Deal with Problems on the day!

Whatever your problem : Get expert advice quickly

This may come from established experts, your friends, reading, the Internet. If you are faced with a problem with which you are not familiar, its time to Get Help

Where ever possible, don't let problems fester - knowing your luck, they will only get worse. Finding other people who have also been through the mill helps too! for example http://www.standtoreason.org.uk/home



1 Financial

2 Employment

3 Health Advice

1 Financial Advice

Money Guardian
Learn about money where you can. Web based information on a wide range of money related issues
http://www.guardian.co.uk/money

Money Saving Expert
A useful web based source of money saving information and ideas. http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/

National Debtline
A free, confidential, independent telephone helpline for people with debt problems in England, Wales and Scotland. Telephone 0808 808 4000
http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/

PayPlan
One of the country's leading debt advice agencies with over 12 years experience in helping people with their debt problems.
Telephone 0800 917 7823 http://www.payplan.com/

Consumer Credit Counselling Service
A charity that assists people who are in financial difficulty by providing free, independent, impartial and realistic advice. It is run by the Credit Industry, and has an interest in helping you pay your debts, as opposed to going bankrupt
Telephone 0800 138 1111 http://www.cccs.co.uk/

The UK Insolvency Helpline
The UK Insolvency Helpline is a national telephone helpline for people with debt problems all over the UK. The service is free, confidential and independent
Telephone 0800 0746918 Website http://www.insolvencyhelpline.co.uk/

For doctors Royal Medical Benevolent Fund
Helps GMC registered doctors and their dependants in need, if resident in the UK. http://www.rmbf.org/

2 Employment

Advice Flexible working Advice about flexible working and helping develop a life work balance that supports you and your family.
http://www.workingfamilies.org.uk/

Disability Discrimination
For Employers
A quick guide to your obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act
http://www.shaw-trust.org.uk/page/6/92/

How to approach the problem of mental health in the workplace http://www.tacklementalhealth.org.uk/

For Employees,
Mental ill health is included in the Disability Discrimination legislation.

Disability is
(as described by the Disabilty Discrimination Act)
a) Long term, ie it has already lasted or is likely to last more than 12 months
b) Substantial - nothing too trivial
c) It has to affect a person’s ordinary day to day activity, even if treatment effectively controls the symptoms.

Addictions are excluded
Find out more http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/DisabledPeople/RightsAndObligations/DisabilityRights/DG_4001068


3 Health Advice

i) Mental Health

Mental Health Foundation
http://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/

Mind Apples
A healthy mind
http://mindapples.org/

Information about depression
www.bluepages.anu.edu.au/symptoms.html

Free online Computerised Cognitive Behaviour Therapy

http://www.moodgym.anu.edu.au/
http://www.myray.com/

ii) Lifestyle

Dr Liz Miller Top Ten Health tips
http://doctorbloggs.blogspot.com/2008/08/dr.html

iii) Diet

Improve your diet
http://www.sustainweb.org/pdf/MHRep_LowRes.pdf

The scientific evidence linking diet and mental health http://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/publications/?EntryId5=40150&q=0%c2%acchanging+diets%c2%ac iv)

iv) Reading list
The Natural Way to Beat Depression - Basant K. Puri, Hilary Boyd
Potatoes not Prozac - Kathleen DesMaisons
Manage your mind - Hope & Butler
Healing without Prozac – David Serban-Schreiber

Copyright Dr Liz Miller 2008

The Deep Tidy continues - Steps to date

The Deep Tidy is a process and I am glad to report that I am largely keeping it up, in my own way.

The "study" is tidy once or twice a week. Deeply Tidy! Desks clear and everything in its place.

The Next Step is The Deep Organisation
Where I not only collect all the objects and papers associated with one topic together but I actually get them classified and organised into some kind of order

In the meantime I can summarise my activities as

1) Know who you are
2) Understand yourself
3) Understand others
4) Understand the career cycle APE - Acquire skills, Perfect skills, Exploit skills
5) Make space in your life
6) Be completely tidy
7) Be completely organised
8) Make more space in your life
9) Make more time in your life
10) Clear up loose ends

I am, for the first time in many years, hovering around the 6),7),8) mark

I am not completely tidy but getting there. I am developing a tidiness instinct. I still have loose ends left over from January or earlier, but at least most are this year.

Finally, I cleared up one from Five years Ago - I have finally had a piece of research accepted for publication that I did five years ago.... with a lot of help from my friends! At least it will now go on permanent record in a peer reviewed journal and it brings to an end my dealings with the DSN. Or at least this phase of the relationship.

The next step is working out where I am meant to be going next
Seven areas

I - Tidy up and organise - still working on the organisation
II - Matrix psychology - ebook + presentations
III - Finance and money - Accounts + investments sorted
IV - Marketing and websites
V - Health - calm, diet, core strength and running
VI - Occupational Health Well and Working
VII - Voluntary Work, Stands to Reason

As it says in the song
"Nothing is going to stop me now"





Copyright Dr Liz Miller 2008

The Middle Start in Life, Why nothing so far has worked

Why nothing so far in life has worked

There are many people making a Middle Start in life. The Middle Starters have made several false starts, have experience, a little energy left, and one last chance to make a difference to their lives.

This is the Middle Start: Your children have left, or you never had them and now you are too old. Career, long since plateaued, but you can manage, just. A house, a divorce, and a string of failed relationships. But like Pandora, you have hope!

I am making my Middle Start in life. I am fifty something, where once I was forty something. I have wasted most of my money on fly by night schemes. I am not a business entrepreneur, nor snake oil sales agent, but I can do somethings well. I have had coaching, counselling, been to every self-development seminar in town, to no benefit. Why has everything I tried so far not worked? I have spent my life doing the wrong things, and doing things wrong. Instead of finding and developing my strengths, I have chased rainbows, just because everyone else was chasing them too.

This blog is the story of my journey from poverty to pounds, because this time, I know I am going to make it, and this story is my witness. So if you are making a Middle Start in life, join the journey because this time I know I am going to make it.