Heathivate

Today is another day where I’m not at a conference I’d love to be at. Ah well, next year? http://www.healthivate.com/

You can follow the tweets made today using the #hivate hash tag on twitter.

 

See below for my jumbled thoughts after reading about the conference all day!!

 

I loved reading about people who are speaking what I’m thinking.

 

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Fresh food!! Fresh, fresh, fresh!! Skip the yuppie overpriced markets and just look for a small fruit & veggie shop with locally sourced produce!

 

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In the past few weeks I’ve realised how important it is that I get to share my story.

 

Is it ‘my’ story, when it was Ben’s health? Well, in a way, yes. Many things I’ve mentioned to him, he has no memory of because he was too busy trying to survive. But also because people need to have an understanding that even if you don’t hold a Government-issued carer’s card, you are still a carer if you live with someone who has a chronic illness. Every small step  you take towards positive actions in your life has on going benefits. Benefits larger than whatever the small step was.

 

And of course, as Ben’s health issues are all around diabetes, it’s more and more likely that others will have the same problems we’ve had, considering how diabetes and other NCD’s (non communicable diseases) are the biggest outbreak of ill health these days.

 

But the other thing I’ve realised is that I’m not focusing enough on my own health. Still. Other things still keep getting put first. And I’ve got to stop that. It’s time for me to swap my mindset from carer of someone else to carer of myself. I am overweight. I shouldn’t be. I have no need to be.

 

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Something else I feel I should add: I do plan for my book to cost money. I do hope that it makes money.

 

Why? If this is so important, why would I charge money? Well, we’ve had two years of lost income, scrimping and debts. I want to earn that income back. If you have a problem with that, I’m sorry, but it’s a decision I’ve come to based on our needs. I don’t view earning money as dirty or bad. It’s a necessary part of life. I haven’t even looked into publishers, so it’s highly likely I’ll self publish & it won’t cost much anyway.

 

I posted recently about what I want to share on my blog. I decided to keep it simple. Is this to sell the ‘real’ story in the book? No. This is because the real story is long and complex. A blog isn’t. Pure formatting & accessibility issues. I chat pretty freely about everything we’ve gone through to anyone who asks.

 

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But moving away from that, I love the fact that conferences like Healtivate exist. I love to hear that some people in medicine respect the patient’s choices. That they’re not treated punitively. We feel like a hassle a lot in medical situations. It’s not that staff are rude or anything (barring a few, but that happens in any place) but in my view it’s part of a wider social issue.

 

The way that governments seem to be run as businesses affects the way medical staff view patients. We’re a cost. A burden. A hassle. No one seems to realise that government is there to serve the people. Trust me, if we had the cash we’d much rather be in the private health system than the public! I think if governments went back to realising that (while they shouldn’t be in debt) they have a duty to citizens, the subtle negative attitudes would really disappear and it would create a more positive health care experience for everyone.

 

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Your body doesn’t know the difference between fake and real laughter.

 

Wow. I’m finding that fascinating! I thought our brains had more control over physiological reactions than that!

 

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Why are you on twitter?

 

I have no idea how I got started on twitter.

 

Firstly I had a private personal account. I followed the few real life friends who had twitter and some celebrities.

 

Then I had a public account for my travel blog. I liked this but then I felt travel blogging was far too commercial and I didn’t enjoy it. Everyone was happy to talk but couldn’t do it without selling to you.

 

Finally I started this blog and I’ve somehow connected with the most amazing group of people. I love the people I follow on the twitter account for this blog. From such diverse backgrounds and all so supportive of everything even when we all have different beliefs.

 

Why am I on twitter though – I guess to connect. I hadn’t really thought about it. Because I want to be?

 

Am I information sharing?

I like to read and rewtweet information I’ve found useful.

 

Am I a personal account?

Absolutely! I can only relate to and explain what has happened in my house.

 

Am I a support account?

Not in the way I think this questions meant. But I do like to support others.

 

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Fantastic social media advice from https://twitter.com/Claire

 

TWEET = Target, Write, Engage, Explore and Track.

 

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I’d hoped to follow more but the hash tag got flooded with spam so I gave up.

 

Another conference to put on my ‘to do’ list!!