That’s all very well – you may think – but this is a charity and such luxury has no place. There is a traditional view that charities should be run out of dilapidated old buildings, with the bare minimum of resources, reliant on hand-me-downs.

However, this view is changing. Supported by research that shows that our environment has a direct influence on our health and wellbeing, charities are increasingly looking to create environments that support the wider determinants of health.

The Local Government Association’s Improvement and Development site states that the wider social determinants of health are:

“The socio-economic conditions that influence the health of individuals, communities and jurisdictions as a whole. These determinants also establish the extent to which a person possesses the physical, social and personal resources to identify and achieve personal aspirations, satisfy needs and cope with the environment.”

Using the wider determinants of health, including environment, to support an individual’s health has been built into the ethos of Body & Soul since its inception. The vision of Body & Soul’s current home, which it moved into in 200 7, is one designed to support its members, welcoming them and allowing them to aspire.

Body & Soul is not the only charity that uses its building to support individuals’ health. Maggie’s Centres - the first of which opened in 1996 – provide cancer patients with specialist support have had a great impact on those living with cancer –enabling individuals to access “professional help with a community of support thoughtfully designed centres, a combination that is proving highly effective in alleviating the emotional distress and practical difficulties that cancer brings.”

In Jay Merrick’s article for the Independent he reflects that the Maggie’s Centres draw upon a vision of healthcare as stated by the Greek philosopher Plato: “This is the great error of our day in the treatment of the human body – that physicians separate the soul from the body.”

Feeling respected, valued and able to aspire is crucial to an individual’s health and wellbeing. Living with a long-term health condition can too often impact on a person’s self-esteem. Individuals may feel medicalised – or a passive recipient of care, that their opinions are no longer valued and that they can no longer achieve the things they previously aspired to. The impact on mental and physical health can be significant. If a person doesn’t feel valued and respected themselves they are unlikely to want to engage with their health. This can stop a person from wanting to take their medication or eat healthily, which can have longer-term impacts on their health.

The impact that the Body & Soul building has on members is best put by one of Body & Soul’s members – Tina:

“The building evokes a very deep feeling. It is more than the bricks and mortar: it is a way of thinking. It is something you take with you into the world. It makes me feel valued.”

To improve a person’s health and wellbeing you have to engage the whole person, and this includes their environment. Environment has a significant and direct impact on an individual’s self worth and consequently their health.

In health there is nothing luxurious about aspiration. It is critical.

[If you would like to know more about Body & Soul’s work around the Wider Determinants of Health please contact us for our publication: ‘Commissioning Third Sector HIV Services’ which explains more about the models that Body & Soul works within.]

With a name like ‘Inspire’, it’s immediately clear that tonight is all about big over small: think big, win big – live large, in short.

The idea is to give Teen Spirit members the twist of confidence and inspiration that can make all the difference to young people just starting out, looking for ways of making their dreams a reality…

To help, 16 visitors have been invited in to share their stories with Teen Spirit.

The room falls silent as Richard Copcutt takes the floor. He’s MD of Converse UK. But he’s no corporate big-wig in a suit. Instead he stands in trainers, arms decked in tattoos, telling of how his big moment came when he was working in a West London post office, facing off a gunman who was holding up his branch.

‘I thought: I don’t want to risk getting killed for a job I don’t even believe in. I want to do more.’ he says.

He tells us he lived in a squat at the time and had no idea how to make it big. But he found something he was good at – selling – and moved around the country, learning new skills and winding up at companies like Walkers, Nike, Levi’s and ultimately Converse.

‘What drove me to move on was a feeling that I wanted to be true to myself – to find a company whose interests and values fit mine,’ he says.

As an ex punk-rocker, Copcutt feels lucky enough to have found that now: under his leadership, Converse now sponsors an iconic London rock club that faces closure. It’s a matter close to his heart and it’s clear how he values being able to make a difference.

‘My message is: if you want it you can have it. It’s not where you’re from, or what qualifications you have that matters most. It’s finding what you’re good at, doing your best and taking opportunities when they appear.’

So far, so inspirational, and eyes widen as Teen Spirit hears how not so different to them have made it right to the top.

The last group of the evening brings Omar, Tom and Greg. A 19-year-old award-wining entrepreneur who runs his own clothing and media companies, a 25-year-old investment banker and a 30-something PR professional who runs his own company.

The talk of shared traits of determination, self-discipline, and recognising opportunity. They talk of luck, but agree that much of what we call luck, is actually a reward for lots of hard work…

But when talk turns to Omar’s work with major recording artist Drake, the gang get really excited. ‘Oh my god, you work with him?!’ How on earth did you get that gig?!’

One girl is more excited than the rest: she wants to be a music video producer and loves Drake so much – she can’t believe it Omar is working with him! Omar throws down the gauntlet: ‘So you want to work with guys like these? Make me a music video, email it to me next week, I’ll see what I can do. Get it out on social media and see where we can take it.’

These girls’ eyes are so big they look like they might pop. Her friend asks Omar if she can do her work experience with his media company. ‘Why not?’ he says.

Why not indeed, I think as the bright shining eyes in the room grow wider and wider at the opportunities popping open before their eyes.

My involvement with Body & Soul has been a major inspiration for me to do more, and I’ve followed through, and done more. When I re-stumbled back to Body & Soul after a period away last year, the major campaign Life in my Shoes campaign was just kicking off. For me, the inspiration was how passionate these people were to make social happen in the relation to HIV and stigma. Their actions they gave young people dozens of amazing opportunities; offering young people from all over the country the chance to be a part of a social movement that had never beee attempted in the same way before. On a personal level this was just the beginning of an experience of personal growth that I – along with loads of others involved - won’t forget.

What was also inspiring was seeing how the campaign grew from discussions at Teen Spirit of shared unfortunate experiences of stigma to the major campaign that it is now. From workshops working on the speech in the script, to developing the story and characters, to finding the winner of the campaign and finally to beginning the shooting of the film.

It felt as if we had planted a seed and we were watching it grow before our very eyes.

What I got from this experience is the understanding that if you’re feeling strongly about something, you must do something about it. Because you can always do something. And because there are always people there to inspire you into action.”

The key is keeping a healthy balance. Nutrition and healthy living is important to everyone and can really help if you are HIV positive. By eating a wide variety of foods in the right proportions, it can help to alleviate symptoms and help strengthen your immune system.

Let’s start with the basics…..

All nutrients found in food are needed for growth. They have a wide variety of roles in our body, from helping us to grow to keeping our brain functioning properly.

There are lots of different types of nutrients. This can seem quite daunting at first, but once you know the basics you’re on the right track to a healthy diet!

There are two main groups of nutrients. Macro-nutrients and micro-nutrients. Macro nutrients are needed in large amounts in your body and are usually the best source of energy. In this group are carbohydrates, fats and proteins. Micronutrients are needed in smaller amounts, but are as equally important. They are essential for growth and development. In this group are your vitamins and minerals.

Let’s go into this a little further…

To explain all the different functions, we’ve designed the simple and colourful poster below. Get in touch if you’d like us to email you a copy. It might be useful in your kitchen and it great to use in explaining nutrition to children!

So how does HIV affect nutrition?

Being HIV positive does not mean that you have to change your diet drastically, but a few minor changes can help build up your immune system and keep your strong and healthy.

HIV can interact with nutrition by-

• Reducing appetite- This can be due to side effects from medication or sometimes when you are tired and have low energy, you just don’t want to eat!

• Affecting nutrient absorption- This can be due to a couple of things. Sometimes, again it is down to lack of appetite and food intake but sometimes it can be a more physiological reason. HIV can affect key cells found in the gut which can affect which nutrients are absorbed into the body, meaning some can be lost.

• Increasing energy expenditure- Because your body has to work a little harder when affected by HIV, the amount of energy your body needs to function can increase. It is generally recommended that HIV positive people consume 10% more calories, just to make sure you are getting enough energy to be at your best.

• Medication interaction- Some medications can affect absorption of nutrients and in turn, some nutrients and foods and affect the efficacy of medication. It’s always best to ask your doctor which foods to avoid with certain types of medication.

This can all seem a bit overwhelming but it is easier than you think to have a healthy diet and avoid these issues!

Below are a few tips to help you make sure you are eating healthily and getting the most out of your diet:

1. Eat 10% more calories. As we mentioned earlier, the body needs more energy to function and keep healthy when suffering from HIV. So by consuming more, you’re giving your body the helping hand it needs to be at its best. Starchy foods like wholegrain bread and cereals, potatoes and brown rice are all great foods to up your energy intake.

2. Eat small meals often. This will help keep your energy levels and also make sure you keep your appetite nice and healthy.

3. Eat a good amount of protein. If possible, try to consume minced meat and fish as it’s easier for your body to digest and absorb. Other great sources of protein are eggs, shellfish and soya products.

4. Consume a good amount of vitamins and minerals- There are certain vitamins and minerals that are important when you are HIV positive. These are-

• Selenium-this enhances your immune system and helps it to function. It is found in Brazil nuts, tuna, kidney and mushrooms.

• Iron- helps oxygen to move round your body to your vital organs so they can function. It is found in red meat, spinach, dried apricots and some fortified grains.

• Zinc- Zinc can help you immune system and also increase your appetite. It is found in meat, seeds and pulses, dark chocolate and if you’re feeling brave, oysters!

• Vitamin A- protects against bugs and colds and also helps your eyesight. It can be found in carrots, pumpkin leaves, broccoli, apricots, eggs, milk and other green leafy vegetables.

• Vitamin B- very important in your metabolism and helps your immune and nervous system. It can be found in meat like turkey and fish like tuna, wholegrain, potatoes, bananas, brewer’s yeast and molasses.

• Vitamin C- can act as an antioxidant (which means it protects the body from damaging reactions In the body) and also helps the immune system. It can be found in brightly coloured foods like oranges, tomatoes, strawberries and carrots.

5. Try to eat foods low in saturated fats. There are good and bad types of fat, this is definitely the bad one! If you consume a high amount of saturated fat it can cause heart problems, obesity and has even been linked to some cancers. There are however good types of fat that can help you stay a healthy weight and can even protect your heart. These are called poly and monounsaturated fats and are found in avocadoes, fish, nuts, seeds and oils such as rapeseed and canola oil.

6. Try to eat your five a day. 5 or more portions of fruit and vegetables a day can really help you maintain a healthy diet. 1 portion is determined as 1 handful, so 5 handfuls are all you need! They don’t always need to be fresh too, you can use frozen and tinned foods which can be more affordable and keep for much longer.

7. Make sure that you store and cook foods properly to prevent from getting food poisoning. Also try to be hygienic in the kitchen so you are protected against anything that could contaminate the food you are eating.

With these tips, you can maintain a healthy diet without making too many complicated changes. If you’d like to learn more about nutrition and how to stay healthy, you can visit sites listed in the Nutrition and HIV section in the Library.

Thanks to our Adult Services intern Lucy for this post. You can also look at her worksheet on Nutrition, Children and HIV here. If you’re interested in internships at Body & Soul, read about our current opportunities or get in touch.

Sometimes, we often look into the reflection of society to find who we are or to find our place.

We look to adjust the skin we wear to find a place in society, to keep the jobs we have; to adjust to the clique we find ourselves in… indies, townies, ghetto princesses or whatever you may want to call yourselves.

We all know that the mirror of society is covered in stereotypes, and they aren’t all harmless. Fear and hate for those who we don’t understand and for those who don’t understand us… different languages, different religions, different postcodes, poverty, lonliness, illness.   

The friends we find on all of our walks through life - we may share the same interests, likes and dislikes but really would you say that that’s what really makes you? Often these friends are from the same backgrounds we came from but does shared history really make you who you are?

What makes you who you are?

Our brains are much more like a muscle than you might think, in that they can suffer from wasting and it can also become more powerful and retain more information with regular exercise. You might not know that exercise, apart from offering a distraction, builds resources in the brain. Increases in endorphins, serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine – vital neurotransmitters in the brain – can all come as a result of exercise, and will help improve how you feel about yourself. Regularly done, exercise can help reduce feelings of helplessness, panic attacks or the feeling of being trapped, or stuck in a rut. It can help reduce chronic pain levels too, for the same reasons.

For some people, this effect may be just as powerful as anti-depressants or even more so, without the ‘fuzzy-headedness’ or confusion that these drugs can cause. Studies have shown that exercise helps students get better grades, as a result of those neurotransmitters & their effect on stimulating growth of new nerve cells in the hippocampus area of our brains. This is the part of the brain that degenerates in Alzheimer’s disease, and is largely responsible for our memory.

When under stress, our bodies release cortisol. High levels of cortisol can make decision making and recognition of threats difficult. This is why we may feel unable to make decisions when we’re stressed. This cortisol is responsible for damaging neurons in the hippocampus, resulting in memory loss, an inability to make decisions, and being locked into negative thoughts. Exercise helps protect the brain cells from this cortisol, and can help repair any damage already done. The type of exercise is not important, and may be dancing, swimming, Yoga, T’ai Chi, riding a bicycle, or just taking a brisk walk every day. It’s all good, as long as it is a regular part of your week.

Continuing an exercise routine when you are feeling down is easier than starting afresh, and regular exercise will help prevent relapse, so getting started whenever you feel able is really important (make sure your doctor says it’s OK first). It’s great for your psychological health, as well as physical health, and will help control cholesterol levels too – very important for your heart.

There is also very good evidence that exercising our brains with various kinds of puzzles can help us be creative and also results in new neural links and improved mental abilities. These could be crosswords, Sudoku, lateral thinking exercises, Rubik’s Cube type physical puzzles, or even some kinds of video or online games. In making time for these mental exercises, we may well find ourselves distracted from our day to day worries, and find satisfaction in coming up with solutions. This is a kind of brain training that can help anyone, but may be of more benefit to those of us less able to do much physical exercise. The combination of both physical & mental exercise can be the most beneficial way of all. Being HIV positive today, even if you have severe treatment side-effects or symptoms, doesn’t have to dominate your mental or physical health.

Thanks to Phil for this blog

WHAT IS A BOARD?

Although many of us have had to face hardships big and small throughout our lives, including illness, bereavement and loss, most of us have had the opportunity to ‘half the burden’ by calling on the support of close friends and family. Unfortunately, stigma and misconceptions about HIV are alive and thriving, and many of Body & Soul’s members have had to face exceptionally bad reactions when they shared their status with loved ones. Upon revealing that they are living with HIV, many have faced breakdown of their relationships, stinging gossip from their social circles, rejection from their places of worship, and ostracisation from their communities.

Not surprisingly, then, during last Tuesday’s workshop on Talking to Others about HIV, the immediate reactions that members reported feeling upon hearing the word “disclosure” were anxiety, dread, and fear of rejection.

The stigma and isolation HIV imposes on people is, I would argue, one if its most lethal weapons – for fear of sharing their status, many of our members struggle with hopelessness, depression, debilitating side effects, complicated treatment regimens, poverty, and fears about the future completely on their own. This traps them in a vicious cycle, cutting them off from vital resources and emotional support that all of us depend on to deal with life’s ups and downs.

The workshop last Tuesday gave our members an opportunity to share experiences, both positive and negative, in a safe and supportive environment, and explore bigger questions about what makes talking to others about HIV easier. Members agreed that there was no ‘roadmap’ to follow when talking to someone for the first time about one’s HIV status, and that it completely depends on one’s own circumstances and levels of acceptance as well as those of the individual they are speaking to. Confidence and self-acceptance, knowing your rights, and having good knowledge about HIV were all cited as empowering factors that make the first conversation (and all subsequent ones) just that much easier.

Ultimately, though, the discussion turned to how to create a society that does not judge someone based on a little virus that lives in their blood. Misconceptions are rife, and people living with HIV are constantly having to face a hostile media, tabloid stories of persecution of HIV+ individuals, and a generally ignorant populace that is not armed with the information to distinguish between fact and hysteria.

How, as people living with HIV, advocates, and organisations, can we stimulate societal change on this level?

How do we create a world more accepting and supportive of people living with HIV, so that the act of sharing with a partner that we are HIV positive can elicit the same warmth, support and concern as when sharing any other chronic illness?

I’m in a group of seven teens, pretending we’re in a train carriage, listening to a fellow passenger bemoaning their fate.

“I’m a failure!” cries our volunteer-come-actor for the evening. “I used to be a successful sportsman but now I can barely hit a shot! I’m good for nothing – a complete failure I am!”

Teen Spirit is asked how they’d reply. A few shrug shoulders but the youngest pipes up: “Failing isn’t the same as being a failure!” Another adds: “Yeah man, you’re right, failure is just relative. Even if you’re not a success at sport anymore, you can probably do really well in something else.”

We decide that offering a kindness to a stranger in a situation like this – rather than turning the other cheek or worse, poking fun – would make us feel better about ourselves, and help us feel like we’re a good type of person.

After a quick turnaround, our little group is suddenly huddled together under a ‘parachute’. It instantly creates intimacy, a feeling that we’re all safe together. Different scenarios are written on little scraps of paper to encourage conversation.

“I can only be really honest about myself at Body & Soul”

“Yeah, that’s true. I feel like keeping my HIV status a secret creates a barrier between me and my friends. It’s like I’m lying to them.”

“It’s like carrying something heavy on your shoulders. The only time I feel free of that is when I’m at Body & Soul.”

Everyone chips in with their own story, and you can almost see the weight on those shoulders lifting, ever so slightly, raising the parachute a little further above our heads.

Our last group of the night encourages us to write and perform our own song – in just 15 minutes! Our group is unfazed – we have a rapper, a tambourine man and a big bongo fan is our midst.

Our lyrics are common misconceptions people can make based on your appearance.

“I’m wearing a hoody – they think I’m a robber / Because I’m a Muslim, they think I’m a terrorist / I come from Nigeria, they think I do voodoo”

Agreeing that these stereotypes are unfair and completely untrue in reality, we decide to harmonise each line with the words:

“I’m not that person / I’m not that person / I’m not that person.”

It’s a pretty euphoric end to the evening. One of our number was visiting Body & Soul for the evening from Leicester. He was asked to rap on our self-penned tune and nailed it – he leaves for his train with bright, shining eyes and, like us all, a bit more of an idea of the somebody we’d like to be…”

Thanks to Teen Spirit volunteer Geri for this blog x

Last weekend the board set off to Oxford with the aim of training to be better leaders and planning for the year ahead – what would our aims be? How would we achieve them? What kind of leaders did we want to be?

The journey set off from Paddington Station for an hour’s journey into Oxford. Greeted by its majestic feel of romantic buildings and beautiful gardens, Oxford feels like the city in the country and shows off the best of both worlds. As we wondered into the town centre, we felt the liveliness of a city but without the rush and abruptness of London and couldn’t help but marvel at the magnificent architecture full of charm , beauty and of course, basking in history. Truly an inspiring place for a weekend where we would need to be creative and feel empowered.

We arrived at our accommodation at Mansfield College (part of The University of Oxford) where we were each assigned our rooms, and were all ecstatic to run into them, eager to see what awaited us.

After settling in we ventured out to see what life was like in one of Britain’s most historical places and also to get fed! We stumbled across many restaurants but finally found Fire and Stone. Here we devoured pizzas from across the world and I one of the best desserts ever… more importantly it was really important to spend some time with all of the board together at once – everyone began to relax and bond in a way we hadn’t before and we were all eager and excited to see how the weekend would unfold.

Later on, and back at Mansfield College in the magnificent Tower Room: down to business. Our first group activity was to establish what we wanted to achieve from the weekend, and from the Teen Spirit Board of Directors as a whole. We talked about what we each bought to the board, our hopes for the weekend and also what we didn’t want from the Board of Directors.

Friday night ended with a wonderful quote by John Quincy Adams.

The next day, business started early at 7:50! Although breakfast was more than excellent, it was the time we shared and the bond we built that left its mark on me.

After breakfast a busy day lay ahead of us, full of activities and tasks led by the wonderful Ethan, who volunteers with the Board and is an expert in leadership.

We worked hard to establish what the roles of The Board Of Directors should be:

This was the result of exploring what leadership means and what it takes for to be a good leader… it was now up to use to work out how we’d put this into action.

“To be a great leader and so always master of the situation, one must of necessity have been a great thinker in action. An eagle was never yet hatched from a goose’s egg.” – 
James Thomas

For me, my highlight of the weekend was the stories we shared, to say they were moving would be an understatement. They taught me that it doesn’t matter where you started out, how rocky the your path is, we can be all leaders as its never about the destination its about journey.  And this journey is one that taught me “to do great things is difficult; but to command great things is more difficult.” Friedrich Nietzsche