is very inspirational in itself. It used to be people you had only read their work in books, now it's people who've you've read in books, read their emails and tweeted with and even the odd one or two Facebooked or Linked -inned. We literally had a ball at the 'Gala Dinner'. It was our friend's birthday so the staff made it very special by bringing out a cake and the whole room erupted into singing 'Happy Birthday'. I had some lovely chats.<br />
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I may be a bit different to most people - I don't get much out of the 'plenary' sessions. There was a great talk on how human rights should be applied to people with dementia in the huge hall. But I did find, perhaps not with that talk, with 800 people in a room in front of you there are too many distractions and I find myself gazing around wondering if it will be fresh coffee in the break. No, the true inspiration comes from the smaller sessions when you can get eye contact and question the speaker without technological assistance.<br />
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Following the end of my PhD studies, I have found myself with a passion for wellbeing and dementia, so I was very drawn by three presentations in particular. <a href="http://researchsupporthub.northampton.ac.uk/2014/05/22/featured-researcher-jane-youell/" target="_blank">Jane Youell</a> was the first such presenter, her work was on sexuality, intimacy and living with dementia. Helen Irwin then explored humour and dementia. Kirsty Patterson covered personal growth and dementia. I am determined to follow these up and refer to their research. I was and am excited again!<br />
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Art and dementia was an inspiring session too, as was ethics. 'It's complicated' was what I learned about the application of ethics. I find that my views are often cemented in this way at conferences. <br />
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Perhaps the most intriguing and questionable session was sponsored by the 'Institute for the Scientific Information on Coffee' and yes, you've guessed it, coffee 'proved' to stave off dementia. By this time I was so desperate for coffee I didn't bother to ask the question 'how much is the Institute of Coffee paying you to say that.?' After my education earlier, my ethical stance felt suitably justified. But seriously, one person did ask the question about the side effects of coffee and the speaker had the tenacity to say they weren't proven. Well not by the Institute for Coffee anyway. <br />
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Lastly and by no means least we had the first in-real-life meeting of #demphd, the international Twitter network that myself and Julie Christie set up nearly two years ago, that we have <a href="http://dementiares.stir.ac.uk/2014/07/16/creating-a-twitter-space-for-dementia-research/" target="_blank">written about </a>and appears to go from strength to strength. The summary of what we need to do to improve it over the coming months and years is: plan better in advance (get hosts booked weeks rather than minutes in advance), make the website better (put out tweets on it for example), cross fertilise with Facebook and Linked in, make sure we are focusing on the research aspect to topics, where the research gaps are, have a clear focus, good outcomes. We need to ask the prominent journals if they want to cohost, we need to tweet from conferences. In short we need Terms of Reference and a Business Plan.<br />
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No rest for the wicked! And the next big thing is the <a href="http://www.careinfo.org/ukdc/" target="_blank">Dementia Congress</a> which I must book onto this week. See you there!<br />
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@annatatton1 <br />
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<br />Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13579722322196967689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2581055586350196756.post-3459294673330876552014-10-17T17:47:00.000+01:002014-10-17T17:47:06.678+01:00A year since Mum diedIt is a year and a day since Mum died and I know that she would be so proud of me today. I can officially announce that I have started work with the Alzheimer's Society - their Training and Consultancy arm - as a Dementia Trainer. Mum had breast cancer, not dementia though. The care and services she got towards the end of her life were outstanding, particularly the hospice care. It is this sort of service and care that I want to see for everyone at the end of their lives which is why I am so enjoying my new roles, as I am in a privileged position being able to train people about how we can help people with dementia live well with the condition. I am not just working at the Alzheimer's Society as this is a part time temporary role but also working for myself, as a consultant, on the latest research on social media, co-production, innovation and quality. I do hope though that my relationship with the Alzheimer's Society is a long and fruitful one - together we are stronger is my belief.<br />
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Thank you for your support...<br />
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Next week I am going to the Alzheimer Europe conference where for the first time I will be meeting the inspirational Julie Christie who has helped me so much over the past two years. Karen Watchman, Clarissa Giebel and Nathan Davies will be there - great contributors to the phenomenon that is #demphd on Twitter, that myself and Julie set up nearly two years ago. I will also be meeting Caroline Bartle, another incredible innovative whirlwind, another tweep that I now consider a true friend, she knows me so well - we are staying in the same place so hopefully those creativity juices will get going and we'll be changing the world together! <br />
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There are a lot of people that I need to thank who have been there for me through this difficult decade, who would not like their names published on the internet. But I am thanking you now - you know who you are. And with your support and despite the problems, health issues, deaths and hiccups we have achieved, together, quite a lot. Long may life continue!Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13579722322196967689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2581055586350196756.post-27651102089779731612014-05-16T14:28:00.000+01:002014-05-16T14:28:05.336+01:00Picking a good care home - 14 tipsI have updated <a href="http://annatatton.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/how-to-find-good-care-home.html" target="_blank">my advice</a> on how to select a care home from two years ago: The most difficult aspect to caring in my experience is the transition from home to institution, especially if that institution is not up to scratch, how do you know when it is the right place for your loved one?<br />
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1) Having a <em>Variety of Enterprises</em><br />
Having been an activities coordinator and care home manager myself, I consider this to be the most important aspect to a caring environment, be it hospital, hospice, care home or your own home. These are activities that are suitable for the individual, if possible tailored to that individual's needs. You or your loved one might enjoy chatting, socialising, walking, looking at the garden, playing games, music - make sure you know the activities that you think you or your loved one will enjoy. Then ensure that the environment that you are moving to enables you to experience those activities. Here is a list of <a href="http://www.alz.org/living_with_alzheimers_101_activities.asp" target="_blank">101 activities from the US that people with dementia</a> may enjoy. Try to draw up your own comprehensive list for yourself or your loved one.<br />
2) <em>Manager</em><br />
Meet up with the care home manager. They should be a registered nurse and be caring, flexible and friendly. If the staff are happy then the residents normally are too. <br />
3) Well cared for and clean residents, well dressed in clothes that fit with hearing aids on and glasses on. When you look round the place be observant and see if people are smiling and having fun. <br />
4) <em>Care Quality Commission</em> reports. Go to the <a href="http://www.cqc.org.uk/" target="_blank">CQC website</a>. I think the CQC are petrified of getting sued, so sometimes it is difficult to tell from reading a report if a home is good or bad. So you may get more mileage out of these other tips above and below.<br />
5) <em>Gut instinct</em>. Would you or your loved one fit in well in this place? As you look round try to picture them in the environment, and with the staff and other residents. We know from the latest research that emotional memories (which come from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amygdala" target="_blank">the Amygdala</a> ) are the last to go, the Hippocampus memories which are factual and logic are the first to go, so <em>feelings</em> are particularly important in dementia care. This is what <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-professor-thomas-kitwood-1045269.html" target="_blank">Tom Kitwood</a> talked about when he described person centred care.<br />
6) <em>Smiling</em> staff. At good homes both the residents and the staff are smiling. <br />
7) <em>Food.</em> Ask to look at the menus and taste the food. If you don't find it appetising then why would someone with dementia?<br />
8) <em>Time of day</em>. If you can visit the care home at different times of day. 9am, lunchtime and 5pm. See how they manage 'shift changes'.<br />
9) <em>Flexibility</em>. The place should be flexible - according to the needs, requirements and wishes of its residents. Some people prefer to retire to their rooms - does the activity coordinator do a tour of the building to include everyone and talk to people when they're on their own if that's what they want?<br />
10) <em>Training</em>. Ask to see training records. It is a good sign if they have implemented <a href="http://www.bradford.ac.uk/health/career-areas/bradford-dementia-group/short-courses/dementia-care-mapping/" target="_blank">Dementia Care Mapping</a> for example. <br />
11) <em>Smell</em>. It is a good sign if there are nice smells emanating from the place. Added together with the other tips on this list then it should help put your mind at rest that the place is well managed.<br />
12) Go for <em>lunch</em>. The management should be keen to show off their good food.<br />
13) Go for the day, ask to <em>volunteer </em>to help out. Again they should welcome you with open arms. If it's a positive experience then you're on to a winner.<br />
14) <em>Ask for help</em>. If you need help picking a care home for someone with dementia in the UK, then please give me a ring on 07969 204955 or email annatatt{at}Hotmail[dot]com. You can also find me on Facebook - I'm wearing my wedding veil or Twitter @annatatton1. Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13579722322196967689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2581055586350196756.post-76377109693451743562013-08-03T17:19:00.000+01:002013-08-03T17:19:58.022+01:00How to use twitter - a guide for phd students1) <em>Follow the <strong>right </strong>people. </em>You have already decided that the reason you want to use twitter is to advance your learning and your studies, to do this it is best to follow people with similar intentions. If you're wondering how you find out who these people are then go to the relevant 'chat' pages;<br />
2) <em>Engage in a relevant chat - use the right hashtag (#). </em>The hashtag symbol (#) is like a tagged conversation, so you carry on a conversation using the hashtag (#) symbol to identify it. Type in at the top of the twitter screen (once you have registered - using your real name) a relevant twitter chat hashtag: #phdchat, #phdforum, #socphd (social sciences), #acwri (academic writing) & #ecrchat (early career researcher).<br />
3) <em>Spend an afternoon following people</em>. You can always unfollow, and you can follow up to 2,000 people before twitter blocks you from following people. This takes about an afternoon to click on follow for that many people - I recommend you do this from looking at the people contributing to the chats, then follow the people who are following them, after reading their profiles - aim to follow other academics and PhD students. Look at how many tweets people have done - the more they have chances are they are more experienced and so you'll have more to learn from them.<br />
4) <em>Start your own chat. </em>I would say practice on existing chats first (as 2) - for about a month or so then for your topic area, if there isn't already a chat existing (check <a href="http://www.thechatdiary.com/" target="_blank">http://www.thechatdiary.com/</a> ). Get together with some like minded people you met on twitter through 1) and 2) - send them direct messages if necessary and chat to them on the phone or Skype. Your topic might have another hashtag or several. Decide on a day, a unique hashtag title and a time and hey presto - you're started! <br />
5) <em>Get some support</em> By this stage hopefully you will have at least one supporter or collaborator, you can help bounce ideas off each other. You've got your topic now, all you need is a discussion theme every week or two and you're off! Themes for weekly discussion are probably common to most PhDs so could be: Literature Review; Conceptual Framework; Methods; Results; Discussion; Analysis; Motivation and Procrastination.<br />
6) <em>Start a website or blog based on your chat</em>. Wordpress is probably the best blogging site - you just need a unique name for your site and get going. You can shorten your blogposts using <a href="https://bitly.com/">https://bitly.com/</a> and then post the links on twitter - using your chat hashtag from 4) above. Send direct messages to those people who contributed to your chat to promote the website.<br />
7) <em>Celebrate milestones.</em> For example once your chat is 6 months old you can promote that and put on your website (6) all the achievements of your chat.Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13579722322196967689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2581055586350196756.post-83288050532193750002013-06-29T18:03:00.000+01:002013-06-29T18:03:10.731+01:00Mrs Motivator's emergency 7 point kit1) <em>Have a break</em>. If you're worried that you've already had too long a break then...<br />
2) <em>Write a plan</em>. Scribble down the tasks you need to do on a piece of paper and put timescales on them, put a time/day next to it. What are you going to do? What task or activity? When are you going to do it? For how long? How often? Do you have a contingency plan? Can you share the plan with others to help motivate you?<br />
3) <em>Use a timer</em>. Work for one minute on the most difficult task - break the back of it.<br />
4) <em>Reward yourself</em> with free treats - stick to it, be consistent with yourself.<br />
5) <em>Have a list</em> of your top ten motivators to hand- people preferably still alive that you can talk to personally to help motivate you when you need it. Can you ring them now? Use motivational chats as free treats.<br />
6) <em>Dissect your demotivation</em>: What has caused it? What got you out of it in the past? The same things will work this time.<br />
7) <em>Pick motivational quotes</em> and stick them on your computer monitor - preferably personalised to you - Good feedback? Stick it on your monitor.<br />
Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13579722322196967689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2581055586350196756.post-7865059037758680202013-06-12T19:34:00.000+01:002014-11-14T12:02:56.071+00:00Twenty points to tick off daily for a happy life as a PhDer1) Are you prioritising your mental and physical health? Without good health you can't do anything so...<br />
2) Take regular breaks - for breakfast, lunch and dinner for example. Take care of number 1) - nobody else will.<br />
3) Practice deep breathing - breathe counting to seven in and eleven out - 7/11 easy to remember and you can do it anytime, any place and anywhere. Essentially this is what meditation is.<br />
4) Try to write something everyday, even a to do list will do. But if you don't, then don't beat yourself up about it. Free time is thinking time which is very important too.<br />
5) Put some very easy things on your to-do list that you can tick off - the ticking off will help you feel better.<br />
6) Break tasks down into do-able chunks and put time scales next to them - of how long they take. You can plan your day like this.<br />
7) Read something.<br />
8) Foster a positive relationship with your supervisor - try to act on their feedback and report back to them. If this is problematic then...<br />
9) Ask for advice and help from other sources to get you back on track. Is there a reason why the relationship has been upset? Are you ill? Do you need a break? - go back to 1).<br />
10) Do the most difficult thing on your to do list first. If you can't do this, then <br />
11) Do a few very easy things on your to-do list - ask advice about the difficult thing.<br />
12) If you are having problems on a task or issue - can you have some training on it? Book yourself on some training.<br />
13) Tidy your desk. Sounds small, but always makes me feel so much better! Do it three times daily if necessary.<br />
14) Do some filing. Follows from 13), just grouping your references together in their themes can help to increase your confidence - that you know what they say.<br />
15) Play to your strengths. If you're a morning person then have an early night and get up early. If you're a night owl then stay up late and lie in! You know when you work best, plan your most difficult tasks for that time.<br />
16) Give yourself free treats - whatever floats your boat for the tasks that you complete daily. Have you given yourself one today? Plan what time to do it to increase your motivation. Perhaps a cup of tea for a paragraph.<br />
17) Stay connected with friends and family - best in person, then Skype, then phone, then email. <br />
18) Get support from twitter and the internet to help keep you motivated - look at #phdchat #phdforum #ecrchat and #acwri on twitter.<br />
19) Reward yourself with motivational chats from suitable friends and family, get them to keep you on track<br />
20) Have some exercise - adrenalin and endorphins keeps us going in the darkest of times.Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13579722322196967689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2581055586350196756.post-17279831926736860762013-05-15T15:10:00.000+01:002013-05-15T15:10:10.615+01:00Twenty Tips to get editing - get your teeth into it1) Pinpoint the problem. What is stopping you edit? What is the problem? If it's a point of academic disagreement, then swallow your pride and accept your editor's points.<br />
2) Just do it. Open the document. Work on one sentence at a time. Then a paragraph, then a page.<br />
3) Give yourself free treats as rewards for completing bits. Whatever floats your boat.<br />
4) Have motivational chats with people as your free treats.<br />
5) Draft an email that you may never send, to your editor, addressing their points.<br />
6) Get into a routine of edit, then reward, edit, then reward.<br />
7) Block your time 'In the next hour I am going to edit 200 words'.<br />
8) Make a date with yourself to edit.<br />
9) Ask an expert how they do it.<br />
10) Get warm and comfortable.<br />
11) Have your references close to hand and well organised.<br />
12) Refer back to your original sources, look again at what they said.<br />
13) Are you procrastinating or are you thinking? - write down your thoughts in a short bullet point list.<br />
14) Chunk it - break down the task into doable chunks of even a few minutes at a time.<br />
15) Present your piece verbally to see where the holes are.<br />
16) Read it again.<br />
17) Look at your proof readers' comments again.<br />
18) Use the <a href="http://www.writersdiet.com/WT.php" target="_blank">Writers' diet website</a> <br />
19) Evaluate your progress - how much have you done today, what helped you get going?<br />
20) If you're desperate ask for an extension to your deadline!<br />
Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13579722322196967689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2581055586350196756.post-35810075726364883752013-02-08T16:37:00.000+00:002013-02-08T16:38:15.194+00:00Conquering self confidence issues - ten stepsEvery writer, presenter and author has moments, days, weeks or even years of self doubt. One senior academic said to me that he thought the secret of successful completion of something like a PhD was 50% confidence. Increasing our confidence will therefore increase our writing quality and performance. Confidence and motivation go hand in hand - you can't motivate yourself if you don't feel confident. To write something like a PhD you need both so these ten steps might help you along the way.<br />
1) Don't panic. Breathe deeply - 7/11 technique- count to seven breathing in, count to eleven breathing out. It is totally normal to doubt your writing skills/editing skills/public speaking or whatever it is. Everyone has periods where they doubt themselves and get a little anxious, just don't let it get out of control so it affects your everyday life. Easy to say, but follow my <a href="http://bit.ly/UHfztx">other top ten tips to prevent panic</a> and you will hopefully stave off these negative and counterproductive feelings and behaviours.<br />
2) Talk to someone. Share your writing or thoughts on the topic with someone whose writing skills you admire, someone who makes you feel better; you are probably doing much better than you think. Get them to bolster your confidence. Say to them 'look I'm not sure about this', see what they say.<br />
3) Get yourself in the confidence protective bubble before you write or present. It is worth setting aside an hour to do this with a good friend or relative. First think of four of your best, happiest memories - in date order. It might help to write them down - just a word to remind you of each. Feel yourself smiling as you remember and really revel in it. The first one should be a time from childhood or youth, the others later, then imagine as you think of each your confidence/happiness/relaxation doubling and trebling each time. By the fourth memory you should be ready to conquer the world. Now imagine yourself (or better still actually stand up and do it) stepping into your confidence bubble, at the level of confidence of your quadrupling of the four memories, smiling, happy and confident, ready to take on anything. Practice 5 times daily.<br />
4) Just write a sentence. Then a paragraph, then a page. Or edit previous work. Or do a bullet point list of the first things that come into your head. Summarise the most exciting things you've uncovered in the past 2 weeks. Then celebrate or reward yourself, allow yourself to write your blog, go on facebook, phone a friend, have a nap or whatever.<br />
5) Pin your free treats or rewards for writing/practising on your fridge. When you forget what you have at your disposal to motivate yourself, there it is.<br />
6) Consider Coaching & Get a Mentor<br />
You should be able to get a workplace or University mentor. Just ask a member of staff who has inspired you before to help mentor you through whatever process you are finding difficult. You could get some free coaching from a coaching institution which is training people to become coaches, thus getting a student coach. Coaches are good at helping you meet your goals. Some of them are trained in hypnotherapy techniques such as NLP which is very helpful for poor confidence.<br />
7) Meditation<br />
By setting aside time each day to practice deep breathing as outlined in step 1, you are effectively meditating. It is a very good idea if you have problems commiting even a few seconds to this that you learn how to use the stopwatch on your smartphone or use an eggtimer and just practice deep breathing for 3 minutes a day to start with. You will find that as well as feeling more confident you will feel calmer and more focussed, very useful attributes. Don't worry if you fall asleep - sleep is excellent when we're stressed and anxious.<br />
8) 'Positive self talk'/Prayer/Self hypnosis<br />
Once you've mastered meditation (perhaps after a week) introduce positive statements of what you want to be doing, visualise yourself doing it eg 'Let me learn, grow and develop'. This is self hypnosis and there are plenty of books you could get from the library to fine tune your skills in developing this. Prayer - some people love and claim great results from - perhaps start off with counting your blessings, expressing thanks for all the things in your life and end on a request to help yourself on a particular do-able task.<br />
9) Hypnotherapy<br />
There are many schools of hypnotherapy who are happy to accept volunteers for students to practice their hypnotherapy on - and lack of self confidence is a very easy complaint for hypnosis to work on.<br />
10) Take a break. It could be that for reasons entirely out of anyone's control - death or illness for example that you simply need a break from work and study to nurse your confidence back to its usual levels. Just give yourself a break if this is your situation. Enjoy the time off and come back when you are feeling better.Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13579722322196967689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2581055586350196756.post-81719753707025674112013-01-20T11:56:00.000+00:002013-01-20T11:56:04.263+00:00Top Ten Tips to diffuse 'PhD Panic'This is not the Nobel Peace Prize. Nobody has ever died from not writing a PhD. It is not the end of the world that you have hit a blockage. Nobody is going to die because you haven't written 100 words today. Convince yourself via the following steps how counterproductive panic is, and how it's much better to tick off these ten steps from your to-do list than panic over it. <br />
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1) <strong>Stay Calm with Deep Breathing </strong>- try the 7/11 technique. Count to seven when breathing in and count to eleven when breathing out. Can be done anywhere, anytime, any place. Helps you get to sleep too.<br />
2) <strong>Get help</strong>. Acknowledge that you are panicking and immediately seek help. It could be that your panic might lead you down the not-so pleasant path of anxiety and/or depression. Possibly not, but even so talk to your friends and family. If they can't help then seek help from the professionals - the students' union, the careers service, perhaps someone who has helped you before, they will help you again no doubt. <br />
3) <strong>Give yourself a break</strong>. A metaphorical one - free treats, be kind to yourself, and a real one - fresh air or just a few seconds deep breathing, an hour's walk, a nap, a weekend away or time off for longer.<br />
4) <strong>Use Distraction: Do something else. </strong>Either work on a different section, read or do something totally different from the PhD for a little while, coming back to it afresh may give you that calm space and feeling of serenity in your head that is so empowering.<br />
5) <strong>Get a good night's sleep.</strong> Everything is always better in the morning and you may get inspiration to deal with your worries from your dreams.<br />
6) <strong>Take some exercise</strong>. Good for your physical health too, great for invigorating yourself. If you can't face leaving your desk, do a few yoga or Tai Chi moves in a bit of space by your desk. Or a stretch or a nice long yawn looking out of the window; all thinking time.<br />
7) <strong>Allow yourself thinking time.</strong> Really important this that you start to see so-called 'procrastination' as thinking time instead. It only takes a few seconds to write a sentence. Theoretically a thesis could be done in a year; you could write 3,000 words a day but most people probably write 100. All that time is mainly for thinking, not writing so stop beating yourself up! Don't forget you think whilst you're cooking, washing, feeding the cats, having a bath, chatting to friends. Those cogs whir on even when we're asleep.<br />
8) '<strong>Chunk it' </strong>: <strong>Break down the task into doable chunks. </strong>It might be you are just panicking over the very first step, such as finding a document that you have lost. Book a trip to the library or phone a friend to help. Try to make the tasks that you dread as pleasurable as possible. Give yourself a reward for the smallest of steps - like a cup of tea for the first sentence or writing the day's to-do list. Estimate how long each task takes, put timescales (and rewards) against tasks.<br />
9) <strong>Use the internet for support. </strong>This probably needs its own blog post - how to use the internet for support in your PhD, but there are so many<a href="http://thesiswhisperer.com/read-some-phd-student-blogs/"> blogs</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/annatatton1">twitterers</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/search/realtime?q=%23socphd&src=typd">#groups</a>, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/PhDForum/">facebook</a> people, linked in and stuff I don't know about. Find out the twitter feed addresses of your University main people and follow them, then follow the people they're following. You could also use twitter and linked in and facebook to help you keep abreast of your topic. I get enthused whenever someone contacts me and says 'carry on the great work', even if it doesn't feel like particularly great work, it's wonderful you feel you have an army of people behind you supporting you in your research.<br />
10) <strong>Bolster your <a href="http://www.positivityblog.com/index.php/2009/02/20/how-to-build-self-confidence/">self confidence</a>.</strong> Poor self confidence and poor self esteem go hand in hand with anxiety, panic and depression. So whatever you can do to big yourself up is worth doing if there's a whiff of those about. The problem is that with most PhDs, even at the end, we end up being more unsure than ever of concrete conclusions - that's what the Universe is like (ie nobody knows) so it's not surprising we end up doubting ourselves. But we must steer away from seeing ourselves and the PhD as one and the same thing. We are not. We are separate human beings from the PhD, which is some words. If you know you have confidence issues have you tried to tackle them? Re-read your most well received work. Go over in your head words of praise your supervisor has given you. Pin those words to your computer monitor. Have you thought about seeing a <a href="http://www.debbiewaller.com/">hynotherapist</a> for self-confidence? Or a <a href="http://www.kerensmedley.com/coach.php">life coach</a>? Or sorted out a <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/higher-education-network/blog/2012/aug/08/mentoring-higher-education-careers">mentor</a> for yourself at University? - ask an inspirational member of staff that you get on with. Go on a <a href="http://www.the-coaching-academy.com/coaching-course/free-coach-training.asp?sr=ppc&nw=search&kw=coaching%20academy&gclid=CLvqv6fr9rQCFTDMtAodogwAnw">free coaching course</a>. If your panic is hand in hand with a crisis in confidence (it usually is) then use the 'confidence bubble' <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Trance-formations-Neurolinguistic-Programming-Structure-Hypnosis/dp/0911226230/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1358680823&sr=1-1">NLP</a> technique. Imagine you are in your 'confidence bubble.' You are protected inside this bubble in a sphere of happiness, confidence and strength, protected from all the negative things which are outside of it. You need three or preferably four memories of when you have felt most confident - preferably in date order, ie remember the first one first (childhood/teenage) - good exam results? First love? Best friends playing together? Then move forward in time to another memory when you were confident - you are much more confident now in your mind's eye, doubling the first amount of confidence. Then treble it with the third memory, and quadruple with the fourth. The fourth memory should be in glorious technocolour, bright and big and massive. And you should find yourself smiling and confident, happy in your confidence bubble. Repeat 5 times daily. Write down these, your most happy, confident memories and pin them to your computer monitor. Practice especially for Vivas, interviews, public speaking, supervisions and so on. Get into your confidence bubble and write, write, write! Use your new found confidence to sustain <a href="http://www.wikihow.com/Sustain-Motivation-when-You%27re-Struggling">motivation.</a> Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13579722322196967689noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2581055586350196756.post-91971201133765114842013-01-17T17:58:00.000+00:002013-01-17T17:58:42.901+00:00Top Twenty Tips to keep motivated writing again1) Get into a routine. If you've got yourself out of it, then ask yourself why, and try to get back into it. If you can't get into the routine again then<br />
2) Take a break. Have a cup of tea, have a shower. Plan time for thinking<br />
3) Read. Read how to write books, read methodology, re-read reviews, re-read research papers.<br />
4) If you've hit a block and written less than say, 100 words today (<a href="http://writtenkitten.net/#">see written kitten website,</a>) then work on a different section<br />
5) find downloads to listen to - Open University for example<br />
6) Freewrite - a paragraph preferably at the same time each day, part of tip 1) routine<br />
7) Have a comfortable (warm for example), well filed and tidy workspace.<br />
8) Do your blog<br />
9) Post problems online - twitter or facebook<br />
10) celebrate writing 100 words or one paragraph - Rome wasn't built in a day. This is not perfection or a Nobel Peace Prize. It is only a PhD.<br />
11) Do a MindMap.<br />
12) Use aromatherapy - frankinscence oil<br />
13) Hone your to-do list<br />
14) Re-visit your training plan<br />
15) Phone a friend<br />
16) Do some filing<br />
17) Write down your thoughts on bullet points<br />
18) Be systematic in your thinking - draw a table <br />
19) stimulate the 'learning' acupressure points: wrist, forehead, eyebrows, tummy<br />
20) Revisit happy memories - has your supervisor ever given you praise? Go back to that time, place and go over what happened to get that.Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13579722322196967689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2581055586350196756.post-37773159566852758102013-01-04T11:10:00.000+00:002013-01-04T11:10:56.197+00:00Top Ten Tips when you're struggling with your PhD1. Get support<br />
Get as much support from wherever you can. This might be the University careers service, counselling service, equalities service. It could be your friends (from outside academia), perhaps they have skills which you can tap into free of charge, help with time management for example or motivation. Your colleague PhD students will be of enormous help - can they read what you've written? Can you get an academic or non-academic mentor? Do you need to re prioritise if other stuff is going on? Talking to friends and family can help you do this.<br />
2. Ask for time off<br />
Have you had any holiday recently? Are you ill and need to take sick leave? A bit of 'me-time' might be all it takes to get back into the rhythm of writing again.<br />
3. Take time out for thinking<br />
Very important that you allow yourself time to think about things, this can sometimes take weeks. <br />
4. Ask for what you need<br />
Look again at your training plan. Have you understood and taken on board all the training you have done? Do you need to go on some of the training again? Do you need to attend new courses?<br />
5. Listen to and act on feedback<br />
If your supervisor has asked to to rewrite something think carefully about their comments and try to incorporate their thinking - after all they are more experienced than you. If more than two people have said the same thing to you - like 'have you contacted the University counselling service?' then chances are it might be a good idea to do just that.<br />
6. Write as you go along<br />
There are a lot of blogs and help online for example #phdchat on twitter and <a href="http://thethesiswhisper.com/">thethesiswhisper.com.</a> Perhaps set up your own blog and document your thinking, even if it's quite unsure, documenting it might illuminate new avenues. <br />
7. Do something else<br />
Focus on another part of your PhD for a while, perhaps an area where you're stronger. You might have to do something completely different, perhaps join a friend for a badminton, tennis or cycling outing.<br />
8. Read your favourite inspirational texts or books on the topic<br />
To help motivate you at this difficult time.<br />
9. Read how to write books or draw a mind map<br />
Authors like Patrick Dunleavy, Roweena Murray or Tony Buzan might help.<br />
10. Stick up to your supervisorAnnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13579722322196967689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2581055586350196756.post-64058791050101171882012-09-23T09:30:00.003+01:002012-09-23T09:30:43.560+01:00How does dementia affect the relationships and networks of older people?Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13579722322196967689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2581055586350196756.post-81108871063078062532012-07-17T05:02:00.002+01:002012-07-17T05:02:43.916+01:00How to find a good care homeI've been a care home manager and I've also been an activities coordinator and I may get a lot of stick for saying this - but these are the two most important jobs in a care home. If one of them doesn't exist or both of the posts don't then I would be worried in selecting a care home however clean and spotless it looked with its beautiful decor.
So go and visit the care home, after checking that the manager and activities coordinator posts exist. Visit at different times of day so you can see what happens - I suggest 8am, 1pm and 5pm. You will see shocking things no doubt, unfortunately the state of care homes in this country is not good, but look at things pragmatically if you can. Unless you or your relative can afford thousands of pounds a week you will see people in their nightwear at 5pm, you will overhear what could be interpreted as patronising even offensive language being used towards residents, you may even witness people literally crying out for attention - in that situation, if it goes unheard for more than a couple of minutes I suggest you report it if you feel up to it, because if you are searching for a good care home, chances are you're not in a good place psychologically.
In the UK or England at least there is the Care Quality Commission, which has been criticised for not having enough bite, in other words it is letting too many poor care homes slip through the net. It doesn't employ enough people for the job as care is now unfortunately seen as such a lucrative money-spinner, so there are thousands and thousands of care homes. But look on their website (which is very difficult to use unfortunately) and find the care home you are looking for, it will have a simple star rating.
My third piece of advice is to look after yourself at this difficult time. Gather support from whatever person, book, course or professional you can. Grab on to anyone who is informative, helpful and supportive and speak to them again. Get some therapy - now's a very good time for it!
If people do want personalised advice leave a comment at the bottom and I will try to get back to you.Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13579722322196967689noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2581055586350196756.post-2616399462509784392012-07-03T18:16:00.001+01:002012-07-03T18:16:12.258+01:00When I think 'I can't do this'<ul>
<li>Have a break</li>
<li>Ask for help</li>
<li>Do something else</li>
<li>accept that you can't solve this problem at the moment and go back to other things</li>
<li>make a cup of tea</li>
<li>Email people</li>
<li>have a nap</li>
<li>go on a run or plan a trip to the gym</li>
<li>read favourite inspirational books</li>
<li>read how to write books</li>
</ul>Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13579722322196967689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2581055586350196756.post-47451696638346244572012-04-24T19:59:00.000+01:002012-04-24T19:59:04.126+01:00Why I declared support for 'Care Not Killing' todayLast Tuesday I went to a truly uplifting and inspirational presentation at the University of Leeds by <a href="http://www.ageuk.org.uk/">Age UK.</a> It was inspiring because it enabled me to see the 'bigger picture' of where my dementia research might fit into the world. I've been getting a bit lost in the nitty gritty of the detail and it made me see there are millions of people out there, who I could help, because I am looking into the reasons why some people who get dementia seem to slip through the social support networks of friends and family. The presentation was also incredibly upbeat. Yes, we have an ageing population - and isn't that fantastic? I truly believe that it - human longevity - is the greatest achievement of science. It's wonderful that people born when I was born can expect to live a good twenty years longer than people born when our great grandparents were born. OK, there is inequality which we must also do something about, but the progress in us living longer is truly astounding.<br />
<br />
I got into correspondence with Age UK, saying how much I enjoyed the presentation and they asked me if I would consider blogging for them about my research, or related topics. And it made me think 'what can I blog about?' My research is in its infancy - in a way I am overwhelmed by what I feel we don't know. I don't feel in a position to start broadcasting to the world on my findings so far - there aren't any. But I feel passionately about a number of things that are related to ageing, one of those things is opposition to 'Dignitas'. I am sick of hearing about what a 'burden' older people are. Then I saw this article in the <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9223610/Elderly-will-almost-pay-for-NHS-by-2030.html">Telegraph</a> today basically saying what a huge resource our pensioners are. Feeling I had to act with my feet to help say to older people 'you're worth it!' I then signed the declaration of support for <a href="http://www.carenotkilling.org.uk/declaration/">Care not Killing</a>. But I suppose I would support that wouldn't I? To expect anything less would be like expecting turkeys to vote for Christmas.Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13579722322196967689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2581055586350196756.post-48785955068326313742012-04-12T18:00:00.004+01:002012-10-08T16:40:39.283+01:00How to diffuse 'PhD Panic'<ul>
<li>talk to people</li>
<li>write lists</li>
<li>lipsyl</li>
<li>frankinscence oil</li>
<li>Read</li>
<li>Write</li>
<li>Think of Five Amazing Things - write them down (Count your blessings)</li>
<li><strong>This;</strong> is not a matter of life and death. This is a PhD. That's all.</li>
<li>Plan work as a project.</li>
<li>Break down topic or problem into doable tasks. Put timescales on each task.</li>
<li>Get a sense of perspective. </li>
<li>Go on a walk.</li>
<li>Have a short break</li>
<li>Remember your PhD is a journey, like any of life's journeys, it will have its ups and downs. Appreciate the contours. </li>
<li>When you get a breakthrough, write it down.</li>
<li>Remember this is a three year training position - the whole thing is you are getting trained.</li>
<li>Re-read what your supervisor has written to you.</li>
<li>And then re-read it again.</li>
</ul>
Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13579722322196967689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2581055586350196756.post-15716964025385990852012-04-06T13:26:00.000+01:002012-04-06T13:26:30.402+01:00Top ten writing tips when you've just had a supervision1) Prioritise : remember 1) health 2) family 3) PhD<br />
2) Freewrite <br />
3) Time yourself freewriting - and write this at the bottom of your work<br />
4) Background reading for half an hour<br />
5) Freewrite for 5 minutes on what you've just read<br />
6) share your writing - present it to friends and family to help you learn it<br />
7) write down learning points/academic arguments to discuss with supervisor at next supervision<br />
8) plan training for the month<br />
9) plan your main pieces of writing<br />
10) schedule in freewriting time over the next week, at a time when you are most productiveAnnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13579722322196967689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2581055586350196756.post-82252875188977526812012-04-03T08:20:00.000+01:002012-04-03T08:20:28.188+01:00Writing tips when you haven't got much time to writeBreak down tasks into doable chunks - how long will each task take?<br />
Are you saying what you want to say?<br />
Are your findings telling us what we know?<br />
Spend one minute only on a particular task - then tick it off your list so you feel like you've accomplished something<br />
Tick off a sentence when you are happy with it<br />
Tick off a paragraph<br />
use a thesaurus<br />
Correct your typos<br />
Re-read your favourite sections to help keep you motivated<br />
Schedule enough time to do it, at a time when you are most productive<br />
Re-read documents, if you're having problems motivating yourself re-read your best received work<br />
Do some background reading of study skills and writing books<br />
Get help<br />
Listen to feedback<br />
Book yourself on writing courses<br />
Use dictation machine<br />
Use positive self talk methods - 'My writing is improving and I am writing more productively each day'Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13579722322196967689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2581055586350196756.post-34547703927276200922012-03-31T12:43:00.000+01:002012-03-31T12:43:25.038+01:00In older people with dementia do social relationships affect their experience?Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13579722322196967689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2581055586350196756.post-67614619186068610012012-02-25T09:56:00.001+00:002012-10-08T16:47:11.358+01:00Advice from mentor on how to pass Transfer- passing transfer is very important, need to know on right track<br />
- Devise a Gantt Chart<br />
- Devise a Action Plan<br />
- Devise a Time-Table<br />
- Do additional reading over Easter Holidays<br />
- Ensure in agreement with supervisor on academic issues<br />
- Become ideal studentAnnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13579722322196967689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2581055586350196756.post-6279742547349527302012-01-13T17:15:00.000+00:002012-01-13T17:15:08.012+00:00How to end the day's writing<ul><li>Always end on a positive</li>
<li>Write a list</li>
<li>Read the introduction</li>
<li>tidy desk</li>
<li>read favourite writers - Kitwood, Downs, Bartlett, Ballenger, Journal of Clinical Ethics</li>
<li>Read MA</li>
</ul>Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13579722322196967689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2581055586350196756.post-39663290562120716952011-09-10T15:10:00.000+01:002011-09-10T15:10:30.090+01:00All I want to do is...<span style="font-size: large;">Write a timely, well written PhD that I can put to good use to help older people with dementia.</span>Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13579722322196967689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2581055586350196756.post-31389372372479928282011-08-29T09:33:00.002+01:002011-08-29T09:33:16.519+01:00Can you teach how to love in the dementia care setting?Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13579722322196967689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2581055586350196756.post-21452685310088060822011-08-06T09:26:00.001+01:002011-08-06T10:42:40.146+01:00Protectionism and dementiaYou might think the collapse of the world's stock exchanges would mean very little for people with dementia. How wrong. The 1930s, the last time we saw the results of a crash on this scale, could be called 'the Dementia Dark Ages'. Older people with dementia languished in back wards, undiagnosed, untreated and there was little or no research going on, with apparently nobody looking at what research had been done years before. Part of the problem was each country being very protective of its own economic interests. Germany at this time had developed into the country most able and forward looking in terms of neuroscience, but still the hostilities continued, two World Wars of course sent us back to real dark ages.<br />
Attending conferences, still new in the 1930s was not and is still not seen as a beneficial or innovative way of anyone spending their time. Yes, how silly, that academics might share ideas and inspire each other at international conferences. But that is precisely how the advances in dementia care and treatment happened in human history. Sam Robinson, one of the first old age psychiatrists, attended the 'Third Congress of the International Association for Gerontology' in 1954. There he met Raphael Ginzburg, a pioneering US gerontologist who Robinson said 'passed some sort of baton to me' (p9 Hilton <i>Old Age Psychiatry </i>2008) and Robinson went on to set up one of the first old age psychiatric units.<br />
<br />
So, please, policy makers: Encourage and pay for your medics, allied health professionals and academics to attend international conferences and share best practice. This is the best way that learning, innovation and research takes place.Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13579722322196967689noreply@blogger.com0