The Purpose And Meaning Of My Life

THE PURPOSE AND MEANING OF MY LIFE- LETS TALK FOR OUR WELLBEING

By Chloe Jones

Another insightful conversation was hosted on Thursday 28th of July, while in the spirit of celebrating oneself, Utuvuli, Mojatu and members of the community reconnected to explore ‘’The Purpose and Meaning of My Life’’. This topic was one of the many soul-stirring topics which are part of the ‘ ‘Lets Talk For Our Wellbeing’’ discussions held on this day. Finding your purpose and meaning of life is utterly special to every individual,a quest that differs greatly from every life. A question to be pondered solely, extroverted or both. Along the way to discovery of your purpose may feel idiosyncratic at times and adaptable. To provoke thought, we asked ourselves a series of questions: Is my Life Is Too Busy? 33% of the group said they slightly agree, 50 % of the group said slightly disagree while 17% said they were not sure.

People followed this by saying although life felt overwhelmingly busy at times, there are ways in which to make it feel more manageable, creating lists, ticking things off and creating simple structure as well as committing yourself to a quiet moment of every day by devoting time to yourself. Switching your mobile phone off and letting friends and family know that you are having a break from social media can allow space in your mind to feel less busy as the majority of our responsibilities are reminded to us via our phones which can make us feel glued to the screen as opposed to our consciousness. Personally, I find not going on your phone when you first wake up is important, it can shape the rest of your day to feel productive without having to digest all the phone information before checking in with yourself. Remind yourself of what self-love tasks really mean to you. Usually doing something fueled by self-love will feel hard at the time but the benefits reaped later on, as self-sabotage usually feels good at the time but the consequences pay later. Create your own personalised list of radical self love tasks that you can do in between busy days. Do I have time for myself? 50% said they strongly agree and 33% said they slightly agree. It was discussed that ‘’time for yourself’’ is completely objective and that you should consider how you wish to spend it. Time for myself could sometimes mean dedicating time to my career, cooking a nutritious meal or simply being yourself. When do you feel like you’re spending your time most valuably? Taking this time is how we recover and how we build resilience, to be able to cope with the obstacles that occur in life that once felt enough to derail us but now can feel like a lesson.

Some women opened up about the struggles of finding ‘me time’ in the chaos of motherhood, but conveying the importance to your family of having quiet and alone time in the day for a few moments made a huge difference to their wellbeing. Do I have a sense of meaning and purpose in my life? One woman courageously shared that her purpose in life is healing from her trauma and teaching similar lessons on healing and growth to the people around her. For myself, my purpose and meaning in life is to live freely and authentically, to avoid compromising myself for anyone and to take all opportunities that come to me. Someone followed by sharing that their purpose and meaning in life was to be courageous and take the risk, always listen to their instincts. And finally one woman shared that life to her was all about connections with others and inspiring each other’s meanings in life. To conclude this conversation it is obvious that every matchless moment in someone’s life may inspire their own meaning, or perhaps the shifting of perspective in scenarios will teach you purpose and especially the connections and experiences shared with others may stride to inspire the discovery of your very personal meaning and purpose of life.

WHAT DOES FLOREY CLINIC DO By Raveena Hargun

The Florey clinic provides a free confidential integrated sexual health service in Reading, Wokingham, and West Berkshire. It provides a state of physical, emotional, mental, and social wellbeing. The clinic provides information on the different methods of contraception that are available and how they can be used. In addition to this, they do a full sexual health screening service including tests for chlamydia, HIV, Gonorrhoea, and syphilis testing which only takes 60 seconds. The clinic will provide accurate information, confidential care, and support for all aspects of your sexual health. All their services are free and there are no prescription charges. Florey clinic’s sexual health and contraceptive advice are based on 21A Craven Rd, Reading RG1 5LE is open Monday to Friday from 9 am to 4:30 pm - website: safesexberkshire. nhs.uk

STI is a sexually transmitted infection that is generally acquired by sexual contact this can cause bacteria, viruses, and parasites that can be transmitted from person to person in the blood or semen, or vaginal and other bodily fluids. You can order a home testing kit sent to you confidentially or go to Florey clinic and it’s completely free. HIV (Human immunodeficiency virus) is a virus that attacks the body’s immune system. If HIV is not treated, it can lead to AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). HIV is treated with antiretroviral medicines, which work by stopping the virus from replicating in the body. This allows the immune system to repair itself and prevent further damage. Chlamydia is a bacterial infection. The bacteria are usually spread through sex or contact with infected genital fluids (semen or vaginal fluid). Symptoms include pain when urinating, unusual vaginal discharge, and pain in the tummy or pelvis. Pain during sex or bleeding after sex. Chlamydia is treated with antibiotics.

Gonorrhoea is caused by bacteria and is mostly passed from one person to another by sexual contact including oral, anal, or Virginal intercourse. The symptoms include a thick green or yellow discharge from the vagina or penis when peeing and in women bleeding between periods. Did you know? around 1 in 10 infected men and almost half of infected women do not experience any symptoms. Some people need help and support, especially young teenagers that are under the age of 18 and above. They will need help and advice because they might need the emergency contraceptive pill. Especially when we have the highest teenage pregnancy rate in Reading. Florey clinic gives you advice on how to keep safe. What to be aware of when you use drugs for sex: Mixing drugs and sex can be potentially harmful, also, drugs and alcohol can give you lower inhibition. What to think about if you use the hook-up app or chatroom with people online? This is important because you need to know how to keep safe especially if you are using a chatroom. You need to know how safe it is whether they are taking any pictures – do not trust people that have disappearing messages or screenshot blockers. Sometimes it is best not to meet people that are in the chatroom. People getting paid for sex need to make sure nothing happens to them, and they are being careful. Florey clinics keep safe section, they will give more information on sexual exploitation and what to do if you think you or someone else may be at risk of child sexual exploitation. In addition to this, they also help people who have been sexually assaulted and raped and guide victims on how to report the matter to the police. There is a sexual assault referral clinic that offers a safe, discreet, and caring environment as well as provides you with a well-trained Crisis worker through the SARC (Sexual Assault Referral Centre). Even though you are in SARC they will provide you with a forensic examination by a specialist forensic doctor who treats you with respect and will ask for your consent before examining you. They will also be crisis support throughout your initial visit and will arrange followup appointments and telephone advice as well as introduce you to other necessary services. This is the website for SARC: www. solacesarc.org.uk - Helpline: 0300 130 3036

You can also contact Reading Trust House Sexual Abuse Centre. This is the website RTHSAC: Trusthousereading.org - Helpline: 0118 958 4033