RESIDENT WINCHESTER RESIDENT OCT NOV 19 WEB - Page 29

Wellbeing
Nature’s
therapy
D
EMENTIA FRIEND Zuzi
Tracey-Burner is not
only making memories
with her customers, but also
reminding older people of
special occasions from the
past.
Now living at Kings
Worthy, she grew up in
Slovakia ‘amongst nature,
playing in the meadow,
foraging in the woods with
my Dad, decorating cakes
with my Mum, using flowers
and herbs, gardening
and socialising outside’,
childhood recollections
which are treasured.
She started Say It With
three years ago after
working with several
nursing homes as an
activity organiser, often with
residents who were living
with dementia.
“I would go outside and
bring a bit of nature through
plants and flowers to those
residents who couldn’t join
us in the garden. I soon
found they really enjoyed
the sensory, colourful and
stimulating experience
of being in the garden or
H
ABOVE: Working with flowers.
making something with
seasonal flowers indoors,”
said Zuzi.
Additional courses in
flowers arranging and
horticulture therapy have
complemented how she
works. It comprises three
strands which combine
design with her love of
nature: she runs floral
cafes where people come
along enjoy a creative class
with refreshments and
companionship, she works
on site for care homes, and
finally, focuses on wedding
flowers at weekends.
Say It With is growing
with this mixed offering as
more people discover just
how stimulating it can be
to work with people and
flowers.
“Ironically many older
people who are living
with dementia remember
something special like their
wedding bouquet, that is
why I love working to create
memories which will be very
important when people
grow older.”
sayitwith.co
Mind over matter
YPNOTHERAPIST Paul Hill
is gaining business in and
around Winchester, and
finding that now that the darker
evenings and long nights are
approaching, people want to find
out more about how to tackle
Seasonal Affective Disorder.
Paul (pictured) has come to
his latest career via a path which
included 30 years working as a
mortgage broker and qualifying
as a remedial sports massage
therapist.
He said: “You often find people
tell you things when they’re
relaxed and this is something
I noticed working in massage.
When the body is relaxed and
undergoing treatment, the mind
also relaxes. The obvious example
is that ladies tell hairdressers all
sorts of things for precisely this
reason.
“My work as a counsellor
included hypnotherapy and
www.residentmagazine.co.uk
I found it to be the most
interesting area. It is all about
self esteem for 95 per cent of
the patients I work with. The
goal is to stop them responding
to ‘negative noise’ or thoughts
which clutter up the mind and
affect everyday wellbeing.”
Paul is unusual in being a
hypnotherapist who is happy to
travel: “Hypnotherapists generally
prefer patients to come to them,
but I believe that if someone is
anxious, the last thing they want
is to go to a new house and meet
a stranger. It depends on the
patient.”
Paul encourages people to
learn breathing techniques to
reduce stress and for overall
wellbeing he encourages the use
of ‘Positive Affirmations’ and to
practice an ‘Attitude of Gratitude’
focusing on the joy of successes
achieved.
everydayhypnotherapy.co.uk
Resident 29