I actually felt strong and grateful at the end of my run today. Quite a new experience for me! So I am super excited to share with you why. As I have a feeling it may help you too - with more than just your exercise...

The term “warrior” is bandied around a lot these days, but I genuinely feel the women I have the honour to meet through Bags of Calm are such incredible warrior women. I am continuously in awe of what you have had to process, battle and survive to get to this point...

I have to be honest with you, for many months I told very few people about my emergency stoma...After coming out of hospital if and when I did tell friends it was in hushed tones and glossed over pretty quickly. I’d tell myself it was because I was a deeply private person (which I am) but in retrospect I was swimming in shame.

The sun is out in London, summer holidays are around the corner and everyone is happy right? Hmmmmmmm… maybe?! Or maybe a little nervous and apprehensive about being beach (or even local pool) ready. Maybe this is a familiar fear...or you may have felt since having a stoma, and a bag permanently attached to your stomach, that your fears have INTENSIFIED and multiplied.

When I first had a stoma I felt overwhelmed and the idea of sharing with others what I was going felt too much. I felt too vulnerable. I was still trying to get my head around all my own feelings and having to deal with the practical day to day stuff too...

I remember my first stomaversary. I was actually pretty high on life. I felt like I had ‘survived’ the first year – post accident, post stoma surgery, not quite post chronic pain and recovery...What I didn’t advertise was that the run-up to that day had been SO incredibly hard.

It would be easy to think the only trauma I experienced was being hit by a car and yes, it really was hugely traumatic, physically and mentally. But when I started to learn about EFT & Matrix Reimprinting I was introduced to a way of thinking about trauma that helped me to heal, and accept my bag, so much more

At the point I was introduced to Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT/ Tapping) I was pretty desperate for ways to manage the chronic pain,

When you are questioning how you are ever going to heal from your stoma surgery, live with your colostomy or ileostomy bag,