I can hardly believe we are now well into March with Easter already on the horizon. Following that rather unwelcome last bite of winter, we have finally had some sunshine and warmth here on the Island. It is so lovely to see daffodils in abundance and blossoms starting to bud and bloom. I always feel comforted by these sights, with the promise of Spring just around the corner! I hope the sun is shining for you too.
March continues to be busy here at Isorropia Foundation. We look forward to welcoming Tasha and the Wellbeing Fayre team for the very first time here at Medina Valley Centre and, as always, it promises to be a wonderful day for our members. Later this month our Community Engagement Volunteer Tasha is attending the Vectis Radio Volunteer of the Year Awards ceremonywhere she is nominated for an award. We wish her so much luck and are delighted that her hard work and dedication to Isorropia Foundation’s Community is being recognised in this way. It is very much deserved.
Purpose and Potential
You may recall that my last post focused on belonging and community, and today’s post is a continuation of that theme. Community is such a big piece in the Isorropia puzzle and is what sets us apart from other mental health services, so it felt only right to shed more light on it. To recap, it is widely known and accepted that a sense of belonging, being part of a community, and giving something back, are all good for our mental health and wellbeing. The latter is something that we at Isorropia Foundation focus on in Key 5 – ‘Connect to Meaning and Purpose in Life’ (See our ‘Keys to Wellbeing’)
Image: Brian Solis Quote
When our CEOs Charlie and Vicki first came to look around MVC they instantly fell in love with it. They met John and Rick, two of the current trustees, and felt a strong sense of connection and shared values of what they felt Medina Valley represented. For more than twelve months they had been researching and exploring potential sites for us to move to and they spent huge amounts of time and energy considering many different options. When a joint visit with the Youth Trust was suggested, they felt hesitant as they thought it would never be able to become a reality. Happily, the outcome of this visit was positive, with Charlie and Vicki feeling an instant sense of peace and calm and knowing it was the most perfect space for people to heal, find connection, and focus on their physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. As a result, not one, but two Island organisations now benefit from all this wonderful site has to offer.
Sigmund Freud once described religion as ‘a form of wish fulfilment’ and, although Isorropia Foundation is a whole world away from religion in what we are as an organisation, wish fulfilment is a description that I feel fits well with what we do. One example would be our ‘Overcoming Low Mood’ workshop where we ask our members to think of the person they used to be before they became unwell, or to picture the kind of person they would love to be. Throughout the Wellbeing Programme, we work with members, empowering them with a wealth of tools and techniques to implement in their own lives to “Transform their Wellbeing – Discover their Purpose – Reach their Potential”. In essence, we do all that we can to aid our members in becoming that version of themselves that they so wish to be.
Ikigai
The School of Life London (www.theschooloflife.com) has recently highlighted the importance of pursuing a career that will be personally fulfilling (The Career Workbook). They point out how upbringing and our past can influence later career choices, highlighting that the right job can give our lives, purpose, and meaning. This is nothing new to us at Isorropia Foundation, but many of the people who come to us have absolutely no idea what their meaning or purpose in life actually is. The School of Life claim that:
“Many of the answers we need to better direct our futures are inside us, but we need help in getting them out, in making sense of them and in assembling them into a plan.”
This is why we are so proud of The Gift Foundation Course here at Isorropia Foundation because it provides that opportunity for our members to gain some focus and guidance in identifying what their passions are, what they want to do with their lives, and how they might go about pursuing those ambitions. Essentially, they are discovering their Ikigai; their meaning and purpose. And that is no small thing!
Ikigai – /ik-ee-guy/ noun
“A reason for being. A combination of values, passions and vocation that give meaning to your life. The reason you get out of bed in the morning”
Empowerment
Prior to The Gift Foundation Course, most of our members will have attended a number of workshops on the Wellbeing Programme. In our ‘Confidence and Self-Esteem’ workshops, we encourage members to consider what ‘Community’ means to them, what they could bring to a community, and what communities outside of Isorropia Foundation they would like to be part of. The aim is to highlight the huge boost that can be felt from identifying a role for yourself within a community, embracing that opportunity, and making it a reality. This, and other exercises on the programme, pave the way towards The Gift Foundation Course, meaning that members are better prepared when they arrive, with some idea already as to what they might want to achieve in their future.
Image: “What brings you joy?”
We also empower our Graduate members, who have completed The Gift Foundation Course, to continue exploring these passions, talents, and interests, with a view to creating additional social groups for our community members to access. We believe that the opportunity to create and lead a social group of their own design is pretty motivational and inspiring. Admittedly, there are still some hurdles to negotiate as we continue to find our feet here at MVC, but rest assured…there are plans taking shape and dreams yet to be pursued as we take a collective stride towards realising Isorropia Foundation’s full potential, as well as that of our members.
Are you feeling inspired yet? What group would you launch if you were given the chance?
Role Models
We pride ourselves on being role models to our members here at Isorropia Foundation and, as such, recently took part in a Team Gift Day. We were asked to consider what brings us joy. Two things stood out to me during our session. One was that despite many of us being lucky enough to have regular ‘me-time’, we didn’t always use this time wisely. All of us could name the things that brought us joy, but few were actually prioritising ‘me-time’ as a time for doing those things. The second point was that many of our ‘joyful’ activities were things that our team had enjoyed way back in childhood, as teenagers, or (for those of us with children) prior to becoming parents. Why is this I wonder?
The Shaping Us Campaign
In my last post, I invited you to dig out a photo of yourselves from your early childhood. This related to the Shaping Us campaign recently launched by the Princess of Wales. This campaign highlights the importance of the first 5 years of a child’s life. In a conversation with Roman Kemp, Catherine described the reasons behind this, stating that it is: “…a critical time to lay the foundations for our future selves”. This is very similar to the way we introduce our first Key to Wellbeing – ‘Create the Foundations of Stability’. It is a simple concept to grasp; if we don’t get the basics right for ourselves (food, water, shelter) then we are going to be hard pushed to achieve any real sense of wellness. This relates back to Maslow’s Hierarchy (see previous post), with Basic Human Needs being essential, ahead of anything else.
Prior to the Shaping Us campaign, Catherine once quoted the African proverb ‘it takes a village to raise a child.’ It’s an interesting idea that the communities we grow up in play an integral part in who we later become. It’s also surprising how many communities one family can be part of at one time! This certainly struck me when I joined in with the campaign initiative encouraging people to share photos of themselves aged under 5 years. You’ll see here a photo of myself skipping. I would have been around age 4/5 years. It was taken in the garden of the house I was born in; we lived in a rural village in Hampshire. My dad was a member of the Southsea Rowing Club and the Territorial Army. My mum was a prominent figure in the village, having founded the local Playgroup and was part of the Babysitting Circle. My brother was a Cub Scout, later becoming an Army Cadet. I was a gymnast at the local gymnastics club, before joining the Brownies. Perhaps the most important community for us came several years later when we joined Gingerbread (for single-parent families) after my parents divorced, and where joy was found following sadness.
Image: Childhood photo of Wellbeing Coach, Lucy.
If you managed to find a photo, are you able to identify any communities that you and your families were part of at that time? Do you think they ‘shaped’ you at all and if so, in what ways?
Ripple Effect
In ‘Shaping Us’ we, as a society, are encouraged to support families and parents in our local communities to enable them the best chance of raising happier children with brighter futures. This is a big part of our work at Isorropia Foundation. As a society, this campaign encourages us to create a supportive, nurturing world around the child and the carer and although not all our members are parents, many are. We also have members who have nieces and nephews or are old enough to have grandchildren. Some of our members are young enough to have younger siblings at home of school age. So we are aware of the families our members return home to after our workshops. We are also very aware of the ripple effect that can result from the work we do. As such, we have an upcoming opportunity for the general public to attend a fully-funded Community Wellbeing Event, ‘The Gift Foundation Course’, and in advertising this we encourage people to sign up, if not for their own mental health and wellbeing, then for the benefits they could pass on to others at home or in their wider social circles.
We are not yet working directly with young children but this is something that we, as an organisation, are passionate about and actively working towards. This month has seen the exciting development of a new role for our Senior Wellbeing Coach, Lisa Fennessey, who is now working collaboratively with the IOW Youth Trust as our Children and Young Persons Transitions Co-ordinator. Lisa will be taking Isorropia Foundation’s message out to a new audience, including 16–18-year-olds. This is in addition to the work Lisa has already undertaken with IOWYT and John Cattle Skate Club for the Skateboarding Project, which combined the benefits of engaging in a sport and discussions around wellbeing.
Image: deck design session, The Skating Project
These are very exciting times and we look forward to seeing where this new direction takes us – hopefully we will soon be empowering members from an even younger age. For the time being, we take comfort from the fact that we are doing the best we can for children in our local community by empowering their parents and other family members to learn as much as they can about wellness and wellbeing maintenance, trusting that the message will filter through.
Appreciation
I thought it would be lovely to sign off this month with a little insight into what our wonderful volunteers have been getting up to. It is so rewarding to see our members thriving under Isorropia’s community umbrella and out in their own communities, following graduation.
We have recently benefitted from the talents of Graduate members who have volunteered to:
cut hair for free (Di Schwulst) and paint nails (Tasha West) at our Wellbeing Fayres supporting members with self-care and pampering
provide fun karaoke opportunities both inside Isorropia Foundation and out in the wider Island community at Aspire Ryde’s Creative Hub (John Fisher) providing social connection with the joy of singing
create homemade draft excluders and heat packs throughout the winter months to help keep our members warm and cosy (Stitching with Nay – Sewing Group members)
Image: Graduate member cutting hair at our Wellbeing Fayre
Our Chronic Pain group leader, Julie, continues to explore her lifelong passion for all things Viking/Dark Ages through her participation in the Re-enactment group ‘Wolfguard’. Julie is a highly valued member of this active community, having joined over 30 years ago! (see ‘Wolfguard‘ on Facebook for events). We have previously benefited from their wisdom and knowledge through Living History talks at our Wellbeing Fayres.
We have also welcomed a new cohort of Mentors who will be attending workshops alongside new members who feel they need a little more reassurance when first embarking on their wellness journey.
Keep up the great work everyone; you are so valued and your efforts are appreciated beyond measure. We are so very proud of you all.
I shall bid you farewell for now, until next time, as I’m eager to get into the kitchen…a little birdie told me there’s a baking competition planned for our next Wellbeing Fayre! So, if baking is your thing, why not whip something up and let me know how it goes in the comments. I’m always up for trying new ideas (must be that core value – Adopt an Open and Positive Mindset coming through!) Happy Baking everyone…
Hi everyone and welcome back to ‘Inside Isorropia – The Blog’
We now find ourselves in February and after some very cold and frosty winter mornings down at Medina Valley Centre, we are looking forward to longer days and more sunshine as we head towards Spring. Our team are still very much awed by the beauty of the river and trying to capture that beauty in photographs is becoming a shared hobby for all of us. I have it on good authority that two of our Wellbeing Coaches have recently enrolled on a Photography course, so this could well lead to some healthy competition developing; maybe we should create a photo gallery at MVC to showcase our wonderful setting and our talented team members?! Or I could invite them all to submit a photo – the best of which could be featured in the next blog post. I do love to see creativity being explored and developed and I think it would be lovely to share the results with you all too. What do you think?
Our Keys
The basis of everything we do at Isorropia Foundation lies in our ethos and core values which are neatly packaged into our Five Keys to Wellbeing (See ‘Our Core Values’ page). Much of what we do is about empowering people. We want everyone to feel welcome, seen, heard and valued. We hear all too often from members that these things have been missing in their lives, despite often having been through many other services in their mental health journeys. Others may be feeling that they have exhausted all options open to them in their existing social circles. Often we work with those who either a) don’t have an existing support network or b) feel misunderstood or isolated within their own family or circle of friends. This is something we address early on here at Isorropia so as to get our members off to the best possible start with lots of hope and positivity for a brighter-looking future.
Belonging
Belonging has been of particular interest to Psychologists since the pioneering work of Abraham Maslow and his Hierarchy of Needs, way back in 1943 (See image below). However, studies continue to be done right up to the current day (“Researchers identify a potential neural signature of social belonging” Psypost.org 12/02/23) In this article it was stated that: “Belonging to social groups is one of the basic emotional needs people have. It is crucial for a person’s mental health and wellbeing”. This should come as no surprise to our members because we talk about this frequently throughout our programme of workshops.
Image: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Dictionary definitions describe belonging as this:
‘a sense of fitting in and feeling like an important member of a group’
‘a feeling of being happy or comfortable as part of a particular group and having good relationships with the other members because they welcome you and accept you’
Right from the outset, our work with members is group based. We find this environment works incredibly well for people, despite their initial (and understandable) anxieties. Members are made aware that they are all in the same or similar situations; we often refer to this as experiencing ‘the same storm in different boats’. Members often report feeling comforted in knowing that they are amongst others who can easily relate to and identify with what they are going through, including the facilitating staff (see ‘Meet the Team’ to discover more about the lived experience of our Wellbeing Coaches). As recent as the last workshop I facilitated, members have highlighted a strength of the group dynamic being the realisation that they are not alone.
We believe that a sense of belonging continues to grow and develop throughout the Wellbeing Programme through the provision of regular and continued opportunities for member engagement, both in workshops and at our Wellbeing Fayres (previously known as Pamper Days). Following on from this, there are a multitude of activities available to our members in the Community side of Isorropia (Community Umbrella) and this is where friendships really begin to form and connections strengthen. The feeling of belonging that comes from being part of Isorropia plays an enormous role in raising the confidence of our members. They grow in confidence as individuals, but often as a result of feeling the support of other members who journey alongside them. One member described having ‘found my tribe’ which illustrates this point beautifully. Our Community Engagement volunteer, Tasha West calls them ‘The Isorropia Army’.
Image: Quote describing a tribe
Community
‘A social group whose members have something in common’
For us at Isorropia Foundation, this unifying factor or ‘commonality’, is that our members have collectively reached a significant point in their wellness journey i.e.) they have graduated from the Wellbeing Programme into Isorropia’s Community Umbrella. It is at this point that members are more likely to have formed strong social connections and are sufficiently equipped to manage their own ongoing mental health and wellbeing.
Image: Men’s woodland group
Being immersed in a group of like-minded people with common interests is empowering and it does amazing things for our wellbeing! It is no surprise then that ‘Relating’ has been identified by actionforhappiness.org as one of the ‘10 Keys to Happier Living’:
“The people around you offer a valuable pool of support so it’s important to put time into strengthening those connections”
I think there is much more to it though than simply having people around you who can offer support. Have you ever been part of a group who have worked together to accomplish something? I know I have and I believe it is this that really makes the difference – there needs to be something special that bonds you together, don’t you think? None of the definitions above celebrates the wonderful feeling that comes from being part of a community. Our members report experiencing a collective feeling of achievement, at having completed something so important and so powerful together and this can be incredibly bonding for them (some of whom may not have completed anything before, as an individual or as a group and may also feel they have nothing at all to be proud of). We pride ourselves on creating a friendly, non-judgmental environment for our members where they feel safe to explore and grow by gradually building the courage to push themselves out of their comfort zones. Members do the hard work; we are simply there as a safety net and that’s what enables such positive results.
Some of the comments and compliments we have received thus far as an organisation allude to the points raised above. For example:
“I’m enjoying being a part of something again. Something only Isorropia can provide…community.”
“Before Isorropia I had become a recluse. Since being an Isorropia Graduate I now attend two social groups. They’re my therapy.”
“I thought the whole programme was brilliant and so useful. I found a sense of connection with others.”
“I feel connected to others and know that I can talk and open up to others.”
“The Pamper Day has allowed me to tap into things I used to love doing. Isorropia and the community gave me the confidence to push myself.”
It isn’t just Isorropia community groups that our members have access to. Once they reach the point of completing The Gift Course they are also invited to join Isorropia’s online community on Facebook, which offers another form of social connection for members. This has been particularly helpful for those who face challenges in attending social groups due to limitations around availability, transport or mobility.
We also encourage and empower our members to connect with the wider Island community whenever they feel ready to do so. If you pop by to read the next instalment of Inside Isorropia you can look forward to learning more about what our Community Umbrella has to offer and the different ways our members can benefit and get involved. I shall also shine a light on some of the wonderful contributions our members have already made within our unique community.
If you are interested in (or you know someone else who could benefit from) what we have to offer, then please do get in touch. We would love to hear from you…
Until next time,
Lucy xx
P.S.
Before I go, did any of you see this recent photo release of the Princess of Wales from when she was a baby? It was released as part of her #ShapingUs campaign designed to start conversations about early childhood. I managed to find a picture of myself, taken in 1984 at a guess, and it got me thinking about the communities myself and my family were part of at that time. So, here’s a little challenge for you – see if you can dig out a photo or two of yourself or your children (aged under 5 years) and have them to hand, ready for the next post…I have a plan!
First and foremost, ‘welcome one and all’ to Isorropia Foundation’s blog and our first-ever post. My name is Lucy and I’m one of the Wellbeing Coaches here at Isorropia(You can find out more about myself and the rest of the team in the ‘Meet The Team’ section of the website). I’m absolutely thrilled to be at the helm of this exciting new venture and delighted to have you on board!
Image: Lucy, Wellbeing Coach
A blog has been a goal for us as an organisation for some time, but right now we are going through a transitional phase and it seems like the perfect time to launch it.(If you aren’t familiar with Isorropia yet and would like to know more about what we do as a wellbeing organisation, please take a look at the ‘Home’ page, or why not browse the whole site to really get a feel for who we are and what we are all about!)Our aim for the blog is to provide interesting reads on a regular basis, tapping into our local history, geography and community here on the Isle of Wight whilst, at the same time, sharing insight into our goals, values and mission as a wellbeing organisation on the Isle of Wight.
A little bit about me
I have always been very creative, since way back when I was at school. I loved art and writing stories; English Language was my favourite subject. I am still creative now, not only with writing and art, but also in photography and problem-solving, all of which have helped me in my recovery from depression and anxiety, and in getting back into the workplace. I am a big advocate for the role creative pursuits can play in improving our mental health and wellbeing. I find it interesting how language is a fundamental part of development which enables us to live our normal, day-to-day lives, yet it is so often used creatively to help process and express the more emotionally challenging aspects of life.
I only work part-time, so on my days off, if I’ve had time to get creative in the kitchen, I will occasionally treat the office to home-baked cakes! And whilst I’m on the subject of baking, why don’t you grab yourself something yummy to eat (slice of cake or a cookie maybe?) and a nice cup of tea, make yourself comfy and I’ll get started on telling you all about our new home!
Our New Home
Image: View of the river at Medina Valley Centre
After a period of feeling a little over-crowded at our Newport office, it was clear to see that we had outgrown it and were in need of new premises. Following many months of uncertainty around where Isorropia would be moving to, the team were delighted to discover our new home was to be The Medina Valley Centre. Still technically in Newport, but a world away from the noisy traffic on the High Street and the all-too-frequent sirens in and around town.
One gloriously sunny September morning the team headed down to take a look and ‘Wow!’. Quite frankly it was blissful. It was like we’d hit the office jackpot!! Charlie Bell and Vicki Haworth, our CEOs had clearly put an enormous amount of time and effort into finding us the perfect location where Isorropia Foundation could, not only put down roots but also continue to grow.
Medina Valley Centre is situated on the River Medina, down a narrow country lane and, on arrival, it feels instantly like a little haven of peace and tranquillity. I think I speak for the whole team in saying that we were completely awed by the sheer beauty of the surroundings and the abundance of nature in such close proximity to where we would soon be working. It was a powerful moment. We were inspired, excited, curious, and maybe even a little overwhelmed by the enormous potential at MVC, but ultimately, we couldn’t wait to get moved in.
Not a Physical Place
Having researched the definitions of ‘home’, I liked how urbandictionary.com stated: ‘Home doesn’t have to be a house. It can be anywhere or anything.’
“Home is not a physical place. It is the place where your soul feels it belongs, where you can unapologetically be yourself, where you are loved for your authentic self. Home is the place where you don’t have to work hard just to be loved.” (Najwa Zebian)
I recently stumbled across this lovely description of ‘Home’ by Najwa Zebian (Lebanese-Canadian author) from her book ‘Welcome Home: A Guide to Building a Home for Your Soul’ and was struck by how well it fits with our ethos here at Isorropia. For our team and members, including those who choose to become volunteers, we are very much about encouraging each other to show up authentically – to be our authentic selves. One of the more common reasons cited for why we in the team enjoy working for Isorropia so much is exactlythat; they feel able to show up and be themselves completely, with no fear of judgement, no pressure to ‘fit in’ or conform. As an organisation, we feel this is huge, not only for our team but for our members too. This is reflected in our person-centred, holistic approach, whereby we empower members to consider and embody their whole selves right from the very outset.
A Mooring Post
A mooring post can be used to describe someone’s stabilising influence or security. It seemed fitting to me that, whilst we have always known we provide a ‘stabilising influence’ for our members, now, in our riverside setting, we have acquired our very own mooring post to secure ourselves to as an organisation.
As a wellbeing organisation part of our role is to empower our members, many of whom are living with physical and mental health conditions and for whom life has thrown up many challenges. Consequently, it is a sad but true fact that a large number of these people don’t have a great deal of stability in their day-to-day lives. Our very first Key to Wellbeing (See ‘About Us’ page) is to ‘Create the Foundations of Stability’ and the ongoing role that we play in this is to be ‘ever-present’ or a ‘constant’ for our members. Our outcomes show that by keeping this at the forefront of what we do, we are able to form trusting relationships with members and, as a result, they feel safe and secure with us, throughout their wellness journey.
There are already many ideas in discussion about how we may utilise our mooring post and get the best from our wonderful new location going forward, so be sure to keep checking in to the blog for updates on future plans.
Final thoughts
We have received so much feedback from members expressing that they have found Isorropia’s Wellbeing Programme to be a life-changing experience. As an organisation, we have grown from small seeds as a handful of individuals with a similar passion and drive for positive change, to now a growing and thriving team with big ambitions for how we can continue to reach more and more people and in different ways. This blog is just one of them.
Our rationale for ‘Inside Isorropia – The Blog’ is tied to the idea that we are now also here in a virtual capacity for our members, providing another means for connection to those individuals who aren’t always able to access Isorropia Foundation in person. The blog will also serve to increase awareness in the wider online community about the wonderful things we are doing here at Medina Valley.
The most important message today is that we will continue to be a safe place where individuals can come to learn skills to transform their wellbeing and reach their full potential – the only real change being that we have a different address, a new place to call ‘Home’, prettier views from our windows and the wonderful sound of birdsong ringing in our ears! What’s not to love?!
I look forward to being here to share more from Inside Isorropia again with you all very soon,
