Some of our previous blog posts have given us great insights into the lives of students at BCU, and the obstacles some have overcome. Bobbie is a well-known, confident postgraduate psychology student at BCU. Here she shares why that wasn’t always the case, isn’t the case for many others and discusses some of the obstacles she deals with on a daily basis…

Over my years of studying psychology, I have made no attempt to hide the fact that I am autistic. I have brought it up repeatedly in lectures, gave my opinion as someone with autism and at times I have seen how this has been irksome to those around me. Of course, this is understandable, at times autism was my safety blanket. When nervous or anxious I could turn to the one thing I know about-autism! But who wants to sit in a psychology class and hear about things that don’t fully apply to them! No one… And that is part of why I spoke up. Studying psychology whilst being atypical at times can be such an exhausting experience. I love psychology, I love to learn, but I have spent much of my life on the outside of society. Looking through a window into a world I want to touch, but more often than not, trying has led to harm… This has been painful, but slowly I learned. I learned that when people ask for an honest opinion, they mean a tactful opinion. I have learned that when I talk and people scrunch their faces up, it means I need to stop and check myself. Am I being too loud? Am I standing too close? Or does this person just think I am weird?

In truth, every time I spoke about autism it was an attempt to reach out to the world. You have told and taught me how you experience things, now let me tell you how I do! Perhaps it was how I conveyed it, or my persistence with it, but often this has been met with annoyed sighs, huffs and grumbled “why does she always talk about autism?” I understand this side, believe me. From a young age I have had professionals work on me, mold me into a more ‘acceptable’ version of myself. Whilst now I understand this was all done in an attempt to help me fit better into an unkind world, I still can’t help but feel sadness at this. I believe now things are changing, but when I was growing up success with an autistic child meant making them appear more ‘normal’. The harm this does to the self-esteem of a young child, is, well indescribable. But it is because of this training that I am very self-aware, something many with my condition struggle with. This means that sometimes when I am annoying someone, I can sense that I am doing it. But that’s the problem with training autistics… you train the superficial, you don’t change how we think. The more annoyed people get, the more I panic. The more I panic, the worse I get at controlling the symptoms of my condition. In some form of sick cosmic joke, when I see others are getting tired of my talkative nature the universe says ‘hold my beer’ and I double down on whatever I am doing. I talk faster, I talk more, I hyper-focus on what I am talking about and dodge any attempt to move from the subject. I admit, even with people I don’t like when I see their annoyance and see myself doubling down, I feel embarrassed. Ashamed. And all I want to do is go home and hide from the world. You can’t make a social mistake if you’re not social after all.

A lot of people with autism feel like this. We try to reach out, we mess up, we hide. Some people stop trying to reach out and live in a self-exile, other people do what I consider to be ‘Sherlocking’. In BBC’s Sherlock it is apparent that the detective doesn’t understand other people and so he comes off as a complete d**k. He doesn’t want to admit he doesn’t understand, so he pretends he doesn’t care. I had a phase like this. If I didn’t understand and expressed that someone else, normally an adult, often a teacher, would chide me. Instead of explaining the problem with what I had done or said, I would be told off, often shouted at. As someone with extreme sensory issues, this was terrifying and because they didn’t take the time to explain I was doomed to make the same mistake again and again. I lived with a deep anxiety as a small child because of this. I was always scared of doing the wrong thing, of breaking a rule and getting in trouble. The fear was paralysing. During this stage I hated myself. A child of less than ten hating who they were, being so mad that they couldn’t be normal that they learned to accept to spend time alone. Children are cruel, adults were not much kinder.  To this day I live with the memory of another child telling their parent I had ADHD and the parent not even looking at me as they said “Don’t play with her then, she has a naughty disease.” After years of this, I entered my Sherlock stage. I pretended I couldn’t care less about society. They told me I was wrong, I was nasty, I had no empathy, so I decided that I would stop trying to fit in with them. This was completely superficial and just hid the pain I felt every time I messed up socially.

Now as an adult I have hit my middle ground. Yes, I make mistakes, I mess up, I talk too much about things people are not interested in, but I accept that I can only change so much. I am not normal. To some this is insulting, to me this is a statement of fact. I am not normal, I do not think like you do but I am trying. My whole fascination with psychology came from trying to understand you. I am learning to say sorry when I have upset you, but… I ask you to tell me when this is the case. I have felt the harm of trying to make an autistic person ‘normal’. I have seen the way others self-mutilate in order to make square pegs fit in round holes. I will not do this now. I will not encourage others to do this. You don’t “fix” an autistic person by breaking parts of us down.

I ask you, my peers and society to meet me half-way. I will learn to walk in your world, but in return I ask you to be understanding of the fact that I was not born with the natural ability to navigate it as you were. I will learn, I will try and I will mess up, but I ask that you do the same. The best people I have met in my life are the ones who stopped to understand. It may be strange to some when my friends turn to me with pursed lips and sharp ‘shusssh’. It may seem insulting. It is not. I am comfortable with them, I know that they mean me no harm. If I am talking at the wrong time, this direct response leaves no room for misunderstanding. I know if I have done or said something particularly problematic, they will later take me aside and explain it to me. This is them recognising I do not understand and helping to lead me in this strange social landscape. Annoyed looks, huffs, mutters under ones breath. This does not teach, this chides.

I know others with autism. Younger people who are entering a world for which they are not fully equipped. For them I try to be what I needed, someone who understands them. I cannot fix society and make it more understanding. I cannot force other people to sit and listen to how people like me experience the world. I realise writing this that perhaps this is what well-meaning professionals felt as they tried to teach me the marionette dance of normalcy. But I will not repeat the mistakes they made. I will not tell autistics that they are wrong and because of this they need to change. They are not less. We are not less. Instead I will teach them the coping mechanisms I learned. I will teach them how to explain themselves and their condition. I will teach them to apologise for mistakes they make, but to be understanding of themselves when they make them. When they are met with unkindness, with ignorance, I will not tell them that this is just how society is. I will teach them how to walk halfway in meeting others, but not how to walk so far away that you learn to hate who you are. We are different, but we are not broken.

I’ve tried hard to express myself here and perhaps I’ve failed and messed up…. But that’s okay. I’m going to mess up. It doesn’t matter though, because I’ve tried. I’ve walked halfway and those who care, will walk the other half.  

– Bobbie White, Postgraduate Psychology Student at Birmingham City University

The past few months have posed challenges for everyone. Students graduating this year never could have predicted they would be finishing the final semester of their degrees remotely, whilst living through a pandemic. Final year psychology student Siouxsie shared what finishing her degree during lockdown was like…

I won’t sugar coat it, it was tough. It was probably one of the most challenging things I’ve ever done, and it certainly tested how strong I am both physically and mentally.
Lockdown did have some perks, providing me with more time to complete my degree than I normally would have. Although, working on assignments became an unhealthy obsession. I have always had a strong work ethic, forever striving to achieve the best I can. So, finding the motivation to work towards my deadlines wasn’t the issue, although I know many others struggled with this. The issue for me was that, I severely neglected looking after myself in the process. I spent all day every day doing work, as I felt that’s all I could do to keep myself occupied. I didn’t go on walks, I barely went outside in the garden, my diet and sleep patterns also suffered. I had this huge feeling of guilt if I didn’t do any work. It was like I couldn’t rest until I had completed what I’d set myself. I would dread waking up knowing that I would spend the whole day doing work rather than seeing my boyfriend or my friends. I also celebrated my 21st birthday during lockdown, as did many others, which made this whole experience increasingly difficult.

All the days were merging into one, and if I’m completely honest I didn’t know what day it actually was half of the time. Because of this, my deadlines were getting increasingly close and I was getting very stressed. My dissertation especially was tough to complete during lockdown, as I could no longer have the many face-to-face panic meetings with my supervisor. Saying this, we did have a couple of phone calls which helped me in my panic moments. As with the other modules, the continuous online support and feedback was appreciated, otherwise I would not have been able to do well in those modules at all. The constant chats with my course mates helped as well, it was really lovely how we all supported each other through this unprecedented time.

As I look back, I definitely needed to be kinder to myself, practicing self-care and just giving myself a break. It was difficult to adjust to what was going on around me, and I think my way of coping with this was to just work, work and work, not leaving much time for anything else. I wish I did little things such as go for a walk, have a bath, or even just watch some TV for 5 minutes as it would have done me the world of good. Recharging your batteries before attempting work again is always a good idea. My family tried to persuade me to do this, however I just wanted to work.

Despite lockdown enabling me to have more time for university work, it placed a large burden on my mental and physical health. With months of stress and neglecting myself that I won’t get back, lets just hope that this annoying work obsession I had pays off in the long run. I am aware that my experience is quite negative, and I’m sure many others can relate. But lockdown wasn’t negative for everybody, I guess everyone deals with situations like this in their own way.

– Siouxsie Pardoe, final year psychology student at Birmingham City University

Living through a pandemic and dealing with lockdown is tough, and certainly unexpected. We’ve all had different experiences over the past few weeks, some positive and some negative. Postgraduate psychology student Bobbie shared her experience of dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic…

Day three of doing nothing all day…

Before that day I had spent the last three weeks sick, sleeping through the day and battling chills which made getting comfortable incredibly difficult. By the time I was starting to get better the stress of having not made progress on my university assignments had firmly settled in the forefront of my mind. In the moments where I was just comfortable enough to rest, my mind would wonder back to all the work I had coming up and the deadlines I had to meet. Needless to say this probably made getting better much more difficult.  

Don’t get me wrong, I had frequent and supportive contact with the pretty amazing staff at BCU during this time, all of whom reminded me that there were options I could take- deferrals, extensions- but the idea of doing that felt worse to me than struggling through the work. Now to anyone who was in the same situation as I was, I would absolutely suggest considering those options… But if you’re connecting with this, you are likely just like me and that’s an option you’re going to be reluctant to take. In these circumstances we need to conduct a detailed cost benefits analysis of the options available, but that is not the focus of this post.

What is the focus, is what happened on day three of doing nothing. By that time I had had enough of not writing or reading. I was exhausted constantly, dealing with blaring headaches, but the thought of not progressing with assignments made the pit in my stomach grow into a nauseating cavern. So, I scooped myself out of what can best be described as a hovel at this point and started on mundane tasks. I moved the books from my bed and slowly put them away, I struggled but through great triumph…. I managed to make my bed. An accomplishment so great that I expect you reading this to consider me a hero akin to the great Gods of Greek myth. But, all jokes aside I did some very basic stuff, then settled down and started to read up for the assignment I had been struggling with.

By the end of that day I had identified some key articles, read and highlighted some important texts and made my bed. Compared to my normal assignment ethic this was minuscule, but in the context of everything that had been going on up to that point, it was massive for me. Revelling over my work I remember jokingly congratulating myself “See you can do it, I’m proud of you!”

What was meant as mild joke to myself (lets not highlight the level of weird telling yourself jokes is, its been a long quarantine), led to me letting out a gentle sob and feeling moisture accumulate in the whites of my eyes. I realised in that moment that over the last three weeks I had been so unkind to myself, so harsh and annoyed at myself. For what? For being sick and needing time to recover? Even though every lecturer who had known what was going on had begged me to rest, I couldn’t allow myself that very basic dignity.

When deadlines are looming, when work needs to be done, it can be all too easy to hold yourself to a standard that is frankly unachievable. I will not be a hypocrite here and chide you for striving for such. What I will say is these times are unprecedented, and it can be easy to forget the toll it has on our bodies and minds. In moments like this, you are not weak and you are most certainly not irresponsible for taking some time to recharge mentally and physically.

For those like me, whose academic work means the world to them, I will not tell you to stop working entirely. It may be what you need to do, but it won’t be what you will do and so giving such advice would be redundant. However, I will give you some cliché advice, be kind to yourself. Yes you may be working slower than normal, struggling to adjust given the current chaos, but in times like this it is all too easy for you to suffer mentally. There is no harm in slowing down. If writing causes you stress, ease up and read. If reading has become difficult, sit down and write out a plan. If writing a plan causes too much stress, then its time to stop. Remove your laptop and books from your sight and go and have a bath or make your bed. Doing something unrelated will give you the mental boost of achievement without the stress of more cognitively taxing work.

When you’re feeling a little better, you can pull out your laptop and get on with what you need to. You might even find that that little bit of kindness went a long way and now that assignment doesn’t feel like a boulder around your neck. Hell, if you’re my level of weird you might even find pleasure in writing again!

– Bobbie White, postgraduate psychology student at Birmingham City University

Speechless by Kate Darbishire is a novel about 11 year old Harriet, during her transition from primary to secondary school. She has cerebral palsy but she is like any other feisty and chatty pre-teen. However, she experiences many obstacles which leads her to wish that she is more like her classmates. As a result, she chooses to be speechless when in reality all she wants is to be heard. Her journey throughout the book tells us about her life at her new secondary school, making a true friend when friendships seem impossible, and the heart wrenching journey of herself and her grandmother coming to love one another.

Harriet is such a warm and genuine individual from the first page who you develop a soft spot for as the story progresses. It’s important to note that Kate Darbishire’s writing style creates empathy without evoking pity for Harriet because she is disabled which is often common on writing about similar individuals.

Most importantly, it’s heartwarming to see Harriet grow and flourish and she develops her relationships with herself and other characters in the story such as her grandmother, Gloria, especially in the final few chapters.

Kate Darbishire discusses the life of an individual with cerebral palsy perfectly in her first novel as her daughter shares a similar life to Harriet. I think this story line will appeal to anyone. It can appeal to individuals who have cerebral palsy or to individuals to know someone personally with it. This book is also a brilliant read for people of any age who don’t know anyone with it so they can gain more insight about it as it’s not really spoken about.

I found this storyline was quite refreshing to read as it’s unlike anything I have read before. My older brother is disabled and he went to a special needs school. He has nerve deafness and cerebral palsy. He struggles to walk far and sometimes has to use a wheelchair for longer distances. His voice is also quite hard to understand and people who don’t know him usually have no idea what he is saying. It’s  understandable why Harriet decided to be speechless.

I think it’s important for more people, especially individuals aged 10 and above, to read this kind of story as young people often don’t realise the true and hurtful effect of their words just because someone is perceived to be different. Children younger than 10 could read this book as the writing style is a bit more basic and comprehensive but some of the concepts discussed may be a bit harder to understand for them. However, this could begin much needed conversations between children and their parents about disability. Disability awareness is something that needs to be spoken about more as disabled individuals are more than often overlooked and disregarded in society. This book is perfect to provide more insight into this area to raise awareness and appreciation of such individuals, especially for younger kids similar to the age of the protagonist.

This book has a beautiful message to empower individuals, especially younger people, who are disabled. The struggles, frustrations and growth that all teenagers go through is shown throughout Harriets journey in the book. The main message in the book ultimately states that we can’t judge a book by it’s cover which is an important moral to live by. People are often very quick to judge a person based on first impressions, especially concerning disability. Just because someone may not sound or walk in a way that society perceives as ‘normal’, it doesn’t mean that they are any different to everyone else. Everyone has their own struggles that we need to overcome and we all need to be kinder to other people no matter of their disability, gender, age etc. Speechless is a must have next-read for everyone.

During this quarantine period, Kate has been adding interactive content to her website and YouTube pages for young children for some educational entertainment. If you’re at home with your own kids or younger siblings, it would be a brilliant way to pass time.

Access her Speechless writing course for kids aged 9-13 here.

– Olivia-Ann Saxton, Psychology student at Birmingham City University

During the Corona Virus, Covid-19 pandemic many of us have started to make several changes to our normal working lives. The UK Government has advised the nation to work from home to help tackle and slow down the spread of the virus. This will relieve pressure on the NHS to manage the number of Covid-19 cases and therefore help to save more lives. During these unprecedented times, for many of us, this is unfamiliar territory, we are being asked to make adjustments to our everyday lives and adapt to the new ways of living. These changes to working from home and online may understandably set off a range of emotions, including feelings of panic and anxiety… don’t push the panic button, be rest assured that with just a few helpful tips this is all manageable. 

I have been working from home for quite some time, where I completed my Psychology Masters Degree (distance learning) and I am now currently completing my PhD as a full-tine student with Birmingham City University. 

As I recognise that many of my colleagues will also now be working from home too, rather than their usual office environment, I engaged in conversation with them about how I effectively manage my day to be productive. I also sought to ask my colleagues what would help them to be more productive in making that switch between going to work and working from home and online. Consequently, I have put together some of my own and colleagues’ top tips which may help you to be more productive whilst working from home. 

Keep To Your Normal Routine

First and foremost, it is important to maintain your normal routine by waking up at your usual time,  still getting ready for work (I prefer to be in comfier clothes at home), and still be at your desk (or wherever you set aside as your work area) for your normal working hours. To maintain that feeling of the daily commute and going to work, it may help to go for a short walk in the morning, maybe around the block, and coming back to your work station at home (make sure you follow government guidelines for leaving your home).

Be Organised

To make the switch from an office environment to working from home easier, take a day or two to set up a work station at home, ideally this would be better in another room and not in a bedroom, if possible. Speak to your line manager about having access to your emails, softwares and programmes you would need to still continue working effectively. Setup Microsoft Teams, Zoom or Skype to help with meetings over phone, video or conference calls. 

Weekly Plan and To-Do Lists

Every Friday evening, towards the end of the working week, I write a weekly plan, this is a list of tasks for each day that need completing for the following week. I share this with my supervisor so we can both be clear of my objectives and goals, ensuring these are in manageable sizes and achievable. Making ‘to-do’ lists helps me to stay organised and crossing them off gives a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction which helps me to feel on track.

Use Apps

There are many apps available for download which can help you to focus and time manage your particular task. A colleague suggested Pomodoro, (I started to use this recently), this is a great app that can help with your work requiring intense concentration. You can set this to, for example, 25 minutes of intense work time and 5 minutes break time, and then take a longer break after every 4 Pomodoros.

Break Times

Break times are really important to maintain your energy, focus and concentration. If you’re feeling isolated during this time, and used to working in a busy office, it might be a good idea to set social times with your colleagues over a phone or video call. To help boost morale, schedule in an hour session at lunch, this could include having tea and cake and chatting about non-related work stuff. Also, schedule in a 15 minute mid-afternoon break of getting fresh air in the garden to maintain a healthy mind.

Managing Distractions

At first, it is quite challenging to work from home and online, as there are so many distractions, but don’t worry, these are definitely manageable, and it will get easier as time goes on. No doubt, it will be quite easy to be distracted whilst working from home, maybe more now than ever, with frequent updates on the news and social media posts. Try not to look at the news and social media so often and keep time aside for this during your break times and the evening time. With many of your family, friends and colleagues also working from home, you may be receiving more phone calls, and messages than usual, communicate with them that you require a set time to complete your work. Many of my family and friends know and respect that I have a lot of work to complete, from time to time, I politely remind them that during my work hours I cannot engage in any lengthy and any personal conversations, as I am still at work. However, at times these, we could all do with extra support, so pick up the phone to colleagues if it helps you. Unimportant, calls can always be returned at a more convenient time, either in the evening or weekends. It’s also quite easy, when you are at home, to be distracted by house chores, it might help to leave the washing up or laundry for the evening time. 

Plan Meal Times

If you have a really busy day ahead, it may also help to prepare lunch meals the night before or first thing in the morning so you don’t spend too long during your working day being distracted which can sometimes lead to procrastination. Don’t procrastinate, as much as we would all like a break and a holiday right now, it is important to keep in mind your work responsibilities, and you can look forward to a well deserved Easter break. 

Working At Home With Children

As a mother of two young boys, the prospect of being confined to isolation was a daunting one. Twice the entertainment, twice the attention and twice the list of demands! However, I have been quite fortunate in that my children were very young when I went back to college and started university, so mummy sitting on the sofa on her laptop tapping away while they are watching cartoons or films has been the norm for them for nearly six years. With that being said, working from home with children around isn’t an easy feat. However, there are ways to make this easier.

Firstly, it is important to communicate with your supervisors. Let you supervisors or lecturers know that there is a likelihood of disruption during online or phone meetings and that deadlines may need to be more flexible as you are having to take time away from your studies to cater to your children’s need; especially considering home schooling during the COVID-19 outbreak. However, it is equally important to communicate with your children. Explain to them that while they are school, you also need to get some of your work done and another great way to encourage your children to work, is to work alongside them. Set them a simple task like reading a book and work alongside them. I have found that it encourages my children to work when they see that mummy is having to do school work too! Similarly, get your children involved! Give them a highlighter pen and ask them to highlight sentences you may need for your research. Children like to be involved and enjoy spending time with their parents and even more so when they feel that they are helping you!

Another thing I have learned is that routines are crucial. Create a timetable which incorporates both school and leisure activities as this will also help you to plan and visualise study periods for yourself.  During their creative time or free play time, take advantage of your free time to get short sharp bursts of writing done. But don’t forget to schedule in free periods for yourself too! Then when the bedtime routine is over, you have a few more uninterrupted hours to be productive before winding down for bed and getting ready to start the day all over again!

It is important to remember that while this situation is new to you, it is new to them too! They are out of routine and confused about the world around them. If you only get one or two hours of home schooling done a day then be proud of yourself and your children, for it is a stressful time and it is important for everyone’s mental health that there are no feelings of guilt or feeling like you are not doing enough…you are! 

And Finally….

Remember, quarantine and self-isolation doesn’t mean disconnection, so if you feel like you need some additional support, speak to your line manager, colleagues, family and friends. We are all in this together, I wish you good health, keep safe and the best of luck!

– Gemini Katwa & Natasha Pope, PhD Students in Psychology at Birmingham City University

A few weeks ago psychology students at Birmingham City University travelled to London for the day to visit the Freud Museum, the Science Museum and the Natural History Museum. Some of those who went along shared their experience…

It was a very early start, getting ready to be at Uni for 7am. We were all completely exhausted, looking forward to the day while also wishing we’d stayed in bed. We all gathered in the Curzon Atrium, ready to go – but it was odd seeing the university so quiet. 

Once the buses had arrived, we all piled together as a group, to ensure we were all on the same bus, and sat near one and other, like we were primary school children on a school trip. It’s surprising how much a seat on a bus becomes such a stressful task and priority, no matter what age you are. 

After two hours of a nearly silent bus, full of sleeping students, we arrived in a not so touristy area of London, where we were surprised to find out that it was the location of the Freud Museum. It looked like a Victorian cul-de-sac, and the museum blended in nicely with the houses around it. It was such a pretty house, the perfect example of an aspired ‘quiet life’, that everyone dreams about. From the outside, it appeared quite small, like a little cottage, but inside it was spacious and well-kept. 

We made our way upstairs, to a presentation room, where we were provided with background information on how Freud was forced out of Austria by the Nazis and bought 20 Maresfield Gardens a year later, preserving furniture and valuables, including his vast collection of Egyptian Artefacts – it was very impressive. We had time to wonder around the house ourselves, taking pictures of Anna Freud’s desk and Sigmund Freud’s famous psychoanalysis couch, where he continued to help clients until his death in 1939. Anna Freud continued to live at the house, leaving her father’s collections and artefacts practically untouched, and intact. 

The Freud Museum also had an exhibition called ‘Mercy Hospital’, by Ida Applebroog. It was a beautiful display, of long-forgotten drawings, during a period of anxiety (1969), when Applebrrog had checked herself into San Diego’s Mercy Hospital for six weeks. Her pieces portray controversial criticisms of human relations, such as gender politics, sexual identity, violence, power and domestic space. 

Off to the Science Museum next, our little group didn’t spend much time there honestly, we saw the planes and how they had developed over time, and the hall of mathematics. There was an interesting exhibit labelled, ‘Human skulls with phrenological markings’ (19^th Century), and it was the proposal by an Austrian Physician, Franz Joseph Gall, who believed that the contours of people’s heads reflected their personality – and that they could be ‘read’ to determine whether the individual was compassionate, arrogant, witty or murderous. However, this could not be proven by scientists with statistical data. Although, rigorous statistical techniques still used today were developed from trying to test Gall’s theory. 

We couldn’t help ourselves…we HAD to go and see the dinosaurs in the Natural History Museum! We were not disappointed. Going up through the giant metallic globe was fascinating, like you were travelling through time to another dimension. Upstairs, we had a quick look around in the geographical area, learning about volcanoes, tsunamis and the Kobe Earthquake. The interactive simulation was quite frightening: you stepped onto a platform (as though you were in a shop), and you watch actual footage of the earthquake on TV’s while the entire shop moved, much like it did in the real earthquake. It’s hard to imagine that’s what it was actually like. 

Finally, we made our way to Hintze Hall, where a 25-metre blue whale skeleton resides, suspended in the air. The whole atmosphere of the hall was magic, like Disney World for nerds, and on our way to looking for the dinosaurs, we found the giant sequoia, it is unbelievable! Protected by conservation-grade resin, the tree has been a part of the museum since 1893, after the tree was felled in California. It is impossible to explain just how big the slice of the sequoia actually is, but it seems like a crime to appreciate it in this modern mindset, felling a tree of such enormity…

The Dinosaurs did not let us down, they were interactive and fascinating, looking at actual skeletons of the existence of something that doesn’t seem real. Studying Parapsychology has made us all very sceptical about everything, looking at things through a critical eye, and if it weren’t for the evolutionary evidence that dinosaurs were real, would we doubt their existence too? The idea of myths and folklore are fascinating, what is real and what is an exaggeration of time? Why do we, as humans, feel the need to connect the dots between things we don’t understand and reality, with the paranormal? 

Our little group thoroughly enjoyed our day, it was fascinating and such a great change to our normal routine, we would definitely encourage everyone to grasp onto every opportunity that comes along at Uni, especially since it only cost us a small donation to a wonderful charity – Mind.

– The Little Group (L-R: Ellie, Em, Hann & Beth), Psychology students at Birmingham City University

When I was a postgraduate student at Bangor University in 2010, ‘Brain day’ was the highlight of my year – the day we got to dissect a human brain. Recently students at BCU got the chance to see a brain dissection up close. Eleanor Niblock shares her experience…

On Monday 3rd February, Psychology Students at Birmingham City University took part in a ‘brain day’. Dr Guy Sutton conducted five sessions throughout the day that included a short PowerPoint on the development of the brain during pregnancy, and the tragic problems that can occur due to genetics, such as ‘Holoprosencephaly’; whereby the two hemispheres in the brain fail to split, resulting in the infant only having one eye, and often their nose remains on their forehead, as it cannot move between the eyes. Additionally, Dr Sutton taught students about ‘split-brain’ patients, or ‘Callosal Syndrome’ – ​where the corpus callosum connecting the two hemispheres is severed to an extent. In these cases, patients are often able to complete multiple tasks simultaneously using both hemispheres in the brain. 

After this very interesting PowerPoint, students participated in the dissection process of a one-year-old sheep brain. Dr Sutton was very passionate and knowledgeable, and often sensitive to any apprehension’s students had towards the dissection. He began with the membrane around the cerebral cortex, which most students were surprised to discover the texture of this membrane was quite tough, and it took some effort and technique to remove. To the surprise of everyone in the session, the brain, although small, was very developed inside. Dr Sutton showed familiar structures, section by section, beginning with the two hemispheres and the cerebellum. Inside the cerebellum, students were shown the beautiful pattern inside, known as the ‘tree of life’ – this was by far the most favoured part of the dissection. 

As well as showing the structures and areas inside the brain, Dr Sutton was sure to use a step-by-step approach of the technique to dissection. In addition, he often referred to the plastic model of the human adult brain, to show the similarities. Once, both hemispheres had been separated, the corpus callosum was apparent, and it was very interesting to see the complicated nerve system that connected the two hemispheres. After this, all of the brain structures had been separated, and students were able to look further at the areas inside of the brain, such as the thalamus. 

Dr Sutton was very good, and allowed students to take pictures, and ask further questions, after the dissection was complete. The whole session received large amounts of positive feedback and was very successful in helping students have a real-life application of brain structures, after learning the theory throughout their course.

– Eleanor Niblock, Psychology student at Birmingham City University

Students who come to study at BCU come from a wide range of backgrounds and previous experiences. For many, it is easy to fit in immediately and thrive as part of the academic community. Some find it a little more challenging finding their own personal identity. Bobbie is a current M.Sc. student at BCU and completed her undergraduate studies here previously. Here she shares her own experiences and challenges she has faced…

Thoughts of an ‘Underclass’ Student 

Looking to my friends, I find myself blinking in confusion. The shock that is spread over their faces is plain as the unseasoned chips sitting on our trays. It’s been a long day at University, and we have all decided to finish the day with Fish and Chips from some way too posh restaurant in the city centre. Sometime during this enjoyable day out, we had decided to grab a chippy and talk about where we come from, why we’re here and generally the sort of things you talk about when you want to build a connection with a group of people you like. Of course, without thought I had perhaps been a little too honest and displayed a little less tact. I may have forgotten that the experiences I have been exposed to are dramatically different from that of most University students.

I grew up in an unloved part of Birmingham, the sort of place where the only thing that changed was the extent of damage to concrete posts and the depths of cracks in the pavement. Police officers rarely made an appearance where I grew up and if they did, they were met with firm lips, disapproving stares and a wall of silence…. “We don’t grass…” Is the mantra that didn’t need to be spoken. Perhaps strange then, that I decided to study Forensic Psychology. To teeter on the other side of a world so imprinted on my own. You see, I know about prison. I know about court. I know about sentencing, and police codes and procedure. I know, because people I love have spent far too much of their lives in prison. Don’t get me wrong, it is not that I don’t believe in consequences, it’s that I feel that if help had been available their lives would have taken a very different route. In honesty, it is such thoughts that has led me to the path I now follow. But with this, comes guilt on one side and shame on the other. 

I spent my childhood running from my background. From a young age, it was apparent to all that I was different. I would sit curled up on the floor amongst locks of bleached damaged hair and read from books as my mother sat chatting to the hairdresser. There was always some gossip, always some feud, always someone’s brother going to jail or someone’s sister getting pregnant before they could even vote for the rights of their child. I existed in my own world back then, aware of the background noise but considering it of little importance. How could it be important when there were books to read, documentaries to watch, things to learn? I realise this need to feed my brain shielded me from the disadvantages that surrounded me. When other family members were out getting into trouble with the police and starting their own mischief, I was back at home learning all I could and collecting information like a metaphorical magpie finding all the precious things to bring back to my nest of a brain.

I can’t remember when the first ideals of university made its way into my thoughts, but I do remember it being tightly tied to the notion of escape. Before my years of life reached double digits, I was exhausted with the chaos that comes with growing up where and how I did. Chaos permeated throughout the place I was raised, whether it be a drugs raid across the road, an angry mob or a holy than thou officer picking on those who society didn’t care about. Who cares if a copper treats a criminal like c*#p, they’re just a criminal after all… One look at the narrative around people on benefits or individuals who have committed crime tells you all you need to know about how society treats those I grew up around.  I didn’t know why at the time, all I knew was that I was guilty by association and my only way out was to take a different route in life and distance myself from where I came from.

So, I rejected it all. My siblings wore tracksuits? I would wear all black and have a ‘screw you’ attitude to go with it. Someone went to prison? They deserved it. Someone got pregnant as a teenager? They’ve ruined their life. I by no means support such views now, in honesty I feel nothing but guilt for having such thoughts. With the benefits of hindsight (and the removal of the ridiculous self-cut fringe I ‘rocked’) I see now I suffered with a clear self-hatred and shame. An almost inbuilt self-classism. 

Time passed. I continued to learn and to read and I made it to university. Happy story and life goes on, right? Not quite… When you come from where I did, the culture of university hits you like a hard brick wall. You learn very quickly at university that the experiences you have are different from that of others. Something that is an everyday occurrence where you’re from, causes the faces of those around you to pale. In their defence, the worlds you come from are completely opposed. Even the way we talk is different. In my world f#!k works in the same way an exclamation mark does. My own vernacular is peppered and seasoned with a flurry of expletives. Swearing is just how we express passion! …In an academic setting, however… Well, it’s often met with quiet condemnation.

Quiet condemnation, shocked reactions and awkward pauses. The polite method by which society tells you “Be quiet”. So, we change how we speak. Change what we say. Change who we are. We face the false choice of being surrounded by the shame of not fitting in or of carrying the guilt of rejection of your background and by extension those who did not follow you into an academic environment. Those you love, those whose experiences taught you so much, those who are the very motivation behind your reason to study Forensic psychology…. Perhaps I’m projecting. 

From time to time I catch myself. I catch the ugly beast of internalised hatred pop up. On one occasion, I caught myself scoffing at youths who spoke in slang. I wrote them off in an instant because they reminded me of what I ran from… “Why do you speak so posh bruv?” I didn’t have it in me to look at my niece and say “Because if you don’t, you mark yourself as different. If you don’t, you get strange looks and lips pulled into tight lines… Quiet condemnation.”

It’s funny in its own way. At university, I am still common- I swear too much, I make light of my background, speak of experiences some have only read about and on occasion I’ll do the “common accent” I know all too well. But… In the area I was raised, amongst the people who love me, I’m the posh one. I’m the different one, not like the others. I speak of concepts and theories that have no meaning to those around me and so aren’t given much thought. Despite this awareness and acknowledgement of my difference, I feel and am shown nothing but love from them. Yes, I’m the odd sibling, the one who took a different path, the one they don’t understand but I am loved by my family. They laugh when I speak slang in my “posh accent”, they listen when I speak about research I want to do or have read. 

But in the face of this love, despite this care, I learned to feel shame for where I’m from and by extension, for those who love me. I learned to be ashamed of the parts of me that come from them. I folded up the clothes they stitched for me out of their experiences, their lives and their hopes for me and put on an ill-fitting costume to fit in in a world so different from my own.  

I spoke of a false choice between shame of not fitting in and guilt of abandoning your background earlier. It’s a false choice, because for me I have both. Shame for not fitting amongst my peers and guilt for the notion that I have left behind those I love. This leaves me with one option… I speak out. Writing this has not been comfortable for me. It feels exposing and raw and I am speaking of feelings that even I have kept quiet… Or well as quiet as I can keep things. 

In doing this, I hope that there is someone out there like me. Someone with dreams that extend beyond the place they grew up. Someone who is wrongly feeling shame for where they came from. I hope that if that is you, you see this and you know that you should not feel shame for coming from a background untypical of most students. Feel no shame, accept no guilt. You came far, now it’s time to decide what you do with your experiences. 

You can run from them or… You can speak of your life, of your experiences, of those you love, of those who love you but are so different from the people you are now surrounded by. Some won’t understand, some won’t care but some will listen, some will learn, and these are the people who you will treasure and love. 

Throughout my undergraduate degree, I came across people who listened to me, who cared for me and who will forever be special to me. I’ve also known people from backgrounds like my own, who have felt the feelings I do and who have been the anchor that stops me from drifting in the sea of academia and the privilege that comes with the assumption of university. You will find people like this. Your experience is different, but you are not alone. 

Know that you, that we have set a precedent now. We have shown those from our background that it can be done. We exist in the place between two worlds and now I choose to lend an ear to the voices from both sides. 

My nieces aren’t old enough to consider university yet, but when the time comes, I can be there for them. The most important advice I will give them is something I am still learning to do. Respect the lessons your background taught you. This world wants you to feel shame for factors out of your control and even though it’s unfair and it’s not right. When you must put on that ill-fitting costume, when you must conform to escape, always know that no matter how different and alienated you feel, the ones who care about you don’t care if you fit or not. Don’t forget them and don’t forget where you come from.

– Bobbie White, M.Sc. Forensic Psychology Student at Birmingham City University

From a student perspective, lecturers are often somewhat of a mystery. I frequently find myself having to correct people (not only students, family and friends too!) who think lecturers get the summer off. Many don’t realise there is far more to our role than the face to face teaching you see and we don’t ‘break up’ for the summer, this is my favourite part of the academic calendar! 

To get a better insight into what your lecturers do and what led them to becoming a lecturer, Dr. Richard Fereday, Dr. Stacey Bedwell and Dr. Damien Neadle answered some questions….

1. What does your typical week look like?

Dr. Richard Fereday– A fair bit of teaching and teaching preparation. Much also revolves around administration associated with this – emails about assessments and seminar/lecture content. I spend a great deal of time responding to emails; some of these require liaising with other staff members. There are many meetings to attend, even pre-meetings to decide on a future meeting date. A fifth of my week is spent on teacher training (yes, an entire day. Top stuff). A good portion of my week is also complaining to IT/Estates about system failures – don’t underestimate how long this takes. I also have my admin role as alumni lead, which means arranging a portion of the graduation and compiling a yearbook. Finally, research activities, when time allows.

Dr. Stacey Bedwell– My weeks are never the same, but each week is filled with a combination of delivering seminars and lectures on the modules I lead, delivering guest lectures on other modules, preparing teaching materials, other teaching related administration, attending teaching, research and departmental meetings, marking, holding meetings with students, answering emails, supervising undergraduate and postgraduate research projects, supervising a PhD project, supervising research assistants, meeting with research collaborators at BCU and other institutions, carrying out research, writing research papers, working on other publications and media, working on The Psychological Perspective.

Dr. Damien Neadle– Generally a mixture of meeting with my project (dissertation) students, some of my personal tutees, teaching and admin related tasks. As I teach on an online MSc module I also spend a fair portion of my time monitoring the online forums, this takes up more time than you might realise (unless you’ve done online or blended learning). I also try to dedicate at least 10% of my week to research, this means writing up papers, analysing data and having meetings/discussions with colleagues.

• What research projects are you currently working on?

Dr. Stacey Bedwell– I am working on several projects right now; investigating the role of early childhood experiences in the development of high order functions with Dr. Natalie Harrison at BCU and Dr. Matthew Brooks at Manchester Metropolitan University, the physiological underpinnings and basis of ASMR with Isabelle Butcher at the University of Manchester, building a dynamic network model of decision making and investigating the attainment gap in psychology with my Ph.D. student Gemini Katwa, Dr. Jack Rogers at the University of Birmingham and Prof. Michael Brookes at BCU.

Dr. Damien Neadle– I’ve currently got three separate research projects ongoing: 1. An animal communication project, this aims to look for patterns in bonobo communication from an evolutionary perspective. This is an international research project with researchers from the UK, Thailand and Switzerland, based on wild data. 2. A social learning project, derived from one of my PhD chapters, this uses data collected at the Max Plank Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology and looks at the social learning capacities of non-human great apes. This is in collaboration with researchers from University of Tübingen, University of Birmingham and Durham University. 3. An ape tool use project, again, taken from my PhD, which aims to explain some aspects of ape tool use through individual learning and compares the Zone of Latent Solutions hypothesis to the standard assumptions in the field. This project is in collaboration with researchers from the University of Tübingen.

• What excites you about your research area?

Dr. Stacey Bedwell– The area of my research I have focussed mostly on is the development of executive functions, this stems from my PhD and postdoctoral research which investigated the anatomical connectivity of the mammalian prefrontal cortex. Executive function is highly associated with the prefrontal cortex and its complex network structure. I am specifically excited by investigating this region of the brain and how its associated functions develop and are influenced because it is the region of the brain that is considered the newest in evolutionary terms and is heavily involved in the most ‘human’ functions. Yet, as a cortical region prefrontal cortex remains relatively poorly understood, meaning we cannot yet fully understand its involvement in disorders including schizophrenia and depression.

Dr. Damien Neadle– I love my research, being able to interact with (at a distance) these apes and try to understand our own evolutionary past fascinates me. I find my research area exciting because you get to know individual apes and learn that idiosyncrasies in these individuals can be as interesting as the species level differences that I am to look for.

• What did you do before you came to lecture at BCU?

Dr. Richard Fereday– Here goes: 2001-2005 Music degree, 2005-2008 teaching guitar, 2008-2011 psych degree, 2012-2016 PhD psych, 2016-2017 post-doc in Preston, Lancs.

Dr. Stacey Bedwell– 2005–2008 B.Sc. Psychology, 2008–2009 volunteer at a monkey sanctuary in South Africa, 2009–2010 M.Sc. in Clinical Psychology, 2011–2015 Ph.D. Neuroscience and hourly paid lecturer in Biosciences, 2014-2015 Postdoctoral Fellow in Neuroanatomy, 2015–2017 Postdoctoral Research Associate in Neuropsychology. I have had  various part time jobs over the years including healthcare assistant for NHS Wales, private tutoring, at a gymnastics summer camp in Pennsylvania, a coffee house, cricket ground and I quit a bar job after just one day when I was 20.

Dr. Damien Neadle– I was completing my PhD at the University of Birmingham, where I had also been a Teaching Fellow, research assistant and held plagiarism based admin roles.

• Did you always want to be a lecturer?

Dr. Richard Fereday– Nope. Certainly not. Wanted clinical psych, but changed my mind after working with clinical populations and learning about the competitive nature. Decided on lecturer midway through PhD.

Dr. Stacey Bedwell– No. I didn’t even consider it as a career option until I was a postdoc. When I was at school I went through various phases of wanting to be an artist and a lawyer. Whilst studying my B.Sc. and M.Sc. I was pursuing clinical psychology, after working with patients I realised this wasn’t for me and I wanted to do research. I maintained a goal of a research only career until was a research only postdoc and missed teaching. 

Dr. Damien Neadle– No, when I went into psychology I went into it with the view to become a clinical psychologist (this is very common among psychologists) specialising in child and adolescent development. During my undergraduate degree I remained certain that I wanted to go into practice, as a clinical psychologist with a specialisation in addiction. However, I got my first job in a sheltered accommodation/care home for adults with difficulty integrating and found that it caused too many personal level issues for me to be an effective clinician. I then wanted to move into research, I did my MSc at the University of Birmingham, met my (soon to be) PhD supervisor, Claudio Tennie, did my first comparative project with him and his post-doc, at the time, Zanna Clay and fell in love with apes and working with them. I’ve not looked back since! Teaching came to me as a way to supplement my PhD stipend, I then realised that this brought me as much as my research so lecturing was the logical career path for me.

• What is your favourite thing about your job as a lecturer?

Dr. Richard Fereday– Freedom and flexibility. We develop our own lectures and module content, which is creative. Job is not 9-5, it involves flexibility, which suits a family life. Every day is not different – things crop up that make each day that bit different to the previous. Most colleagues are amusing, some hilarious.

Dr. Stacey Bedwell– Freedom. I mean this both in terms of where I physically work and my working hours as well as freedom to research what I am passionate about. I also really like the moments when I can see something complex has finally clicked with a student, and I have successfully passed my knowledge on to someone else.

Dr. Damien Neadle– I love teaching statistics, generally students come in with massive trepidation around this subject. I like breaking down these barriers and seeing those lightbulb moments when people ‘get it’. I hated statistics in my first year of my undergrad, I was fortunate to have a fantastic TA, who convinced me that I didn’t need to be scared of it and that it really was a matter of logic rather than mathematical ability.

• What do you typically do over the summer when the semester is over?

Dr. Richard Fereday– Much of the same. Unlike teachers, we do not get long summer holidays. We have to be here to work – usually planning teaching for following semester, marking lots of assignments, attending exam board meetings, working on MSc (online) course, research.

Dr. Stacey Bedwell– A lot! My summer months seem to be the busiest. This is when I aim to get the bulk of my research done and papers written, it’s when all of the exam boards take place, there is a lot of marking to be done and preparation for the next semester’s teaching. I also try to take the majority of my annual leave in the summer, to ensure I have some time to spend with my family. I love to travel and see the world, the summer is usually the time I go abroad.

Dr. Damien Neadle– I love the outdoors, I try to get out on my mountain bike as much as possible and explore. I am also a massive petrol head so I enjoy going for drives, if possible I combine these with biking trips. I spend time with my wife and we like to travel, particularly in search of good places to eat (thus far I can highly recommend Bologna, Italy as a foodie’s paradise!).

To coincide with Dean Burnett’s talk at Birmingham City University on 22nd November 2019, student Luke McCombe gives his review of his new book, Why your parents are driving you up the wall and what to do about it.

As a student studying psychology, I have come to know only three constant truths about the universe. The first truth is that textbooks are (quite frankly) the most terrifying thing to read through cover to cover. Half of the time I find myself reading through my textbooks, writing notes, then watching videos to try and understand just what I’ve been writing so passionately about. My second truth is that Quiz night on a Thursday at the Eagle and Ball (Birmingham City University’s Student Union pub) is quite possibly the only thing keeping me sane at this point. It sometimes is pretty refreshing to be answering questions that do not require critical evaluation skills to even have a go at answering, and plus the alcohol is relatively cheap – which helps my bank account the tiniest amount. My third constant? No matter where I go, what I do, or how I may do it – my mother may quite possibly be the most annoying person to ever exist in the history of the earth. This is a fact I have come to know through years of “You treat this house like it’s a Holiday inn!”, “You are too obsessed with that phone of yours” statements – or my personal favourite phrase, “You have nothing to be depressed about!”. Like most people I am sure, I used to hear these phrases constantly throughout my early teenage years, and unfortunately it seems like ever since moving to university – my mother has decided that she needs to do everything in her power to make sure she reminds me of just how annoying she is. 

This is why – when I was given the opportunity to review Dean Burnett’s newest book “Why your parents are driving you up the wall (and what to do about it)” – I quite frankly jumped the chance. Burnett, among many other things, is a Neuroscientist, Writer, and a Comedian who comes at the topic of Parent-Child conflict with a slightly different approach to the average self-help book. While most books that centre around my third constant tend to be focused around what the parent can do to understand why their child is behaving the way they are, Burnett decides to flip the script in this book, by giving teenagers an insight into why their parents are consistently treating them the way they are, by both offering a Bio-psychologically driven explanation into the rationale of a parent, all the while keeping the overall tone and style of the book light, fun, and breezy through the use of pictures, simple explanations anyone could understand, and a consistent use of footnotes which I came to be quite fond of. This book aims to tackle the many questions I myself have asked throughout my years by opening each chapter with a common statement that most parents have probably screamed at their child at some point, before spending the rest of the chapter describing why they have come to say such a statement, and how the reader may go about trying to get their parent to say that statement less. Such statements include “You treat this place like a hotel!” all the way to “You’ll understand when your older!” – another statement my mother is so often fond of saying. 

The explanations, to me personally, are quite possibly some of the best simple explanations I have ever heard. Burnett simplifies every complex explanation he provides into small increments broken up by Anecdotes throughout. For teenagers, this is probably honestly the best style to write in, allowing the target audience to digest all of the new information given to them in small, manageable chunks. For me personally as a Psychology student – I also found these explanations useful due to the different way that they frame biopsychologically. By no means does this book offer a full insight into how the brain works at every given interval, but it does give the bare bones for how processes work, and provides examples that make the complex areas that buid on these bones a lot more manageable. At the end of the day through these explanations, this book certainly delivers its promise to help its audience understand just why our parents constantly nag and moan at seemingly every given opportunity. The book helped me personally understand why my mother acts the way she acts, and if you’re struggling with similar experiences – I would wholeheartedly recommend you have a look at this book as well.

– Luke McCombe, Psychology student at Birmingham City University

Why Your Parents Are Driving You Up the Wall and What To Do About It by Dean Burnett is available on Amazon.

More books written by neuroscientists, psychologists and criminologists you might know:

Anything you can do, I can do by Stacey A. Bedwell & Isabelle Butcher

How does my brain work? by Stacey A. Bedwell

Speaking data and telling stories by Martin Glynn

The Idiot Brain: A Neuroscientist Explains What Your Head is Really Up To by Dean Burnett

Mapping Murder: The Secrets of Geographical Profiling by David Canter