My Mental Health and Wellbeing

# This post was published in Arthritis Tasmania newsletter in late 2019#

By Danielle Briggs

In 2013 I was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis, fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue along with that my anxiety and depression has appeared more than it used to, it comes and goes. My anxiety was the worse and it stills does creep up on me from time to time and I sometimes will have panic attacks from heart burn/ indigestion/ arthritis in the sternum. 


These conditions have made me depressed, angry and frustrated especially when my body won’t allow me to do something or won’t stop hurting even when you have done everything to try and stop it, the pain killers, the heat packs, the massages. Sometimes while I am out, I will pick up a virus or a bug due to my low immune system, that can cause my whole body to feel the full effect.


I am only 33 and having these conditions have really taking over my life and I worry that when I am out and about my hip will go out or I will fall over and seriously hurt my back or myself and that gives me anxiety sometimes so I normally grab a trolley when I can, even though I might be getting a few things it still helps me feel a little more stable and in control.

When I was dealing with everything at the start a few of my GP’s suggested that I go see a councillor and they did actually help by letting me get my frustrations out and talking about what is going on inside my head and my body without the judgement or the I feel sorry for you face.

I have found a few things that work for me like laying down and listening to music, going out for a walk ( I usually try and do 5,000-10,000 steps a day depending on what my body allows me to do) and that has been helping to clear the hornets in my head as well as doing Warm Water Movement Therapy class that has definitely made a great change in not only my mental state but also my flexibility and weight loss, I have currently lost around 30kgs since I started going to the pool at the end of January this year. I have found that my trainer Martin O’Toole has really helped me in a lot of ways, I know if have put in the work, but he really has changed me in so many ways. 


I also like to write down things or write blog posts. Most of them I will post on my blog but there are some things I just write down and just to get things off my chest. I will also try doing some adult colouring books or a jigsaw puzzle (depending if my hands allow me to do so). 


The best thing that I found for me is to have rest days as stress does make my condition worse, so get rid of as much stress as possible from my life.


I have also found that if I am having a moment of sadness or anger I usually allow myself to feel it for a little while and then do something about it and try to remember that there are people in this world worse off than I am, and my condition is what it is, nothing is going to change that and there is no cure. So, I pick myself up, dust myself off and keep going to the next hurdle and get ready to do the same thing again. Key word is you always get yourself back up no matter what, because you always have a choice in life, You can wallow in self-pity or keep fighting and keep going no matter how hard things seem at that moment in time, things will get better.

Love Your Sister

Love Your Sister

By Danielle Briggs

As much as I love Samuel Johnson’s acting, I don’t want to talk about that. I want to talk about the Sammy Johnson that got on a unicycle in 2013 as a dare from his sister Connie who was diagnosed with terminal breast cancer and rode it around Australia yes, he travelled 15,955kms around the county and by that wrote himself into the world record books. Sam raised an incredible $1,477,630 in the process. To remind mother’s to check their breast, to be breast aware and to vanquish all cancer.

Sam is an OAM recipient (Order of Australia Medal) for research, Victorian of the year 2018 and Advocate of the year in 2018. When he first started Love your sister with his incredible sister Connie, he promised her they would raise 10 million dollars for cancer research. In August 2019 after seven years the charity reached the 10 million milestone and he is not done yet.

Now Sam’s on a mission, he is going around Australia again spending six weeks in every state, he has already been to Queensland and Tasmania. If you are in Victoria, ACT, New South Wales, South Australia, Northern Territory and Western Australia go and see Sam at the locations that can be found on either the Love Your Sister Facebook page or over on the website and click on the on the road section on the top right of the website and the locations will be posted there.

Visiting as many towns as he can and telling everyone about personalised medicine hoping to raise enough money off Australia to take to parliament at the end of 2020 and talk to the Health Minister Greg Hunt. Hunt has come out in support for personalised treatment but has said 15 million for 2030 which is too late. We need personalised medicine now.

For those who don’t know what personalised medicine is, it is getting a sample of the cancer cell as soon as it has been found they take it to the lab to be tested to find out which treatment would work for that cancer. So, our money wouldn’t be wasted to taking a drug and then waiting three months and finding out it was a false line and trying a different one and then so on. When they could already be on the right one the first time saving more lives in the process.

After Connie passed away in 2017, Sam took a year off and went to the researchers to find out more and what they needed what they needed was an advocate to get the government to start personalised medicine on all Australians at any state not just in the small locations they have now.  Personalised medicine can not only help cancer patients, but it can also help all other diseases. This got my attention.

In 2013 I was diagnosed with Psoriatic arthritis, fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue and after having test after test and trial drug after trial drug and some reactions to most of the medication I was put on. Had the personalised medicine had been made available then I would have been put on the right medication right away I may not have got hepatitis one single dose of medication gave me hepatitis thankfully they were onto it straight away and given medication to get rid of it. So many people around Australia and not just Australia, but  people around the world can be helped if we had personalised medicine now.

Sam and the Love Your Sister team created the Fuck Cancer Bank. Love Your Sister is asking people to make a monthly donation into the bank.

You can join internationally but for anyone outside of Australia you won’t be able to claim for tax purposes as you don’t pay tax in Australia.

I promise you, Sam is worth going to see and listen to everything he has to say, you will understand why we need to do something now we need to support him and not just Sam, for us, for our families for the future generations before it’s too late. The passion and wisdom that comes out of him is incredible, you will want to help him and sign up. I am very proud to be a member of the FCB.

When you meet Sam, you will notice it’s like seeing someone you have known forever, he is a friend that has just come to say please help and talk to you about important information. You can’t help but love him. He makes you feel loved and valued. Sam always takes the time to talk to you and gives you the warmest hugs filled with nothing but love.  Sam’s hugs are the best, when the right person hugs you, it’s like medicine, one of the best types of medicine.

I went to see him quite a few times and I have had the chance to talk to him about a lot of things, not only does he make the time to get to know you and talk to you he inspires you to do better and do things that you wouldn’t do or just didn’t have the courage to get up and do something about it.

I have a massive phobia of birds, and after going to see Sam I got the courage to ask a fellow Love Your Sister villager Melissa, if I could meet up with her and her McCaw Apollo. Not sure if my phobia has gone but I did it, I got Apollo on my shoulders and had some photos taken. I met Melissa at Bunnings at one of the times I went to see Sam and I had a conversation with her and she was aware of my phobia but for some reason I was fine being around Apollo so I wanted to see how far I could go. I took little steps at first but then I said no I must jump right in and just do it and so I did. I would have never of done this if it wasn’t for Sam for inspiring me to do it. I am a huge believer that people come in your life for a reason, a short time, a long time, forever or to inspire you. 

Apollo the McCaw and I

If you wish to join the FCB, you can either go to one of the events Love Your Sister is doing around the country until the end of 2020 or go to loveyoursister.org click on the cancer bank tab and register to donate $10 a month or more if you can afford it. You can also make a one-off donation by shopping in the market page on their website. Pick up some merchandise while you are there or a book that Sam has out Dear Dad, Dear Santa and the Love Your Sister book.

Samuel Johnson and I

Sammy, Myself, Hally and Canada from Love Your Sister

This is a letter I wrote just recently for my instructor for Arthritis Tasmania and I thought I would share the letter with you all minus a few details. 

To whom it may concern,

My name is Danielle Briggs and I am 33. At the end of 2012 I had a mystery virus which lead to me being diagnosed in late 2013 of psoriatic arthritis, fibromyalgia and then chronic fatigue I have tried to work out the best I can by walking or going to a pool.

I started looking online to see if I could find something that would suit me and I found Martin O’Toole’s Joint Movement therapy class (warm water arthritis therapy) and I thought I might give that a go, so I contacted him on the 19^th of January this year and started my first class on the 22^nd of January and I haven’t looked back.

I have done other things before starting the class like walking around 3-4kms a day, well tried to do it as much as I could. Things did happen like injury, rain, my body just couldn’t do it all on that day. I have tried so much to work on this so I can help my condition and not only that but be healthy. I also do a pool session privately on a Saturday.

Not only am I enjoying the class, but I am getting so much out of it. I have already lost nearly 10kgs, it is easing the amount of pain in my body plus my flexibility has improved so much.  I can tell the difference from my first class, so can Martin, others in the class and my friends and family have also noticed.

I got back my sparkle in my eyes, no dark circles under my eyes, I feel healthier, my clothes are looser, my muscles are starting to tone up, my balance is so much better. I feel great in the inside and in the outside and it is showing.

I talk up martin a lot to my friends and family because I really think he is an amazing guy that truly cares about his client’s needs and what they want. Martin just wants to help them and make them feel better even if it’s for that amount of time in the class. He has been so encouraging and supportive I honestly am very thankful to have him part of my team. (along side my doctors and my massage lady, everyone with a condition needs a team of people to make life just that little bit easier) I do know that I am the one that is doing all the work these team mates are the ones guiding me and helping me get where I want and need to be and making sure that everything is fine along the way,

I am kicking myself that I didn’t start this sooner. I have always been a water baby and I love being in the water, it’s one of the many reasons why I am loving the class. Martin has also being helpful with advice on food and other things to help me get where I want to be and get out of all of it. I am attending all three classes and I wish I could do more.

I may be the youngest in the class and a lot of people my age and in the same circumstance are embarrassed to be in a class with people who are a lot older than them but I honestly don’t mind at all everyone is so supportive and amazing and we are all there for the same reasons and that is to make our life a lot easier with the conditions we have.

You and I both know that just because you are young doesn’t mean that these conditions can’t happen to us. If I had a spokesperson my age talking and telling their stories and knowing that I am not alone it might have been easier for me to go through everything I went through at the beginning. I would take any opportunity in being a spokesperson. I have written a blog post about living with a disability which was picked up and posted on the website The Mighty which is a blog site for people with disabilities. I have added a copy of the post to this letter.

I want people to know these conditions don’t define the person that we are, it may be part of our DNA but at the end of the day they don’t make you who you are. we may have restrictions and hurdles like everyone else but that doesn’t make us less of a person just because we have a disability. I want to stand up and help those who are around my age who are going through this process, have gone through this process but aren’t coping with it or are fine and just want someone to talk to and knows what they are also going through. Not that any two diseases are the same, we all have our own fingerprint of a disease.

Please feel free to contact me to talk more about this or you feel that I could be of help with campaigns, talking to the government to help them understand the needs of those of us with the condition. I really want to make a difference and speak up about arthritis especially those who are at a younger age like myself.

Yours truly,

Danielle Briggs

The cricket Saga

I know I am late to the party in writing this, and for a long time and didn’t really know what to say.

I have been a loyal supporter of the Australian Cricket Team and Cricket Australia in general which makes things like this incredibly hard for me to write.

Its not just the ball tampering scandal that has me worried and taken back it’s a lot of choices of late that I am concerned about.

I honestly still don’t really know what to say about the whole thing I was in shock when I read what had happened and I am still in the same boat.

Let’s start with the ball tampering, had someone told me at the start of the year that David and Steve would be caught doing something like that, I would have told them they were dreaming. I know there has been a lot of hate going around them by fans and a lot of other things been writing about them, to them and their families and I am not about to unleash, what I will say is I don’t hate them for it I am disappointed but my love for them hasn’t just gone out the window just because of one mistake.

Yep one mistake, I know Australia is sports loving country that puts a lot of pressure on all our athletes and we try to make to sure our reputation is at world class levels. But posting vial comments about them and their loved ones and sending trash to them and their families doesn’t make you a better person it makes you worse than that mistake that will follow them for the rest of their lives.

Honestly would you want that backlash at your front door every time you have made a mistake? I know I wouldn’t. They all took full responsibility for their actions, stood up and said yes, we did it. That takes real courage. Its incredibly hard seeing grown men break down in front of everyone and admit their mistake and ask for forgiveness. Seeing it made me upset and wanting to hug them. 

I will be the first to admit I don’t condone their actions but its takes a real man to do what they did after the game and days after. I really hope the media stops focusing on them, so they can get on with the bans and move on.

A loyal fan is a fan that stands by them no matter what, even if they have done something wrong. Yes, you can be upset and disappointed in them but at the end of the day you should still support them. Ride that rollercoaster with them and support them through the bad times be and enjoy the great times. 

Many athletes say that they aren’t heroes, I tend to agree real heroes are first responders, armed forces and those who save lives. But I also know that these athletes inspire so many younger generations and many love and adore them. At the end of the day it’s a privilege to represent your country, state or sport, privileges can be taken off you. You go out on the field, ground, or where your sport is played. you are representing not only yourself, but a whole army of people supporting you, sponsors, endorsements, clubs, coaches, teammates and your friends and family.

I have honestly had enough of athletes thinking they are untouchable and only get slaps on the wrist punishments. I completely understand why Cricket Australia took a massive stand on their punishments, they need to make an example out of them and make sure this never happens again.

The one hundred hours of community within the cricket community should ultimately be spent with grass roots cricket, after all these are the kids that are asking for their parents to take them to the games, they are our future Australian cricketers we should be making sure they all learn from their mistakes and its not just the grass roots all crickets around the country and the world should be taking in the bans and learning that this wont be acceptable. If I was Steve, David or Cameron I would be getting in touch with teams in the East Asia – Pacific countries like PNG, Fiji, Vanuatu and Soma and asking them if they would like some clinics with them so we can continue to grow the cricket community.

I have worked with PNG at the under 19 cricket world cup in 2012 and I have continued to see them grown and they are well on their way to getting a chance to compete at 50 over and 20/20 world cups. Not only will it sit well with the ICC but also make a case for those players once the bans have been lifted.

The other reason I am writing this is the new media deal that Cricket Australia have just made with channel 7 and Foxtel and taking the Big Bash from channel ten. The decision taking big bash from ten I feel is a bad idea, in saying that I am willing to eat my words. Ten has done an amazing showcasing the series with incredible viewing numbers and outstanding team in the commentary box and behind the scenes which I feel sorry for those involved they have all done a brilliant job.

I don’t have pay tv and many other Australia also don’t have it. Which means I will no longer be able to watch the Australian teams play ODI’s and the Twenty 20 games during the Australian summer. This really upsets me that a part of my summer has now gone, and I am not the only fan that has been made to feel neglected.

I honestly don’t know how the summer is going to be with attendance at the games a lot of fans are angry and disappointed in not only the players but with everything else.

Appointing Justin Langer as coach is a great choice, new blood that can get the guys back into shape, not saying Darren was bad coach I am a fan of his, just think getting someone new in will freshen things up.

In recent years I feel that the team has lost a certain spark and I’m not sure what it is, but something is missing. And maybe a mighty duck inspired bonding session will help. Knowing that Justin is now with the team I am sure he will inspire them all.

Lets all make cricket great again and continue supporting the players and turn out to the games when they start back up at the end of the year and if you can go out and support the grass roots games after all they are the future.

The importance of Mental Health

We need to talk about the importance of mental health.

People go to their doctors regularly about their health concerns and check-ups but are less likely to do so when it comes to their mental health. Its just as important, the mind and the brain are what controls and coordinates it all. The brain empowers the body.  We all go to the dentist to look after our teeth, shouldn’t we look after the brain and mind?

There is a stigma about mental health and some people find it difficult to talk about their own or loved one’s mental issues. The only way to break down the stigma is encouraging people to speak up or encourage people to speak up or seek assistance.

There are people that think depression, anxiety and other things are not real and its all-in people heads (well it is in people’s heads, but it isn’t fake)

A lot of people have depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, they self-harm themselves, these conditions can take over your life make things hard to live for some. We need to be able to work on making our conditions better or work out effective ways for it not to interfere with our lives.

I say we because I suffer from anxiety ( the type of anxiety I have is social anxiety and it all stems from being judged and bullied from a younger age, I also have is a medical one but it comes from having a fear that my hip and back will go out while I am out, I don’t have control of my body and that does scare me. ) and It can make everyday living a little hard when you have these fears and phobias that can come into play and then those negative thoughts that play in your head it can stop you from doing things that you would like to be doing. Being bullied a lot of my childhood has given me those fears and thinking that people are talking about me behind my back and or laughing at me. And then getting slightly depressed.

Let me explain more about how being bullied can affect someone, it can give you mental scars, I have so many of them. It can give you negative thoughts and I have them and you can never really get rid of them they will always be lingering around in the background. I know that everyone is beautiful but there are those days that those voices make an appearance and for that slight second you believe them, and for some people those voices make people do drastic things.

Let’s talk about depression, it can make you do some crazy things. Or just make you feel like you want to be alone. I have been depressed but I am not always depressed I am always a happy, cheerful person but there are times when you feel alone and not wanting to do anything. With having an illness like cancer, autoimmune disease, depression is something you need to look out for and recommended on having a professional to talk to. 

Here’s the kicker no one that is mentally sane would point a gun at a person and take innocent lives and or their own life. I am talking mass shootings and or their own life. My feeling on guns and gun control is a whole other issue but there is one thing we all need to be aware of is that having no gun control and being so easy to buy guns in some countries makes them available to anyone, even if they have mental issues.

There is also a stigma about seeing a councilor / psychologist thinking that you are weak but let me tell you. you are not weak, you are incredibly smart by seeing someone that can help you overcome and work on the problems you are facing. so, let’s start to talk these things out with someone and help see things in different light or help navigate through it all. 

How can we stop the depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts and or even talking our own lives?

Well firstly combat bullying in schools, the workplace and in the homes and stop cyberbullying.

Secondly, seeking help by talking to your doctors, seeing a professional or talk to someone. These people can put you on medication, give you advice, listen to you, give you helpful strategies to guide you when you are having an anxiety attack. Most doctors have care plans that can get you into seeing someone, next time you are at the doctors ask them about it.

Start a diary and write your thoughts down

Making sure our children know that no matter the circumstance or problem they can come to you for advice, help, forgiveness and understanding without judgement. They need to know that there are people around them like the police, teachers, friend’s parents, friends, priests, doctors and many more that they can approach and talk to. A lot of kids and adults feel the need to do it alone or think they have no-one to turn to. No matter what is going on you need to speak up. This counts for adults as well we all need to know that there are people out there for you.

I am writing this because we all need to be aware of our triggers, and that we all need to keep our mental health in check because it is so important. I know what its like to lose some body because of it and its incredibly hard to comprehend and get through. I know the struggles of dealing with my own anxiety.

If this can help anyone or started people talking about this, then I am extremely happy that my ripple can start to make waves and get rid of the stigma.

My Ultimate Vow - ©Danielle Briggs October 2017

Recently there has been a lot of talk about sexual harassment, sexual abuse and sexual assault in Hollywood that has made me want to write this post.

This has been in the back of my mind for a long time. But I never thought I had a strong enough voice to reach where this is needed and as far as I wanted it to reach. Then I realised, I can’t just sit here and not say anything. There are so many women around the world who aren’t in a situation where they can due to so many reasons.

Men shouldn’t be able to get away with treating women like a piece of meat and expecting us to do what they ask and / or suggest. Or for that matter force themselves on top of us without our consent. Often these things are not reported to police or investigated because it is always he said she said situation and often not taken seriously which is wrong and no matter who or where you are it should never happen. Just recently there has been a hashtag #MeToo going around it is amazing how many women have used this and they may have and may not have done anything about it. I want to also point out that just because some women haven’t used the hash tag or told their story it doesn’t mean they don’t have one, they just don’t want to talk about or bring it up.

I will also point out that these issues are not just in the work place. Often these are in our homes as well, whether it’s family or partners or anyone else for that matter.

This issue is a global problem that continually grows and will continue to grow unless we as a whole work together and change it. The governments need to step in and takes drastic changes. This shouldn’t be growing. It shouldn’t even exist.

So today here and now I want to make the first step in changing the world and make these vows to the world and to myself.

I vow to love, respect and value myself and my body.

I vow to stay strong in my weak and bad days.

I vow to protect myself where I need to.

I vow to never give up and keep fighting on the dark days until the light days arrive.

I vow to stand up for those who can’t and make sure those voices can be heard.

I vow to respect and appreciate all body types and personalities and not bully them or hurt them. (We women are so judgmental of other women. We say so many nasty comments to each other and behind their backs, it’s really disgusting to watch and see. When men see this some of them think that’s its ok for them to do this and it’s really not!… It’s not ok to do this to anyone. I get that you might not like someone or you a jealous of that person, but at the end of the day it’s just not worth making other people feel horrible.)

I vow to love and spread love until my last breath.

I urge you all to make these vows to yourself and for those around you. I also encourage the men to join in as well and vow that you will respect all women and not abuse or assault them and treat them as equals. I also encourage you to vow that you will raise your children to know what is right and wrong and make sure they do better. By using the hashtag #MYVOW we can stand together and make the world a better place one step at a time and make the hate turn into love. Would love to see any other vows you feel that you want to make for yourself and for the world.

#MYVOW

https://www.facebook.com/briggsysspace/

https://twitter.com/Briggsysspace

Casey Barnes: The Underrated Artist

Casey Barnes is a hardworking Australian singer songwriter who has been chipping away at it for years. He has co-written songs with Rick Price, wife Michelle, Michael Paynter, Michael Delorenzis and MSquared.

Born in Tasmania and now resides on the Gold Coast with his wife Michelle and two daughters Charli and Emmy. 

Casey a former Australian Idol contestant in the last series in Australia finishing in 11th place with Stan walker taking the win in 2009.

Years on from Idol  Casey has slowly paved his way into the US country charts, after his song Keep Me Coming Back being played in the Professional Bull Riders circuit. 

Casey has previously supported acts such as Lady Antebellum, Mariah Carey and Bryan Adams and soon will be performing at the Vines music festival with Billy Ray Cyrus and many more in march at Crossroads in New South Wales. Also just announced an performing artist at CMC Rocks in march 2018, which is a sell out event held in Ipswich Queensland.

Casey also works with a band called Kick that is largely used by company's for work events and or events. 

A great family man who adores his wife and kids, also great with his fan base. Always respectful and gracious when meeting them and talking to them online.

Co writing hit song Live As One with Rick Price is something everyone should hear, incredible and powerful lyrics really make you want to change your ways and be more accepting of other people. 

Casey has two current songs out right now called The Way We Rise and Keep Me Coming Back which you can purchase on most music sources including iTunes. 

In the words of Molly Meldrum do yourself a favour and checkout Casey Barnes.

Like most artists Casey will more than likely do better in the states and around the world before getting the attention he deserves in Australia.

http://www.caseybarnes.com.au/