Hello!

There are times when we could all do with a hug and something to make us smile. Living with long-term conditions is often isolating - you miss out on social events and aspects of every day life. For some, even a hug can be energy draining and painful. For me personally, one of the hardest things to come to terms with when I was diagnosed with ME/CFS was not having the ability to be as socially active as I was. Having to turn down invitations and limiting how social I can be is still hard.

I enjoy making people smile and giving someone a few minutes of happiness where I can. Currently living in my spare room are some wonderful teddies of all shapes and sizes, who have all had a wonderful life so far and are looking for their next human friend to sit with, to lend an ear when they need it, to give hugs, and to be a companion.

By donating on this page to Astriid, I will send my pre-loved teddy bears on their next adventure to someone (or even YOU!) to give a hug and a smile. Any donation big or small will make a huge difference to Astriid.

I am doing this as part of the Astriid Challenge - so if you would like to challenge yourself in anyway that you feel comfortable, you can join in too! You can even join me in Post-A-Hug if you think that you have some pre-loved teddies that are waiting for their next adventure.

Over the past 5 years, Astriid have helped and supported hundreds of people with long-term conditions find meaningful employment, influenced government policy and guidance around disability and work, and have been developing a consultancy service that offers training on long-term conditions in the workplace, including energy limiting conditions, which is very much needed right now.

Thank you for your support!

Kat x

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