Health & Wellbeing

The barn owl that was quartering her usual fi elds, stopping on a post every now and then to take stock PHOTO: PHOTO: Kevin/Pixabay Kevin/Pixabay

Meditations in nature: Soundscapes to heal your thoughts

by Dr Susie Curtin

I have just returned from a sunset quest to see the barn owl and the two young foxes that live down by the River Stour. It has been a diffi cult day – one of those where nothing goes quite right and single tasks take too long.

I was very glad to escape into nature where there is so much more to focus on than my frustrations, and the circling pessimism about the environment and the economic uncertainty we all face.

Instead, my attention turned to the foxy siblings who were rolling and playing chase, and the barn owl that was quartering her usual fi elds, stopping on a post every now and then to take stock and to listen for voles. I could feel the tight muscles in my face soften into a smile as she fl ew straight towards me down the track.

As the sun set over the hills and the washed-out colours of early September diminished, I began to key into the soothing sounds of the riverbank that were wafting downstream.

The kingfi sher I had seen earlier was still calling its single, shrill note as it shot past me, the familiar streak of metallic blue just visible in the gloom.

Then came the squawking, prehistoric sounds of a heron as it took to the skies to fi nd its roost, and the mutterings from the moorhen hunkering down beside the banks.

The squadron of starlings that I had seen sweep and swirl in a mini-murmuration before diving down into the reeds were noisily jostling for position, while a distant

tawny owl and the mewing of sheep completed the evening symphony as I made haste in the darkness.

Now back home, feeling happier and pleasantly sleepy, I am sat with a hot drink on my patio listening to my garden crickets clicking and chirping to attract their mates – a sound that takes me back to end-ofsummer camps and my travels in Greece as a youth.

The clouds above me are dissipating and gradually the constellations of the Plough and Cassiopeia become straddled by the Milky Way. My newly acquainted hedgehog is rustling through the dry summer debris behind my ash tree, looking for snails and slugs, sniffl ing and snorting as he moves through the garden. Beside me, Henry my cat lies purring.

I cannot think of a better end to a diffi cult day, away from the television and the nightly news. An after-dinner walk, and time and space to be at one with an evening soundscape, creates moments of peacefulness and instils a calm and fulfi lled sleep. n Dr Susie Curtin (email curtin.susanna@ gmail.com)

The one to ten of happier living...

The World Happiness Project is launching a series of online Happy Cafe meetings this month to support NHS staff working across Dorset.

The fortnightly meetings are aimed at the 50,000-plus staff working in all sectors of the NHS across the county, including the region’s hospitals, Foundation Trusts, primary care networks, GP practices, local councils and care providers.

The aim is to create a warm, friendly and welcoming online place where staff can meet informally and share their interest in personal happiness, improved mental health and well-being in the home, the community and the workplace. Meetings provide an opportunity to meet like-minded people and discuss practical ways to deal with common issues in a fun, informative and inspirational way.

During the initial trial period, guest speakers will be talking about a range of important issues and highlighting some of Dorset HealthCare’s ‘Here For Each other’ staff well-being initiatives, which include well-being coaching, counselling, psychological therapy and mental and physical health.

They will also be introducing the Action for Happiness: Ten keys to happier living, based on a simple mnemonic, GREAT DREAM which stands for: Giving (doing things for others); Relating (connecting with people); Exercising (taking care of our body); Awareness (living life mindfully); Trying out (keep learning new things); Direction (having goals to look forward to); Resilience (fi nding ways to bounce back); Emotions (looking for what's good in life); Acceptance (being comfortable with who you are); Meaning (being part of something bigger).

Find out more about the ‘Here For Each Other’ Happy Cafes online at www.wellnet. dorset.nhs.uk.

In the face of the cost-of-living crisis it can be a good idea to switch off your news feed or radio for a few hours or a few days. PHOTO: Vitaliy Shmidt/Pixabay

How to take control of ‘crisis’ talk

by Alice Johnsen

The ‘cost-of-living crisis’ is a label or tagline that fl ows off the page very easily. Wherever you look, there is reference to it, often either written in unhelpful or anxiety-creating language.

It’s not all like that. A lot of media coverage is providing us with essential information so we can make informed choices about the months ahead. But I would also urge us all to remember, not all sources of news coverage are accurate. Can we really believe everything we read? Of course not. Many reports are too focused on the emotions this situation is triggering – an all too easy game for something as serious as the fuel and budget fi asco that is brewing up across Europe right now.

While we cannot necessarily help our reaction – which can become very draining and distracting – we can take control of how much of it we absorb. I remember talking about this during the early days of the coronavirus epidemic. Self-monitoring applies now as it did then. If the drip feed of fear-fuelled media is causing you to feel anxious about the immediate future, take a step back.

Unless you are employed in a role where you have a direct eff ect on the policies or prices we face, it’s okay to take a break from it. Switch off your news feed or radio for a few hours or a few days.

If you are feeling overwhelmed by your situation, I would urge you to seek help. My fi rst port of call would be Citizens Advice. Go to www. citizensadvice.org.uk Getting help is not easy but the hardest part is the fi rst phone call or fi rst contact.

If, having read this, you would like to help others, can I suggest a charity which provides meals to feed people in need. The Country Food Trust uses game to produce single pouches or catering packs to support other charities feeding large numbers of people who need such support. If you’d like to support them please go to www.thecountryfoodtrust.org

Without doubt, this is the season to look after ourselves by taking a step back when we need to and by asking for help when we feel overwhelmed. It is also time to look out for our neighbours, too. n Alice Johnsen is a life coach based near Sherborne (07961 080513; alicejohnsen.co.uk)

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Health & Wellbeing

Just the tonic for winter and spring

by Fiona Chapman

I don’t know if it is going to be a very cold winter, but in the spring, I noticed the trees, particularly oak, laden with fl owers and there is now an abundance of acorns. Likewise, the blackberries are phenomenal at the moment and I regularly have a breakfast of them as I am walking my dogs.

It is the time to be harvesting and there are a huge variety of herbs which can be picked or dug up and dried or processed for the long winter days.

This year, as there is no college for me to think about, I am going to try and make some really good tonics to get my family through the winter. I also have an eye on the spring and the hay-fever season, so if I can make something that will provide protection from colds during the winter and give my body some resistance to pollen for the spring, it would be ideal.

The elderberries are, as I write, almost ripe for picking. The berries should be removed from the stalk, and they need cooking, as raw, they contain quite a bit of cyanide which is not something we want to consume. Cooked, they provide the most amazing amounts of vitamin C, have quantities of anti-oxidants and are antiinfl ammatory, and have been proved to help the body fi ght off some fl u viruses.

Rose hips, particularly those from dog roses, are the most potent. Again, they are packed with vitamins, particularly C and anti-oxidants. Depending on your harvest, but it should always be responsible and never take too much, I cook these berries in the juice of two organic apples and fi ltered water to cover the fruit. Cook until they are soft. I add dried elderfl owers – harvested in spring – and fresh nettle into the cooked berries right at the end and leave it to all steep together.

The elderfl owers are particularly good for upper respiratory infections and with the nettle prepare the body for the hay-fever season by acclimatising it to pollen. The nettles are also full of minerals the body needs. I use the young, fresh nettles which have a second fl ush in the autumn.

Once steeped, it can be overnight, the whole lot should then be put through a muslin cloth to get rid of pips and hairs and fi bre. I fi nd this quite sweet enough, but you can add some untreated organic honey – again excellent for hay-fever – to taste which will also help to preserve it. It should be kept in the fridge – or freezer if I make a surplus – and can be added to fi zzy water as a lovely, light refreshing pack-apunch drink! n Fiona Chapman is a naturopathic herbalist (Pellyfi ona@gmail.com)

Elderberries provide amazing amounts of vitamin C, have quantities of anti-oxidants and are antiinfl ammatory, and have been proved to help the body fi ght off some fl u viruses. PHOTO: Rita-und-mit/ Pixabay

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