Yasemin Cakir - Yasemin Çakır

The ACE Study: How Childhood Trauma Affects Our Physical and Mental Health in Adulthood

by Yasemin CakirMental Health September 26, 2024September 26, 2024Comments are Disabled

During the mid 1990’s, the MD of Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program, a US based Health Maintenance Organisation Vincent J. Felitti and MD of the CDC Dr. Robert Anda conducted a study with over 17.000 patients for a two year period to delve into 8 different potential categories of childhood/household instability or abuse to view …

A Raw Look at My Current Fight for Mental Wellness

by Yasemin CakirMental Health September 25, 2024September 25, 2024Comments are Disabled

Trigger Warning: This post discusses topics of mental health and suicide. If you are struggling with these issues, please reach out to a mental health professional or crisis hotline. Throughout the isolation of mental health struggles, this blog was written for myself… I cannot verbalise how lucky I feel that I am being given the …

Debunking the 3 most common UK Medicinal Cannabis Myths

by Yasemin CakirMedicinal Cannabis September 19, 2024September 19, 2024Comments are Disabled

Just like in the mental health blogs I have recently shared, there are many patients who are unable to access the care they deserve due to stigma around their conditions or treatment methods. I will be debunking what I believe to be some of the most common myths around Medicinal Cannabis. There are uncountable myths …

How to Talk About Mental Health Without Stigma: A Guide for Friends, Family, and Healthcare Professionals

by Yasemin CakirMental Health September 17, 2024September 17, 2024Comments are Disabled

Stigma around mental health is pervasive, even in environments that are meant to provide care and support. As a healthcare professional and a person who has struggled with mental health issues, I’ve seen first-hand how this stigma impacts individuals seeking help. Patients often whisper their symptoms, minimise their struggles, or hesitate, sometimes even avoid asking …

Can Cannabis Heal Trauma? – Understanding the Endocannabinoid System’s role in PTSD

by Yasemin CakirMedicinal Cannabis, Mental Health September 15, 2024September 15, 2024Comments are Disabled

In my previous blog, I covered the basics of the Endocannabinoid System (ECS) and highlighted its crucial role in regulating stress, mood, and emotional responses. Now, I want to dive deeper into a more specific topic: how trauma affects the ECS. The Link Between PTSD and the ECS Around a decade ago, research from NYU …

Understanding CBMPs: A Novice’s Guide to the Endocannabinoid System and Medicinal Cannabis

by Yasemin CakirMedicinal Cannabis September 13, 2024September 13, 2024Comments are Disabled

What are CBMPs and Why I Advocate for Their Use in Certain Circumstances In this blog, I will share some basic information about Cannabis-Based Medicinal Products (CBMPs) and why I support their use in specific cases. CBMPs are medicines derived from cannabis and have been legal in the UK since late 2018. These products target …

A Shift in Perspective: How Therapy and Holistic Care Changed My Mental Health Journey

by Yasemin CakirMental Health September 12, 2024September 12, 2024Comments are Disabled

Six months ago, if you had asked me about therapy, I would have told you it was useless. After years of trying everything from private counseling to CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) and DBT (Dialectical Behavioral Therapy), I had grown frustrated and skeptical. Medication was my lifeline, the one thing I believed kept me functioning. I …

SIDS Prevention: The Evidence-Based Strategies You Need to Know

by Yasemin CakirSafe Sleep September 11, 2024September 11, 2024Comments are Disabled

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) tragically claims the lives of over 3,500 infants in the U.S. every year. As parents and caregivers, understanding how to reduce the risk of SIDS is critical. In this blog, I’ll share key protective factors against SIDS, with a focus on infants under 12 months. First, let’s establish the baseline: …

Fighting for Help: How the NHS is Letting Down Mental Health Patients

by Yasemin CakirMental Health September 10, 2024September 10, 2024Comments are Disabled

Although I’ve worked in healthcare for a few years, my experience with the NHS has mostly been as a patient. I don’t use the services often—maybe once a year, if that, for something small like a throat infection when I need antibiotics. The only service I’ve ever truly needed has been for mental health support. …

The Evidence Based ABC’s of Safe Infant Sleep

by Yasemin CakirSafe Sleep September 9, 2024September 10, 2024Comments are Disabled

In other blogs, I have touched on mental health, including PPD/PPA, and also evidence-based safe infant sleep. I’ll be sharing my journey with early motherhood and how I managed my PPA mainly with evidence-based information regarding safe infant sleep and how to help prevent or lower the rates of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). As …

Diving Into My Dreams – My SCUBA journey so far

by Yasemin CakirScuba Diving September 8, 2024September 22, 2024Comments are Disabled

Growing up in a holiday destination like Marmaris, with its crystal-clear, calm, warm waters ideal for scuba diving most of the year, I soon felt intrigued and slightly jealous when my father decided to train as a scuba diving instructor. On one of his days off, he asked if I wanted to tag along for …

From Childhood to Today; My Journey with Mental Health

by Yasemin CakirMental Health September 7, 2024September 9, 2024Comments are Disabled

‘You have already survived every day you thought you could not’ -Unknown As we enter National Suicide Awareness Month, I feel it’s the right time to share my mental health journey. This is a story I’ve held close for many years, but I refuse to contribute to the “hush hush” nature surrounding mental health. If …

Profession and Patient: My Journey with Medicinal Cannabis So Far

by Yasemin CakirMedicinal Cannabis September 5, 2024September 5, 2024Comments are Disabled

I find that starting with “my journey” always helps me get into the flow of writing. I hope it resonates with people and, in some way, offers comfort or guidance. I had an uncle, someone I loved dearly, who we often joked had nine lives. He had overcome so much in his younger years, but …

From Pregnancy to Advocacy: My Journey into Evidence Based Safe Infant Sleep

by Yasemin CakirSafe Sleep September 4, 2024September 4, 2024Comments are Disabled

In 2019, I made a significant decision to leave my job when I found out I was pregnant. We had just moved to a new city, settled into a new home, and I felt it was the perfect time to focus on creating a comfortable environment for our family. I wanted to relish the experience …