Author: Singing Dragon

Why is the advice for treatment of the menopause so confusing?

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In the midst of conflicting information surrounding HRT and the best ways to treat the symptoms of the menopause, author of The Menopause Maze, Liz Efiong – inspired by recent media inspection of the issue – weighs in.

Last year, Dr Megan Arroll and I published a book for women approaching and experiencing menopause entitled The Menopause Maze: The Complete Guide to Conventional, Complementary and Self-Help Options. We set out to write a book which would inform and empower women to visit their GPs and seek the help they needed. Our book was published after the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) new guidelines at the end of 2015 and presents the very latest advice from menopause experts.

On the 23rd of February 2017, an hour long documentary called The Insiders’ Guide to the Menopause, became available on BBC iPlayer*. The programme was presented by Kirsty Wark, who herself went through the menopause following a hysterectomy and took HRT for 3 years until stopping abruptly in 2002, when the health scares surrounding the study called the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) were published. The results showed an increased risk of breast cancer for women taking HRT, which caused many women to stop taking HRT suddenly, often going cold-turkey without even consulting a medical professional. Women stopped asking their GPs for HRT, whilst GPs were also caught up in the safety issues and became less familiar with HRT.

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T.O. Walker on ‘Not My Shame’, Victim Blaming and Helping Survivors

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In this Q&A, T.O. Walker discusses ‘Not My Shame‘, the media’s responsibility on reporting sexual violence and how creativity can aid recovery in sexual violence survivors.

 

What is unique about the graphic novel format that makes it an appropriate platform for highlighting issues such as trauma and child sexual exploitation?

It felt fitting to communicate experiences from childhood using the format I would have used as a child. When we remember traumatic childhood experiences, we remember them from the perspective of a child not that of an adult, and it felt important to communicate this. Showing the reader the experience through images is also more powerful than describing it because images communicate emotions directly, and this makes it harder for the reader to distance themselves or deny what they are seeing which felt important for ‘Not My Shame’.

Graphic novels are a great medium for both showing and telling a story at the same time. I wanted to immerse people in parts of my experience and emotions, but I also wanted to have a voice and comment on the experiences I was sharing, as this encourages people to reflect on what they are seeing. A graphic novel is also an excellent medium for distorting time and perception: through the images, how they are framed and the order of the panels. Given the nature of traumatic memory, this was very useful.

Finally, I wanted to create something which would be accessible to people who wouldn’t sit down and read a text only book.

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Dentistry, Orthodontics and Cranio-Sacral Integration

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Thomas Attlee’s book “Face to Face with the Face” explains how Cranio-Sacral Integration can help a wide range of persistent and painful conditions involving the face and the cranial nerves – from trigeminal neuralgia, sinusitis, hearing loss and TMJ syndrome to autism, chronic fatigue and polyvagal disturbance – through a deeper understanding of quantum levels of health and the biodynamic forces which underlie the body’s inherent healing potential.

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Not My Shame: Extract

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To celebrate the release of Not My Shame by T.O. Walker, we are releasing an extract from the book – please click here to view it.

This striking graphic novel gives an insider’s view of the trauma caused by childhood sexual exploitation. It tackles complex issues, including victim-blaming, traumatic memory and dissociation, but is ultimately hopeful, showing how victims can be good parents and come to terms with their past through therapy, art and caring relationships.

To read more about the book, or to purchase a copy, please click here.

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Sitting on a Chicken: Extract

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To celebrate the release of Sitting on a Chicken by Michael Chissick, we are releasing an extract from the book, featuring four interactive yoga games and poses you can use with your children or pupils!

To download the extract please click here. 

Learn more about Sitting on a Chicken here. 

Michael Chissick has written several books for children, published by Singing Dragon, please find them here.

Striker, Slow Down! – Colouring Page

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To celebrate the release of Striker, Slow Down!, we have released a downloadable colouring page to help children use mindfulness to control their emotions.

Striker, Slow Down! tells the story of Striker the cat, who is unstoppable! He thinks that there is too much fun to be had, and no matter what his mama tells him, he never slows down. One day, a bump to the head brings this busy cat to a standstill. Will Striker finally listen to his mama and learn to make time for a little calmness?

You can use our colouring page with your children or pupils and you can share your finished pages with us on Facebook or Twitter.

To download the colouring page, please click here.

Feeling the Way: What Does it Mean to Heal Someone?

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long-feelingtheway-c2wIn this blog by Rob Long, author of Feeling the Way, Long examines what healing means and how it applies to our lives. 

 

In my new book ‘Feeling The Way’ I make the bold claim that everybody possesses what is commonly called ‘healing hands’. That means you! What appears in the book is a stripped-back, extremely practical how-to guide, based on insights from over twenty years of my own trial and error in the clinic. I have called what I do ‘Qi Sensitivity Healing’, or QHS for short, and whilst much of it is innovative, it also owes a huge debt to ancient Chinese practices, especially those of the Daoists, those progenitors of Acupuncture, herbal medicine and many other instantly recognizable modalities .

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