Sahara Fleetwood-Beresford | Patient Advocacy

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

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Tag: Stoma care

Female in meditation
23rd Feb 2026 Sahara Fleetwood-Beresford

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

18th Jun 202418th Jun 2024 Sahara Fleetwood-Beresford

Research opportunity | Focus group for new stoma device

4th Apr 202328th Jan 2026 Sahara Fleetwood-Beresford

What topics should stoma nurses be prompting conversations about?

4th Mar 202228th Mar 2023 Sahara Fleetwood-Beresford

Your relationship with yourself: Processing your emotions & body confidence tips

21st Oct 202122nd Nov 2024 Sahara Fleetwood-Beresford

Sex after stoma surgery: Honest conversations and practical advice

3rd Sep 202127th Mar 2023 Sahara Fleetwood-Beresford

FAQ | Preparing For Stoma Surgery – Part 2

1st Sep 202127th Mar 2023 Sahara Fleetwood-Beresford

FAQ | Preparing For Stoma Surgery – Part 1

6th Jul 202127th Mar 2023 Sahara Fleetwood-Beresford

Recovering from emergency stoma surgery

6th May 202122nd Aug 2024 Sahara Fleetwood-Beresford

Mental health awareness week | Ostomy edition

9th Mar 202128th Jan 2026 Sahara Fleetwood-Beresford

Controlling weight gain with an ostomy

8th Jan 202124th May 2024 Sahara Fleetwood-Beresford

FAQ | Bathing and showering with an ostomy

29th Sep 20205th Feb 2024 Sahara Fleetwood-Beresford

FAQ | Parastomal hernia prevention: Tips and insights

7th Jul 202027th Mar 2023 Sahara Fleetwood-Beresford

FAQ | A stoma can change shape and size!

23rd Jun 202027th Mar 2023 Sahara Fleetwood-Beresford

Ostomy leaks and samples!

19th Feb 202027th Mar 2023 Sahara Fleetwood-Beresford

Online Ostomy! What's going on in the online ostomy community?

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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" 🙈
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Sahara Fleetwood-Beresford | Patient Advocacy
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