Everything in one place…
All the poetry, tools, reflections all in one place.
The contents of this site are for the purpose of sharing or education only. Nothing found on this website is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice. Nor is it a substitute for therapy. Always seek the advice of a doctor or mental health expert if you have concerns about your wellbeing. All views mentioned are the opinions of either the contributing author or myself Row Aderyn.
Subscribe
Join hundreds of happy subscribers!
Built to Rise Newsletter
We wont ever share your data but we will send you free insights, tools and experience from decades of delivering change and resilience in the face of adversity.
Join the Built to Rise newsletter. Your email stays safe, is only used for this newsletter, and you can unsubscribe anytime.
112 Young Lives Lost: Why We Need to Move from Safeguarding to Future-Guarding
“We need to move from safeguarding to future-guarding. From managing risk to building possibility.”
Built to Rise: Understanding Conflict and the Power of Looping
Conflict has been a thread running through so many parts of my life. Growing up in care, I learned to respond to it in opposite extremes – sometimes doing anything to avoid it, other times throwing myself head‑first into it because I believed I had to protect my sister. Conflict wasn’t an occasional disruption; it…
When AI Ethics Meets Care Experience: Why Protected Characteristics Matter More Than Ever
As organisations increasingly use the Equality Act to guide ethical AI and manage bias, an important question emerges: what happens to groups that aren’t recognised within it? This article explores why the rise of AI strengthens the case for recognising care experience as a protected characteristic and why fair technology starts with fair frameworks.
Big Change Happens One Small Step at a Time
Changing a system is one of the hardest things we can do, but it doesn’t happen through one giant leap.
Reflecting on my own journey supporting change in the care experience space, I’ve learned that lasting transformation is built through small wins, trusted relationships, and focusing on where you can make the greatest impact.
…
Returning to the Chair: Learning to Sit with What Hurts
After a year away from therapy, I didn’t expect to find myself back in the chair so soon. But stress, fear, and old wounds have a way of resurfacing when you least expect them. This post is a reflection on returning to therapy, facing buried memories, and learning—slowly—to sit with anger, fear, and grief. It’s…
The Four Mindsets of Healing: What I Learned from Chronic Illness and PTSD
For years, I believed I had left my childhood trauma behind—until my body told a different story. Living with PTSD, chronic pain, and the emotional weight of disability, I found myself stuck in a resigned mindset. But rediscovering the four mindsets described by Dave Rees and Dr Field reminded me that I have choices. This…
New Year, New Focus: How to Invest Your Time for Maximum Impact and Fulfilment
Start the new year with a fresh focus! Discover how to invest your time wisely by prioritizing activities that add value to your life and others. Learn how to cut time-wasters and align your actions with what truly matters.
Three ways to help yourself move through the hard stuff.
Feeling Stressed? Find Your Harmony!
Life’s curveballs can steal your joy, but there’s a simple solution: move your body, crank up the music, and get creative! From dancing in the kitchen to baking a cake, these activities can boost your mood and unleash your inner artist. So ditch the blues and embrace the movement, music,…
Three lessons in life from flying a glider and loosing control
As part of my ongoing effort to recover my mental health and focus on the positive lessons life gave me, I was journaling the other day and reflecting how I felt I was in a tail spin hurtling downwards. My emotions absolutely out of control. As I wrote I remembered the occasions i was actually…
The positive impact of words can last a life time.
As part of a series to try and focus on the moments in my past which helped get me through. Here is the first of my anchors in the storm. My first anchor point was the briefest of conversations. Not really a conversation, actually just a statement someone said to me once. Words which always…
Anchors of happiness in a past full of abuse, being happy takes work.
I have been a little quiet of late. And honestly it’s been a bit of tricky time. I finished therapy on an absolute high last year. I had smashed through so much stuff. My sleep was the best sleep I had in my life. I was more grounded, calm and so in touch with my…
Five sure ways to build confidence and grow.
There are lots of things I do which result in people asking me how do you have the confidence to do that. Only things most of us get roped in to. Presenting in front of an audience. Photo shoot for work. By far the most honest and simple answer to the question how do you…
Why sometimes reacting with emotion is essential to a happy life.
I am so grateful for every like and comment on my blogs. This journey has been a tricky one but knowing you are there has made it all the more worthwhile. I had to share with you I did something very out of character this week. I snapped back. Someone said something which upset me…
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.