Believe in ME with Rhona Barton
Rhona Barton
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Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Believe in ME with Rhona Barton episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Believe in ME with Rhona Barton for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Believe in ME with Rhona Barton episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
My ME Story
Believe in ME with Rhona Barton
05/16/22 • 18 min
ME is a long-term fluctuating, neurological condition that causes symptoms affecting many body systems. M.E. affects an estimated 250,000 people in the UK, and around 17 million people worldwide.
The list of symptoms people can experience is wide and varied and, unfortunately, they don’t seem to fit a set pattern. As I share my story in the coming weeks and months, I’ll talk to you about some of the symptoms I lived with and give details about the treatments I tried and breakdown what worked for me and what didn’t.
Please like, share and subscribe to Believe in ME with Rhona Barton via Apple podcasts, Spotify or wherever you find your podcasts.
Financial Implications for People with ME/Long Covid
Believe in ME with Rhona Barton
10/10/22 • 11 min
Hello and welcome to Believe in ME with Rhona Barton. This episode is the penultimate of a short series for Organisations. The aim is to help educate leaders, managers and HR teams about ME & Long Covid. Please feel free to share this series with your organisation.
You can head to www.rhonabarton.co.uk/media for more information about me and my story.
Don’t forget that you can review, share & subscribe to the podcast via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
Ok, let’s jump straight in!
So far, in this mini-series, we have looked at what ME & Long Covid is, how it impacts employees, how to support people with ME & Long Covid who are already in work, how to support people with ME & Long Covid who are off sick and some of the practical requirements for people with ME & Long Covid in work.
This week we are looking at the financial implications for people with ME/Long Covid.
I understand that many employers are concerned about financial and other costs of making reasonable adjustments, as well as the potential for setting precedents that other employees may wish to make use of.
In my experience I have found that the majority of effective reasonable adjustments came at very little or no cost and that Access to Work funding may be accessed to support purchases of any additional equipment, assistive technology and support. This can include support for making changes to premises where they specifically and only benefit the individual.
Employers are sometimes concerned that by agreeing to reasonable adjustments they may set precedents for other employees. This tends to be the case only when an employer is coming more from a starting point of “What is going to be reasonable for us to change?” rather than,” What is going to be effective for this particular employee?”
That’s it for today everybody. As I’ve mentioned, this episode is part of a short series for Organisations. The aim is to help educate leaders, managers and HR teams about ME & Long Covid. Please feel free to share this series with your organisation.
Last week I told you about a freebie for you which may help you. This is still available, and you can downloadable your FREE copy of the checklist to help you navigate your conversation with people with ME & Long Covid by heading to www.rhonabarton.co.uk/links
Whilst you’re there, you can head to my media page for more information about me and my story.
Thank you for listening. Don’t forget that you can review, share & subscribe to the podcast via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
Be Kind to ME - World Kindness Day
Believe in ME with Rhona Barton
11/07/22 • 9 min
Hello and welcome to Believe in ME with Rhona Barton.
This podcast is about all things Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) related!
I'm Rhona and I lived with ME for almost 10 years during which time, I was bed-bound and wheelchair-bound, welcome to my Podcast.
World Kindness Day is Sunday 13th November. In this week’s episode I’m going to be chatting to you about Being Kind to ME.
You can head to www.rhonabarton.co.uk/media for more information about me and my story.
Don’t forget that you can review, share & subscribe to the podcast via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
Ok, let’s jump straight in and start with some of the basics around World Kindness Day.
World Kindness Day was introduced in 1998 by the World Kindness Movement and is observed by a number of countries.
The day highlights good deeds in the community focusing on the positive power of kindness and aims to increase the value of kindness in society as well as increase the amount of kind acts that take place.
Have you ever done something nice for somebody else just because you could? Not to repay them for anything or because you had to, but just because you could and you wanted to. If so, then you’ve done a random act of kindness! Congratulations!
Kindness is a valuable trait to have. We like kind people and being kind can help us be liked. Being kind has been shown to boost other’s well-being and also our own personal well-being. Some researchers have proposed that happiness is just the emotional experience we have when we act in ways that promote our survival. Evolutionary psychologists believe that kindness makes us happy because it helps us survive & thrive. This may be especially true when we help family, friends and spouses.
Some people are more likely to practice random acts of kindness than others. Seeing our parents engage in random acts of kindness makes it more likely that we will too. If someone tells us that we’re kind, we might also be more likely to engage in random acts of kindness.
Many of us want to try random acts of kindness but we’re just not sure how. There are a variety of ways that you can carry them out and they don’t need to cost an arm and a leg.
Here are some examples:
1. Give a compliment
2. Show gratitude
3. Write a handwritten card to someone to say thank you
4. Tell a friend what you love about their children
5. Pick up rubbish from the ground and pop it in the rubbish bin
6. Pay for somebody’s tea or coffee the next time you are at a coffee shop.
7. Sign up as a volunteer for a charity.
8. The next time you are clearing out your house, donate items that you no longer want to a local charity.
9. Hold the door open for the person behind you.
10. Smile at a stranger.
All of these acts, plus the many other options you could add into the list, are about doing things for others.
For people with ME/CFS and Long Covid, this could be an added layer of complexity. So this World Kindness Day, why not do something for yourself. Why not try being kind to yourself?
Not only will being kind to yourself generally help to lift your mood, it will also help you to increase happiness, promote oxytocin (also known as the love hormone!), reduce depressive moods, help you feel more self-confident and can create a rush of positive energy.
Here’s how you can show yourself some kindness:
Start by setting some time aside for self-care. This will allow you the time to do something you’ve been wanting to do. It may be having a relaxing bath or writing your diary but it’s something that’s just for you.
Be intentional when speaking about yourself to yourself. You are likely to be your own biggest critic so if you catch yourself speaking negatively about yourself to yourself, or looking in the mirror and disliking what you see, take a moment to stop and challenge that thinking. Make a list of the things you like about yourself and the things that you enjoy. Remind yourself to look at the list often. And remember, that if you slip up and catch yourself thinking negatively about yourself again, it’s OK! We all mess up so forgive yourself.
Think about how easy it is for you to be kind and supportive to the people you care about when they are having a bad day. How do you respond to them when they are dealing with a stressful situation or are feeling down? Do you listen without judgement? Do you buy them a thoughtful gift? Do you remind them of their good qualities? Now, turn that around and do that for yourself. Be your own best friend.
We’re usually quite quick to pick up on other’s achievements but slow to acknowledge our own. Take some time to think about your own achievements and give yourself a pat on the back for each of them. ...
What a Good Day Looks Like with ME
Believe in ME with Rhona Barton
05/30/22 • 14 min
In this week’s episode I’m going to be chatting to you about what a good day looked like for me. This is something I would hope for on a daily basis. I’m sure you can relate to that. So let’s have a look at what that meant for me at various stages of my ME.
As is typical with this condition, it can vary from hour to hour let alone day to day. With this in mind, my good days also varied depending on the stage I was at throughout the almost 10 years I lived with ME.
For the first few months, when I was still upright and on my feet, a good day for me would include being able to get showered and dressed each day, brush my teeth and watch some TV. I couldn’t have anything too loud or busy on the TV and I struggled to read much more than a couple of paragraphs of a book or magazine if I tried.
Part of the additional consideration when I was in my wheelchair, was thinking about the extra energy I would need to push myself about – even if it was just from the bedroom to the kitchen across the hall. Not only that, but I had to think about getting myself into and out of the wheelchair, how I would carry anything and if I would need to make more than 1 trip to get set up for the day. This meant that I had to think about reducing my baseline activity and finding a new “normal” for me. There were days when it felt like I was making no progress at all!
Please review, share and follow Believe in ME with Rhona Barton via Apple podcasts, Spotify or wherever you find your podcasts and remember that you can sign up to my mailing list by visiting my website at www.rhonabarton.co.uk or join my Facebook group – Believe in ME Community by following the Facebook (@rhonabartoncoaching) page.
Having A Bad Day Day with ME/CFS & Long Covid
Believe in ME with Rhona Barton
11/21/22 • 10 min
Hello and welcome to Believe in ME with Rhona Barton.
This podcast is about all things Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) related!
I'm Rhona and I lived with ME for almost 10 years during which time, I was bed-bound and wheelchair-bound, welcome to my Podcast.
Hello and welcome to Believe in ME with Rhona Barton. In this week’s episode I’m going to be chatting to you about Having a Bad Day.
You can head to www.rhonabarton.co.uk/media for more information about me and my story.
Don’t forget that you can review, share & subscribe to the podcast via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
Ok, let’s jump straight in!
19th of November was Having a Bad Day day. There seems to be a day for so many things but this one caught my attention. We all have bad days now and again but for most people, a bad day means that they feel like they’ve wasted their time and have achieved nothing with no time to enjoy their day.
For people with ME/CFS and Long Covid, it means so much more.
Having a Bad Day day is not really a serious holiday. It was first introduced in 2015 for people working in the service industry. Spending most of their time saying things like, “have a nice day”; Having a Bad Day day is a once a year chance for service workers to say “have an awful day”. It’s particularly satisfying for those with awkward or bad customers! It’s a great chance to break up the monotony of having to wish customers a Nice Day after they have made a purchase by surprising them with a smile and a “have a bad day!” comment. It’s also great for those that just wish to be impolite for a day.
Whilst it is not mandatory for you to have a bad day on Have a Bad Day day, if you are having one, try to embrace it and accept it.
You will be surprised how much of a difference it can make to how you are feeling if you decide to be cheery despite the fact that everything seems to be going wrong around you on this date. You can also look out for anyone else who is having a bad day. Make them smile by reassuring them that it is normal, especially considering it is Have A Bad Day Day! Remember, bad days don’t last forever, so embrace them and don’t get too down.
When I talk about embracing your bad days, I’m not talking about putting a positive spin on it or hiding from the pain and emotions. That’s toxic positivity. This type of positivity is the belief that no matter how difficult a situation is, you should just maintain a positive mindset. Now, I do like to look on the optimistic side of life and hope for the best, but I’m not blind to the fact that bad things happen, and that painful experiences and emotions also make up part of the lives we live. Feeling and dealing with these emotions openly and honestly will help you achieve acceptance and greater psychological health.
When we express our sadness or disappointment, well meaning friends and family may chime in with the likes of “everything happens for a reason” or “just stay positive”! These comments are meant to be sympathetic and comforting but they can encourage us to mask or avoid what we’re feeling and experiencing.
Too much of this toxic positivity can be harmful when you’re going through a difficult time. It can lead to feelings of shame, it can cause guilt, it can prevent growth and it can allow people to sidestep emotions or situations that make them feel uncomfortable.
Having a bad day with ME/CFS and Long Covid can mean being blindsided right out of the blue and then having to dissect the past few days to find out where things went wrong. Quite frankly, on a bad day, there’s not much we can do but try to just get through it. Anything that we’d hoped to get done, has to wait until we’re back to our normal. Having to accept that this illness is out of our control can be really difficult. You think you’re making some headway and then things come to a halt and it’s confusing and frustrating.
A bad day may mean being dependent on others to help us with some basic activities; reducing our interaction with other people or even, retreating to a darkened room with earplugs and eye mask.
So what can we do if we’re having a bad day?
Sometimes we just need small, easy, cheap (or free) things to give us a break or which we can ask others to do for us to help them better understand our needs.
· Have a cuppa – it sounds like a very British thing to do but there’s something quite comforting about a warm cuppa. In my opinion it helps to soothe you inside and out. For me, it would be a hot chocolate – I’m not a huge tea fan, although I’ll drink it if it’s made for me but I can’t stand coffee! Herbal teas such as peppermint can also help to ease an upset stomach. Why not take a peak at some herbal and caffeine free teas to see if there’s something that might take your ...
Feeling of Burden on Relationships
Believe in ME with Rhona Barton
06/06/22 • 13 min
In this week’s episode I’m going to be chatting to you about Relationships. More specifically, the feeling of being a burden within your relationships.
Before we get started, don’t forget that you can review, share & subscribe to the podcast via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you’re listening now!
You can also join my Facebook group – Believe in ME Community by following the Facebook (@rhonabartoncoaching) page and even leave me a voice message in relation to the things I’ve spoken about so far by heading to https://www.speakpipe.com/BiME
By not being able to move out, my relationships with different people changed.
Of the two friends I was due to move in with, one stuck by me and one disappeared from my life without a second thought.
The one who stuck by me has been there regardless of how well I was and whether or not I could tolerate more than a few mins of a visit with him. We’ve known each other for over 25 years now and he saw me at my worst and helped me celebrate my little wins. All without judgement and expectation.
The rest of my established friendships disappeared as my peers moved on with their lives. Having said that, I went on to gain some rich friendships via the online chat rooms and messaging services I’ve mentioned before. A number of these friendships have never been face-to-face but we still keep up with each other and our respective lives. It’s great having people who truly understand what you’ve been through and the concerns that you can go on to have about getting back to a “normal” life.
But did I tell my friends or my family what it was really like to live with ME?
I found that I became dependant on my family for everything. This meant that pretty much everyone else was excluded until I found my online friends. They helped to keep me sane and gave me something to look forward to on the days I could managed to participate in the online chat.
I felt like things were very one sided. I felt like I was a burden to my family as I was dependent on them for so very much in my everyday life. Not only for some of the practical elements such as helping me wash, dress and prepare meals but also for bigger things. Things such as helping me apply for welfare support benefits, sorting out a SORN declaration for my car as it was off the road and even helping me out with being able to pay my bills whilst waiting for any welfare support to be confirmed and received.
The more I felt like I was becoming a burden, the more I tried to do and the more I over did things! That then knocked me back and I would have to start again. It was quite the vicious cycle and I got trapped in it a number of times.
Dream Building & ME
Believe in ME with Rhona Barton
06/13/22 • 18 min
Hello and welcome to Believe in ME with Rhona Barton. In this week’s episode I’m going to be chatting to you about Dream Building.
Don’t forget that you can review, share & subscribe to the podcast via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
What do I mean by Dream Building? Well, for me this was something to do from my bed when I couldn’t do any other activities. I spent a lot of time inside my own head dream building & day dreaming. It was the one place I could go and have whatever adventure I wanted!
What do you do with yourself in between activities or visits? Other than resting that is. Finding things to pass the time can be quite challenging. The limited concentration span I had and the pain I would experience from the smallest activity, really limited what I could do.
I didn’t want to be working shifts again and I’d been told that shift work wouldn’t be good for my health so I had to start thinking about what I would do when I was able. I had considered working in banking but that didn’t fill me with enthusiasm. I had thought about going back to college to retrain as something else, but my concentration levels weren’t up for that and, I didn’t know how I would be able to afford to do any further training.
I did like the idea of trying something new however and I love reading. This led to me skimming through a brochure for my local college. I came across something that I thought would interest me. It was an attendance class so if I had times when I couldn’t attend, it wouldn’t impact any form of qualification. I had found an evening class!
Thank you for listening. Please review, share and follow Believe in ME with Rhona Barton via Apple podcasts, Spotify or wherever you are listening now. Please remember that you can sign up to my mailing list by visiting my website at www.rhonabarton.co.uk
My Facebook group, Believe in ME Community, can be found by searching for the Believe in ME Community (https://www.facebook.com/groups/716634186122640/about) and if you’d like to leave me a voice message about anything that I’ve discussed, please head to speakpipe.com/BiME
Understanding what ME/Long Covid is and How it impacts employees
Believe in ME with Rhona Barton
09/12/22 • 10 min
Hello and welcome to Believe in ME with Rhona Barton. This episode is the start of a short series for Organisations. The aim is to help educate leaders, managers and HR teams about ME & Long Covid. Please feel free to share this series with your organisation.
You can head to www.rhonabarton.co.uk/media for more information about me and my story.
Don’t forget that you can review, share & subscribe to the podcast via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
Ok, let’s jump straight in!
What is ME?
ME, or Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, is a long-term fluctuating, neurological condition that causes symptoms affecting many body systems. M.E. affects an estimated 250,000 people in the UK, and between 17 and 30 million people worldwide. It is anticipated that this figure will increase following the Coronavirus pandemic due to Long Covid.
The list of symptoms that people with ME can experience is wide and varied and, unfortunately, they don’t seem to fit a set pattern. We do know, however, that those with Long Covid show very similar symptoms.
People with M.E. experience severe, persistent fatigue associated with post exertional malaise. This is the body’s inability to recover after expending even small amounts of energy and can lead to a flare-up in symptoms.
Around a quarter of people with M.E. are severely affected, leaving them housebound and/or bed-bound for long periods. Those experiencing this level of symptom severity are unable to work.
Even in its mildest form, M.E. can have a significant impact on an individual’s life, and not just on their health. A lack of understanding and awareness about M.E. means patients can experience disbelief, and even discrimination, from friends, family, health and social care professionals and employers.
People who have M.E. often say that they, their employer and the people supporting them need more information about how to effectively manage M.E. at work. This podcast series is for anyone employing or managing someone with mild to moderate M.E. and outlines the advice to help you when recruiting and supporting people with M.E.
That’s it for today everybody. As I’ve mentioned, this episode is the start of a short series for Organisations. The aim is to help educate leaders, managers and HR teams about ME & Long Covid. Please feel free to share this series with your organisation.
You can head to www.rhonabarton.co.uk/media for more information about me and my story.
Thank you for listening. Don’t forget that you can review, share & subscribe to the podcast via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
Isolation & ME
Believe in ME with Rhona Barton
05/19/22 • 14 min
I believe this is one aspect that is usually overlooked when thinking about and discussing ME. In fact, there’s a movement called #Millionsmissing which aims to raise awareness of what it’s like to live with ME, to demand equality for all people with ME who have been stigmatised from healthcare and support, to demand effective treatment to manage the condition based on the best available evidence and to demand research funding commensurate to disease prevalence and burden. Really, to highlight that, although we may not be able to bang down doors and yell from the rooftops, we are still here and we need to be seen and heard.
At 21 years old, I hadn’t long left college and had started a new job. I was making new friends and getting to know the business. Having been off work for a couple of weeks with my labyrinthitis, it wasn’t long until I lost contact with my new work colleagues. The phone calls from the HR team lasted for a couple of more weeks until my doctor was able to write a sick-line explaining a little about my ME and the impact it was having. Then the calls dropped dramatically and any updates or contact I had hoped to continue to have with my new work-life, disappeared. Before long, I was pretty much written off and, as it turned out, I didn’t have a job any more. On one hand, that was devastating – it was pretty much my first real life job out of college and the one that, I thought, was going to help me take over the world!
There’s only so often a 21-year old’s friends will call or come knocking on the door to find out if you’re able to go out for the night before “normal” life catches up for them and you are left behind. I don’t blame them. They were starting out in their own adventure into proper adulthood. But it did sting. Why did they just get to decide to go out for the night on the spur of the moment, but I had to plan every detail of each day just to be sure I was able to eat a small meal?
Who decided that this condition was mine to bear and let them away with what seemed like a double set of fresh batteries that never ran down?
When would that be me?
When would my life actually start properly?
To this day, more than 20 years later, I still haven’t met the people I used to chat to online, in real life! We live hundreds of miles from each other but now connect via social media as well as birthday & Christmas cards.
- You do not need to be alone in your ME. There are some very good organisations out there that can offer you support. One of which is Action for ME and you can find them at actionforme.org.uk – why not reach out to them?
- Find something that works for you. It may be connecting online via social media, writing good old fashioned pen pal letters or having a text message exchange with someone when you’re able. You do not need to be in the same physical space with others to help break your isolation.
Please review, share and subscribe to Believe in ME with Rhona Barton via Apple podcasts, Spotify or wherever you find your podcasts and remember that you can sign up to my mailing list by visiting my website at www.rhonabarton.co.uk
Can I Have a Purpose with ME?
Believe in ME with Rhona Barton
06/20/22 • 15 min
In this week’s episode I’m going to be chatting to you about Purpose. That’s purpose with a capital P. I used to wonder if I could have a purpose in life if I had ME. If you’ve ever thought that, then welcome, join me. That’s what we’re chatting about today.
Don’t forget that you can review, share & subscribe to the podcast via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you are listening now.
Join my mailing list by visiting www.rhonabarton.co.uk or my Facebook group – Believe in ME Community by following the Facebook (@rhonabartoncoaching) page.
Now I’ve mentioned before that my big plan in life was to go into Hospitality Management and take over the World! I was quite adamant that my purpose in life was to work my way up to Hotel Manager for some of the biggest hotel chains across the planet. That’s what I was passionate about and that’s what I trained for.
Clearly, ME came along and had other plans for me. My purpose in life was stopped before it barely started! I was lost in terms of my career and what I thought I would do in life. And it sucked! I’d spent the previous 6 years of my life already working towards this goal and going through the required learning in an educational setting as well as on the job. I was, quite frankly, paying my dues and then Labyrinthitis and ME came along and pulled my feet out from under me. It was nothing short of rude!
What was I meant to do now?
Have you ever felt like that? Have you questioned your reasoning for being?
Especially if you’ve had to give up what you enjoyed due to your health? I know I’m not the only one who has experienced this.
Thank you for listening. Please review, share and follow Believe in ME with Rhona Barton via Apple podcasts, Spotify or wherever you find your podcasts and remember that you can sign up to my mailing list by visiting my website at www.rhonabarton.co.uk
My Facebook group, Believe in ME Community, can be found by searching for the Believe in ME Community (https://www.facebook.com/groups/716634186122640/about)
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FAQ
How many episodes does Believe in ME with Rhona Barton have?
Believe in ME with Rhona Barton currently has 38 episodes available.
What topics does Believe in ME with Rhona Barton cover?
The podcast is about Health & Fitness, Podcasts, Self-Improvement and Education.
What is the most popular episode on Believe in ME with Rhona Barton?
The episode title 'Isolation & ME' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on Believe in ME with Rhona Barton?
The average episode length on Believe in ME with Rhona Barton is 16 minutes.
How often are episodes of Believe in ME with Rhona Barton released?
Episodes of Believe in ME with Rhona Barton are typically released every 7 days.
When was the first episode of Believe in ME with Rhona Barton?
The first episode of Believe in ME with Rhona Barton was released on Apr 25, 2022.
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