Personal Blogs

MIND have complied a great list of helplines in the UK. They have included emergency food supplies number too and remember 111 can be used for physical health too.

Useful contacts - Christmas and mental health - Mind

And remember, take it one day at a time if needed. Even one hour at a time.

One thing I am working on and enjoying over the Summer break is my training in styling. In addition, I am creating a personal style and image programme as a consultant, but it is more than style. It isn't only about clothes. It is about much more and draws on my years of experience in various fields. 

If you are interested in personal style, or would simply like to declutter that closet, you may enjoy my Substack. If you are interested in psychology, social psychology, creativity and art, you may enjoy it even more. 

Here's a link:

I have devoted this particular Substack/newsletter to Intentional Styling. Please subscribe for free if you want to.

leighah’s Substack | leighah beadle-darcy | Substack

Here we are in the Springtime already, and heading towards EMAs and exams before we even know it. 

But let's just pause and breathe a minute and not run ahead of ourselves and cause ourselves anxiety!

This season of the year is one where we are naturally wired to spring clean (of course, Australia etc is in a different season), and it is also a time when, if we are aligned with natural energy in Nature, we may more easily plant seeds of ideas.

If you feel inclined, have a listen to my short podcast episode on The Cleansing Tide:

 A brief intro to the Cleansing Tide of the Year | Wear the Dress (or whatever alternative you like) (podbean.com)

What might you need to clean up within your studies and what seeds might you benefit from planting there to help as we go into the Growing Tide and the final exams and EMAs?

Here we are back at studies and the new year. Technically, in terms of the 'agricultural year' and how certain paths see the turning year, we are in what sometimes gets called 'The Resting Tide' (generally November, December, January). In the Natural world, some animals hibernate during at least some of this time if not all, people are more inclined (in Northern Hemisphere) to spend more time indoors, perhaps more withdrawn and keeping warm. You may have noticed these energetic changes in yourselves, and yet studies still need to be completed. 

I made a podcast episode on the subject, so take a listen if you feel inclined. 

The Resting Tide of the year and the Festive Season | Wear the Dress (or whatever alternative you like) (podbean.com)

It wouldn't be very British unless I mention the weather that we have been having here in the UK. After a very wet and rainy Summer (even for the UK!), we slid into September with this heatwave! I had just sorted out my Autumn wardrobe when it became too hot to wear that little capsule, but to wear my Summer clothes (which had already been put in a storage container) felt just 'wrong'!! 😅So, I have been relying on those year-round staples. Or, seeing as I have tightly contained work into it's own 'container' of a part-time and certain days only, there has been the option of certain multi weather pyjamas etc whilst I prep for and get myself ahead for this new academic year now the course materials have been released (ahead of the start dates) 😉. I think the weather is easing into Autumn now, and so the Autumn wardrobe can come into its full glory (and in seasonal colour analysis, I am a True Autumn, so this is truly my time to shine 😉).

OK, leaving the weather and colour analysis and wardrobes, and getting our heads into the study game for the rest of this post, here we are in September, materials released for courses starting in around 3 weeks, and maybe wondering what the hell you are doing having signed up for uni! Perhaps a feeling of excitement and overwhelm blended together - 'excitelm' or 'overitement' 😅- or any variation on the theme. This is the time of determination and hopes, but as the term sets in, many of our plans for 'perfect time structure' and 'being on top of things' begin to hit the reality of life and deadlines and we find ourselves eating cereal out of the box with unwashed hair whilst googling something like 'chemical bonds made really simple' and 'can we stretch time?' (or maybe that is just me 😅) . So, how can we keep ourselves in the land of sanity and reach our goals whilst maintaining clean hair and eating at least one fully nutritious meal a day? 😉 Here are some ideas and thoughts I have and that I have also gleaned from some recent Student Hub Live events:

- If you schedule in say 2 hours for a task - make that 2.5 hours - this mitigates for extras happening or needing to be looked up etc. A little break or two within that time too - in one SHL event this week, one student said they do 40 mins study and then a 20 min break - that seems quite a good time division. 

- Schedule in more time/make priority the parts of the course you struggle with more. For example, on my current Combined STEM, this year I am doing a 30 credit biology module, a 30 credit brain/neuroscience -based module, and a 60 credit French module (I gave myself 120 rogue credits for the STEM degree, as only 240 have to be STEM). I can see off the bat the French will require more time, but within the biology, my area of struggle is chemistry - there isn't much of it, but it isn't a subject I have given much time to in my past, and I am unsure I am naturally good at it (or maybe I just told myself I am not, so will need to work through that limiting belief). I am therefore doing a little chemistry primer provided on the module, and also will make sure more time allotment/extra time goes to really getting to grips with the chemistry, as this is my area of less experience/ability of all the subjects. 
So, have a think where you might need to give that extra bit of focus and time to get up to scratch, and factor that in.

- Use whatever aids help you map and manage you map and manage your time and study plan - everything from diaries, to scheduling wipe boards, to big scrap books to stick planner sheets and notes in, to post it notes - figure what works for you. 

- Many years ago when I was 21, doing a lot of study, and realising things don't always fit to the exact and rigid plan I wanted , I came up with the terms 'flexible structure' and 'structured flexibility' to help, and so that I didn't feel I had 'failed' or 'not been disciplined' when things didn't go exactly to plan (I am so grateful that here in my 40s I am not quite as hard on myself as back then!), and I still keep that concept in mind today - sometimes 'flexible structure' fits better in my mind and sometimes 'structured flexibility' - depending on the task at hand and what else is going on I guess!

- Work - Life balance and making sure you get a bit of exercise, friend/family connection etc etc. At the end of the day, your physical and mental health, plus loved ones will be what helps carry you through your studies. When we are studying, it can sometimes feel like it is taking over. Give yourself the gift of connection and movement/variations on movement if you have physical disability. Connection (not just with humans, but animals and Nature) and movement can set us up to feel more equipped for our studies. Balance is key - and I think this might be helpful to come back to in another post. I say 'balance', but I am not 100% sure what that really is! I am not sure this 'perfect balance' is attainable, but being mindful of when things are tipping might be a better way to put it. 

- Check out student hub live - there is all sorts there both in terms of sessions and resources to help you with being a student - plus some fun. Check out the helpful resources on your home page too, and remember student services are there to help you! Don't be afraid to ask!

The Student Hub Live | The Student Hub Live (open.ac.uk)


Until soon!

Take care, keep calm and balance on

Leighah 

- 

I have been part-time at the OU since January 2022 (though technically, I have studied at the OU before in 2008/9). This Autumn, I will be going full-time. There are a couple of reasons for this which I will write about later in this blog post. I will also continue to work. In addition, I am on the adjuvant breast cancer treatment, Tamoxifen, following a diagnosis of ER and PR positive ductal carcinoma in 2019. This diagnosis convinced me even more to return to studies. I must admit, I am not new to study. I already have completed undergraduate, masters, post grad cert, plus counselling and dance therapy diplomas, and more. I love to learn and I love to push for my potential and passions. 

I was very lucky to be given a fees loan for my current degree with the OU despite studying at both undergrad and post grad levels before. This is because it is the Combined STEM degree.  At first, I wanted to do the Open Degree, but did not have a spare £27 000 lying around, but considered paying with OUSBA; however, this would mean increasing work, and I was already juggling home life, a business I own (or co-own since I made my intern co-owner), plus everything that goes with breast cancer (and which can change at any minute too!). To add more work, and especially work in the psychotherapy realm would not be wise. I have launched a couple of side hustles, though, on Etsy! So, given I want to make a difference to the future of breast cancer research and more, STEM seemed a good idea! It felt like a gift! However, my A levels, my undergrad and post grads were not science, apart from psychology and social sciences/life sciences, but not 'hard science', and I was aware I would be studying things I previously sucked at - like chemistry - or maybe wasn't terrible at, but definitely not above high school level. I have studied anatomy and physiology, though in relation to having been a dancer and teaching dance, and I was obsessed with anatomy and physiology, and even the physics of dance a little though I only dabbled in the physics of dance!). My inclination and talent has been towards arts and humanities, languages, and social sciences. And here I am now in my late 40s studying an undergrad in STEM. Thankfully, there is some leeway in the OU Combined STEM, and I have been able to have 120 'rogue credits' and also include psychology as this is considered a part of STEM at the OU as well as a part of Psychology. 

Upon diagnosis of breast cancer, I did sign up for a breast cancer module online with Yale School of Medicine (might as well get a qualification out of such a crappy diagnosis eh?!), and this was before I knew I was going to do STEM with the OU. So maybe life was preparing me. 

Being someone interested in and also working with others in personal style and wardrobe curation, I was aware that sometimes women in STEM get a bad rap as being not interested in fashion, not looking 'sexy' or polished. Of course this is poppycock! At the same time, I was proud to show that you can wear your red lipstick, your Sezane dress and still do STEM! I love to bust a stereotype or ten! Furthermore, if women choose to wear no make-up, hate dresses etc., then this is also OK! Allowing women (and any gender) to look as they choose (so long as it is not cultural appropriation or genuinely offensive to the majority) and study what they want is what I advocate!

Anyway, I started off part time - SDK100 a year, then YXM130 and L112 this past academic year as 60 'rogue credits'. I love French and so L112 felt like a hobby - well until I was being highly neurotic nearing the final assessment oral!. I cried a bit after the oral - French lights me up, as does French culture and French style. I wanted to do more French and yet I knew I also need to do some actual science stuff this year! I had already enrolled for SK298 and SK299. After my little post French oral bereft little tear shed, I signed up for L222. This would make me full time. Now, I needed to think about self-care and time management even more! I realised certain aspects of work were where I could set more boundaries and reduce some hours - I have a tendency to overgive at times, and I realised, despite setting lines there already, I was still giving above and beyond to my therapy and coaching practices. I decided to limit days and take up the offer of a couple of hours higher paid work. I have begun informing clients of some little changes already - to be fair on them and give them notice now in May, ready for October. 

To be honest, going full-time at OU this coming academic year is self-caring to me - I am doing something I am passionate about, something I really want to do, and something I know I am capable of. When I do die, I want to be able to say I lived my life to the fullest of my potential. I want to make a difference and more of a difference. This also means being able to stop a bit and rest too - I am not always the best at this, but it is constant practice I put in. 

I am also preparing now for October by getting ahead with some topics. I have contacted Isabella Henman who was my tutor on YXM130 regarding how to get ahead, and we have had some fun looking at brain models, books etc. So, I have been stocking up my little toy cupboard even with a kid's biology set! Isabella also teaches on SDK298 and SDK 299. In addition, I have downloaded the preparation sheet and ideas ready for L222 and I have French on TV more than English (something I began during L112).

I have had a ball this last academic year with some 'rogue credits' and have been very blessed having Isabella for YXM130 and Sabine Zeze for L112. They are also both women my own age, so that has been extra nice in terms of feeling connected as a woman in my 40s. They have both been a delight to have as tutors. It is so important to have tutors you feel you can talk to and who are encouraging. They have also both been stars when I have had a couple of horrific deaths of both darling pet and close human during this academic year, plus some breast cancer procedures and medical trial stuff to navigate. They have helped me not over-push, and also have respected that I did not want to stop fully for a while. 

So, navigating such things as above - I know there will be other students in similar positions, and here is what I would advise:

Start preparing now, not close to the start of the course. 

Declutter your home, desk, wardrobe even, so the space feels organised and ready. Feeling good in your skin with your wardrobe too can really help!

Make your prep and your study fun!

Set boundaries both with others and with yourself.

Find something that lights you up - for me it is my pet rats.

Exercise regularly - I do ballet 4 days a week for half an hour or so, and Pilates and weights twice a week for half an hour or so, plus I walk for a certain amount of time a week within NHS guidelines. This is also good with the Tamoxifen (it can cause blood clots, though the benefits outweigh the risks and it is not common that blood clots occur) and the exercise helps with bone density as I navigate midlife. 

Batch cook - unless of course cooking is how you unwind or what lights you up. For me, I do not enjoy cooking and I am not that good at it, so a weekly batch cook saves a lot of time and stress. OK, and yes, even though I have a certificate in Nutrition, I do eat some rubbish at times too! I was literally eating biscuits and cake with cups of tea revising from revision cards all day of my French oral last week! Of course, I then made up for the sugar overload and just grabbing snacks with getting back on track after the oral. It is OK to have a day of neurotic chaos here and there whilst navigating finals! Though, of course, good nutrition is better for the brain!

Get a copy of the Eisenhower Matrix and print it off a few times or set it on a device - this helps with prioritising into Urgent and Important, Not Urgent but Important, Urgent and Important, and Not Urgent and Not Important. The latter can definitely be ditched! Scrolling through phones can be the worst culprit in that quadrant!

Reach out if you are struggling with managing time or life is getting overwhelming. Your tutors are always happy, as are student services, to help you make decisions, time manage, and more. Asking for help can be hard (I can be really bad at it!), but people want to help, and there is no shame in asking for help. 

And don't forget to stop and breathe and notice the little things in life often!

I hope this has been of help to other students, and I intend to keep this blog going at intervals as I navigate this next academic year.