Category Archives: Health & Wellbeing

‘Big Energy Saving Winter Event’ Thursday 26th November 2020 @11am

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Worried about energy bills this winter? Green Doctors are here to help!
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This is a free service aiming to tackle fuel poverty & promote affordable warmth by advising households on ways to reduce energy costs (Provided by Groundwork Yorkshire). They have helped many people save over £300 per year on their energy costs.
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They also help you to ensure house repairs are undertaken and provide advice on various benefits, all for free.
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Call 0113 238 0601 to speak to a member of their team

You can learn more about energy saving tips for yourself by joining the: ‘Big Energy Saving’ Event

This is a UK-wide campaign delivered by Citizens Advice, Energy Saving Trust and the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) that aims to help you cut your energy bills and access financial support you may be entitled to.

The impact of Covid-19 on energy usage over the coming months is expected to be greater than ever, and energy bills are a big worry for many this winter. Green Doctors are a team of expert energy advisers offering free support to vulnerable residents all year round to help them get on top of energy debt, switch provider, access grants and manage their energy use in the home.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/big-energy-saving-winter-tickets-127303204311?aff=erelexpmlt

Green Doctor Logo

International Men’s Day

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Thursday 19th November 2020 is International Men’s Day and the launch day of Men’s Health Unlocked – a city wide network for men’s health.

More information about this is here: https://forumcentral.org.uk/leeds-mens-health-unlocked-network-launching-this-international-mens-day/

Throughout the day they are releasing short videos about men’s health issues, contributions from projects already happening in the city and plans for the future.  These can all be seen on their twitter account https://twitter.com/mhuleeds or on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmXJyRRzOoNd-IWIv6V-fJA

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Warning to Royal Mail customers over new e-mail con that can be hard to spot

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From Leeds Live

With Christmas just around the corner a convincing scam email has been circulated that is targeting users, the Express reports.

It is asking people to pay just a £1.99 fee for an undelivered item of mail – but while the sum might seem small, what they actually want is bank account details.

Now Local Neighborhood Watch schemes have issued a warning urging customers to be extra careful about the new phishing scam.

It comes after a message that was recently received by a Royal Mail customer. The email claimed that Royal Mail had tried to deliver a letter unsuccessfully. And it simply asked the resident to pay a fee of £1.99 in order to redeliver the item.

To do this, they were encouraged to enter bank details online in order to complete the transaction. Both the low fee and the style of the email made the recipient think it could be legitimate.

Just to be on the safe side, however, they contacted fraud experts first – and were warned off.

The email was sent to a homeowner in the Buckinghamshire area – and now customers across the UK have been urged to be careful.

Ray Walsh, digital privacy expert at ProPrivacy, said: “Anybody who receives an email claiming to be from the Royal Mail must remember that they will not ever be asked to pay a redelivery fee.

“Never input your bank or card information after following a link on any email that claims it is from the Royal Mail, because it will result in your card details being stolen by criminals.

“If you have reason to believe that you may have been tricked, it is essential that you contact your bank and cancel your card at once. Additionally, check your statements for any signs of unauthorised transactions.”

The Royal Mail has also got advice for anyone who thinks they could be getting tricked.

A statement on its website said: “If you receive a suspicious email or discover a Royal Mail-branded website which you think is fraudulent, please let us know by contacting us.

“If you have been the victim of a payment scam, you can get a crime reference number by reporting it to your local police station.”

Please keep yourself safe and if you have anything you are unsure of just get in touch with family, friends, or even our ourselves to talk it through. We need to keep vigilant together.

https://personal.help.royalmail.com/…/answe…/detail/a_id/303

Royal Mail - Wikipedia

‘Online Everyday First Aid Workshop’ with the British Red Cross – Friday 27th November 2020 @10.30am

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Dear all,

Caring Together invites you to the virtual ‘Everyday First Aid workshop’ with the British Red Cross.

Date: Friday 27th November 2020

Time: 10.30am

Venue: Online via zoom

Following government guidelines relating to Covid-19 British Red Cross decided, as an organisation, to temporarily stop all face to face First Aid and workshops.

In the meantime, to keep providing the valuable service they have been working on digitalising their learning platforms and would like to offer you an online workshop, all of which are delivered via Zoom where you will learn about every day first aid in the current climate.

If you would like to join us then please get in touch: lisa@caringtogether.org.uk or call me on 07436 530073.

British Red Cross | CHS Alliance

Poetry Corner: ‘November comes and goes’ by Elizabeth Coatsworth

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“November comes
And November goes,
With the last red berries
And the first white snows.

With night coming early,
And dawn coming late,
And ice in the bucket
And frost by the gate.

The fires burn
And the kettles sing,
And earth sinks to rest
Until next spring.”

‘Monday Mind Workout’ answers for Monday 16th November 2020

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Good morning, this weeks Monday Mind work answers are below for wise sayings, how did you do?
 
Wise Sayings
 
1. Many hands make light WORK
 
2. Look before you LEAP
 
3. Fools rush in where OTHERS fear to tread
 
4. Don’t put all your EGGS in one basket
 
5. Up the CREEK without a paddle
 
6. GRASS is always greener on the other side
 
7. It never rains but it POURS
 
8. The heart is willing but the FLESH is weak
 
9. Make HAY while the sun shines
 
10. A little of what you LIKE Does you good
 
11. Like two PEAS in a pod
 
12. Once BITTEN twice shy
 
13. A BIRD in the hand is worth 2 in the bush
 
14. Too many COOKS spoil the broth
 
15. He who laughs last laughs LONGEST
 
16. Bright as a BUTTON
 
17. TIDE and time waits for no man
 
18. Two WRONGS don’t make a right
 
19. The world is your OYSTER
 
20. If you can’t be good be CAREFUL

‘Monday Mind Workout’ Monday 16th November 2020

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Good morning, this weeks Monday Mind work is to fill in the blank on the below wise sayings – all the best

Wise Sayings 
1.     Many hands make light ………………….
2.     Look before you ……………
3.     Fools rush in where …………… fear to tread
4.     Don’t put all your ……….in one basket
5.     Up the ……..without a paddle
6.     ……….is always greener on the other side
7.     It never rains but it ……..
8.     The heart is willing but the ……..is weak
9.     Make…….while the sun shines
10.  A little of what you ……. Does you good
11.  Like two……..in a pod
12.  Once ……..twice shy
13.  A ……………in the hand is worth 2 in the bush
14.  Too many ……..spoil the broth
15.  He who laughs last laughs ………
16.  Bright as a ……..
17.  ……..and time waits for no man
18.  Two …….. don’t make a right
19.  The world is your ………
20.  If you can’t be good be ………

World Diabetes Day – Saturday 14th November

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Today is #WorldDiabetesDay  and the local NHS is urging residents to be more aware of the condition, learn how they can prevent or manage it and access support if they need it.
In Leeds, out of a population of around 800,000 people, approximately 44,000 people have diabetes, and a further 36,000 are at high risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.  People are more at risk if they’re white and over 40 or over 25 if they have African-Caribbean, Black African, or South Asian heritage.
This year, it’s especially important to be aware of the risk of T2 diabetes and to manage the condition well, because people with diabetes of any kind are more likely to catch coronavirus. While most people will have mild symptoms, people with diabetes can become seriously unwell, as their bodies have to fight with the virus as well as problems caused by fluctuating blood sugar levels.
For more information about the condition, how to prevent or manage it and where to find support if you need it visit: NHS Leeds Diabetes support or https://www.diabetes.org.uk/
You can check your risk of developing T2 diabetes here: https://bit.ly/1WauZbi

Leeds Mental Wellbeing Service – Older Adults Class

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Leeds Mental Wellbeing Service will be starting their ‘Live Well in Later Life’ class on Wednesday the 18th November. The class is designed for older adults or for anyone who can relate to difficulties older adults may face (e.g. retirement, loss, isolation, physical health difficulties).

The class will run for 5 weeks from 18th Nov-16th Dec and starts at 10:00. Due to current covid restrictions they are delivering the class online though the Microsoft Teams platform.

Here’s a little bit of information about the class from their website.

Later life can be a big time of change, which can lead to us feeling low or perhaps more worried or stressed. You may have noticed little changes, or started not feeling like yourself. Sometimes we can experience big life stressors that have a big impact on our wellbeing.

The Live Well in Later Life course aims to help manage these difficulties by teaching you techniques that you can use everyday to tackle low mood and worries.

You may benefit from the course if you have:

  • Recently retired or semi retired, or are experiencing work related problems
  • Increased caring responsibilities for family or friends
  • A physical health condition that maybe impacting on your wellbeing
  • Experienced a loss or bereavement
  • Become more isolated
  • Stopped doing things you used to enjoy
  • Worry a lot or are having trouble sleeping

What we cover in the class:

  • Week one – introduction, understanding mental health
  • Week two – sleep and improving physical symptoms of anxiety
  • Week three – low mood and our behaviour, how to increase motivation
  • Week four – Negative thinking and managing worry
  • Week five – maintaining progress and further resources

The classes are based on guided self-help cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) which is an effective therapy for treating depression and anxiety symptoms. You will learn how your thoughts, feelings, behaviours and physical symptoms interact and impact emotional wellbeing. The classes are run by qualified psychological wellbeing practitioners.

These are psychoeducational classes, not group therapy – The idea is to watch, listen, and learn about mental health and ways to improve it, and clients are encouraged to make changes outside of the classes to improve how they feel.

If they would like to join the class, you can sign up on their website – https://www.leedscommunityhealthcare.nhs.uk/our-services-a-z/leeds-mental-wellbeing-service/online-group-classes/live-well-in-later-life/

You will receive information and instructions on how to join using Teams when you have signed up. You will need to have access to a computer or tablet to be able to join.

Shared Moments: ‘Oliver feeling uncertain??’ written by Oliver Cross

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Anxiety is an ordinary consequence of being sane and if you fail to feel it during a major pandemic, you probably need help. Depression, too, is to be expected if you’re dealing with broken work routines, precarious earnings, threadbare television, confusing government announcements or the scores of things we’ve recently had to add to our worry lists.

But I’m a ‘vulnerable’ 70-year-old, so all this is overshadowed by the raw reality that the possible effects of the virus include, as well as anxiety and depression, a lonely and unpleasant death.

We tend, even if we’re in the undertaking or terminal care trades, to think that death, the only certainty in life, won’t apply to us. This is why, over the centuries, millions of people have marched willingly to war and why, right now, so many are stressing the possible psychological or economic effects of the virus rather than acknowledging the fact that, worldwide, it will leave hundreds of thousands dead, possibly including me.

Of course fretting about the non-fatal effects of the virus can be dismissed as a predictable displacement activity – a feeling that, with death knocking at the door, it’s time to change the subject. But the current spike in depression and anxiety is real enough and may be terrible for some; it’s just that diphtheria or smallpox would generally be a lot worse.

I’ve long been suspicious of the idea, which has become a sort of universally-agreed wisdom, that we should give the same status to mental illness as we give to physical illness, assuming there are enough physiologists in the world to separate the two, which there probably aren’t.

Like all 70-year-olds, I’ve seen the awful effects of severe illnesses, both ‘physical’ and ‘mental’, but most diseases, complaints and conditions could best be regarded, especially in the age of Covid-19, as trivial, or at least bearable.

Ordinary headaches, ordinary colds, indigestion, feeling anxious while waiting for exam results, feeling down because you can’t cheer on your team… they all, as they so often put it now, have an impact on your mental wellbeing, but they hardly ever  kill you.

Thank you Oliver, until next time….