Sahara Fleetwood-Beresford | Patient Advocacy

Inflammatory bowel disease, ostomy, chronic pain, PTSD, and mental wellbeing.

Menu Skip to content
  • About me
  • IBD
  • Ostomy
  • Mental health
  • Chronic pain
  • Fertility Testing
  • FAQ
  • Research opportunities
  • Work with me
  • Contact me
  • 🔍 Search
  • Facebook
  • X
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Bluesky
  • Threads
  • TikTok
  • YouTube

Tag: Ostomy

Female in meditation
23rd Feb 2026 Sahara Fleetwood-Beresford

Why we need to talk about the mental impact of chronic illness

Stages of grief
20th Feb 202627th Feb 2026 Sahara Fleetwood-Beresford

The stages of grief in chronic illness

9th Feb 202620th Feb 2026 Sahara Fleetwood-Beresford

Family planning, pregnancy & childbirth after bowel surgery

5th Feb 20264th Feb 2026 Sahara Fleetwood-Beresford

Braving the Big Talk – we don’t always need the “right” words

3rd Feb 20263rd Feb 2026 Sahara Fleetwood-Beresford

A different version of me: Why I stepped back and how I’m moving forward

4th Oct 202528th Jan 2026 Sahara Fleetwood-Beresford

World Ostomy Day: More than just survival

17th Aug 202526th Jan 2026 Sahara Fleetwood-Beresford

So, I became a meme: Advocacy and the risk of visibility

9th Jun 202526th Jan 2026 Sahara Fleetwood-Beresford

The recovery loop: Why it’s never a straight line

23rd Apr 202528th Jan 2026 Sahara Fleetwood-Beresford

More than surgery: When chronic illness becomes trauma

25th Feb 202528th Jan 2026 Sahara Fleetwood-Beresford

Some hard data on diet and Crohn’s: The ADDapt Trial

29th Jan 202530th Jan 2025 Sahara Fleetwood-Beresford

Holistic, complementary, and alternative medicine – what’s the difference?

17th Oct 202428th Jan 2026 Sahara Fleetwood-Beresford

Swimwear for women with an ostomy

6th Sep 20246th Sep 2024 Sahara Fleetwood-Beresford

Product testing opportunity | Ostomy leakage detection system

18th Jun 202418th Jun 2024 Sahara Fleetwood-Beresford

Research opportunity | Focus group for new stoma device

20th Mar 202428th Jan 2026 Sahara Fleetwood-Beresford

Bowel obstruction experience and fears

Posts navigation

Older Posts

My #ADHD diagnosis was one week today, and while I’ve spent that time processing, a few things are starting to click into place. It’s a big piece of the puzzle. For a long time, #ChronicPain and #PTSD have been viewed as two VERY separate battles, but some recent research confirms a deep link. My latest blog post, The PTSD and pain link: What the research says, explores how medical trauma from emergency surgeries, hospital stays, or not being believed actually changes our nervous system - link in bio. Since finishing my #reiki training last month, I’ve been following my morning yoga practice with a "strengthening my light" meditation and some mini self-reiki. It’s been a lovely addition to the routine, but it turns out I was much more tired than I realised this morning. 😂 Yikes! 🙈 Spring must be on its way because I was out of the house today, without a hat! ☀️ The increase in people diagnosed with #ADHD in recent years made it impossible not to learn about it, just "in passing". Plus, some people around me have a keen interest in neurodivergence, too. It's not a rabbit hole I went down, but the more second-hand thing's I've learnt, the more I began to wonder whether it could be me. Then I wondered whether everyone thinks that about themselves? If you've ever looked at a restaurant menu and felt like you were staring at a list of potential landmines, you aren't being "difficult". I'm sharing how new research validates the food fear so many of us in the #IBD community live with for #EatingDisordersAwarenessWeek. SOME surgeries can impact fertility, but finding the facts and figures for your specific surgery can be difficult 🤯 It took me seven years after my #UlcerativeColitis diagnosis to finally talk about the emergency surgery, the sepsis, and the complications that followed. When I started sharing in 2014, I was doing it from a place of anger because I was tired of being misjudged. At the time, I didn't have the language for the grief I was carrying, and even the word "feelings" made me cringe. Not much of a roasting 😂😂 I'd love that! 🌿 Grief is a word we usually associate with losing someone, but when you are diagnosed with a lifelong #ChronicIllness, you are grieving too. You are grieving the loss of your healthy self, the person you were in your best memories, and the future you thought you would have. Don't worry, I haven't gone to the "dark side" 🙈
One-Time
Monthly
Yearly

Buy me a coffee ☕️

Make a monthly donation

Make a yearly donation

Choose an amount

£5.00
£10.00
£15.00
£5.00
£15.00
£100.00
£5.00
£15.00
£100.00

Or enter a custom amount

£

Your contribution is appreciated.

Your contribution is appreciated.

Your contribution is appreciated.

DonateDonate monthlyDonate yearly
Blog at WordPress.com.
Sahara Fleetwood-Beresford | Patient Advocacy
Blog at WordPress.com.
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Subscribe Subscribed
    • Sahara Fleetwood-Beresford | Patient Advocacy
      • Join 52 other subscribers.
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Sahara Fleetwood-Beresford | Patient Advocacy
    • Subscribe Subscribed
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...