My Difference was my Strength all Along, By Jane McNeice
Mum-of-three, and grandmother of four, social entrepreneur, Jane McNeice shares her life changing diagnosis that took her from feeling broken, to the knowledge that she was different to the recognition that her difference was her strength all along! At age 45 Jane McNeice learned she is Autistic. Her memoir and debut book The Umbrella Picker documents her journey to finding her neurological truth (which was self-identified), through to accessing a formal diagnosis a year later and the journey...
Read MoreIf a ‘normal’ doesn’t exist, what am I socially masking? by Jane McNeice
I am Autistic and I socially mask. I do not choose it, I do it to survive, and in my blog ‘Why I am unable to stop socially masking’ I explain my reasons why. Yes, I hear you, we ALL socially mask – a work mask, a social mask, amongst others. I am not referring to neurotypical social masking, I am referring here to Autistic social masking, it is AMPLIFIED, and it is curated to a level of detail most won’t even comprehend. On the back of my late diagnosis at age 45, I totally recognise my...
Read MoreCould You Be Autistic? by Jane McNeice
The very fact that you are ‘considering’ you may be autistic means you’ve worked a lot of it out already. That is a big step, huge in fact! So maybe my words will only solidify what you already know. Tips can be tricky, why? Because all Autistics are individually very different, but nevertheless we share a lot of common traits. Firstly, for a diagnosis of Autism, we all must meet criteria relating to the Triad of Impairment: a clinically diagnosable degree of difficulty in social...
Read MoreHow I Drastically Reduced Social Anxiety And Negative Thoughts Through Mindfulness, by Mike Wilhelm
In this post, I am going to give you the painstaking details on how I managed to reduce social anxiety and negative thoughts in a very short period of time. As you might know, negative emotions such as shame and anxiety, and negative thoughts such as ‘’I’m not smart enough”, or “I’m not good-looking enough”, can have a significant impact on your life. While the conventional tricks (such as exercising more, eating healthy and congratulating yourself on small achievements) can often provide some...
Read MoreWhat is the right mental health training course for me: Understanding the differences across mental health training courses, by Jane McNeice
Mind Matters has on many occasion been approached by clients looking to train managers in mental health, with a specific request for Mental Health First Aid training. There’s nothing intrinsically problematic with that at all, unless you are looking for an outcome which MHFA was not specifically designed to achieve. For this reason, it’s important for clients, commissioners, and buyers to understand how mental health training courses differ and what might be the most suitable course, or...
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