Community Zoom sessions
Our community Zoom sessions are every Thursday at 7pm.
Community Champion volunteers Kay and Alice will be hosting these weekly sessions, along with our Community Engagement Coordinator, Charise. The sessions are informal meetings that create an opportunity for people living with MCAS to connect with others, share stories and experiences and seek support from each other.
The sessions run virtually through Zoom, so feel free to join us to chat about all things MCAS!
Find out more and book your place here.
For resources linked to our community sessions, please see the tabs below.
The Zoom Support group rotates between open weeks and themed sessions/ speakers.
New members are always encouraged to share their stories if they would like to and everyone else is welcome to share anything they would like about living with MCAS.
Some feedback from past groups includes:
"It [is] comforting to be connected with such friendly, kind and compassionate people who truly understand the difficulties of living with MCAS"
"Listening to the varied experiences of everybody helped me feel less isolated in my own quirky and 'weird' symptoms"
"I really appreciate the relationships that I have been developing with others. MCAS is very isolating so I think that is important. It's so great to know your not alone."
Upcoming Themes and Sessions
Keep an eye out on this page for upcoming events. We have lots of exciting things in the pipe line!
If there is something that you would like to see in the events line up, do not hesitate to let us know in a session.
The group is very much a community run entity so all suggestions and feedback are welcomed. There will be a survey which you can complete if you would like at the end of each session.
Keep an eye out for previous talk's on the Mast Cell Action Youtube channel. Any additional resources from past weeks are at the bottom of this page.
Find out more and book your place here.
Join our WhatsApp Group to connect with other members of our Community Zoom Sessions. The WhatsApp group is a space to continue conversations from the sessions, speak to others who attend and seek/give support. Please note, this WhatsApp group is not moderated. Please report any issues by email.
Resources
Gratitude
PowerPoint Slides from Deborah Bircham from Live Well with Chronic Illness webinar 'Gratitude' exploring what is Gratitude, and how can it help us.
Living Well in the Prescence of MCAS- Ideas from Clinical Psychology to help Navigate the Storm of MCAS
PowerPoint Slides from Dr. Ashlyn Firkins webinar 'Living Well in the Prescence of MCAS- Ideas from Clinical Psychology to help Navigate the Storm of MCAS'.
Understanding Mast Cells, Autoimmune Disorders and Comorbidity
PowerPoint slides from Roselle O'Brien's talk 'Understanding Mast Cells, Autoimmune Disorders and Comorbidities'.
MCAS and Related Conditions - Special Consideration for Anaesthesia Aurgery with Dr. Anton Krige
PowerPoint slides from our recent webinar hosted by Dr Anton Krige, which explores the considerations required for surgery and anaesthesia with MCAS and related conditions.
Gratitude Handout
Use this journal however feels right for you. There’s no pressure to write every day or find something profound. Some days, it might be a kind word from a friend, a moment of peace, or simply managing to eat a safe meal. These moments matter. You matter.
Retrain Your Brain, Retrain Your Mast Cells
PowerPoint slides from Roselle O'Brien's talk 'Retrain Your Brain, Retrain Your Mast Cells'. In this Roselle explores what retraining our cells, especially mast cells, and retraining our brains might mean when it comes to mast cell activation reactions and our strategies to support brain health and body health when managing mast cell activation reactions. Watch the recording on our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSkEErXsQoc
Foods and Inflammation
PowerPoint slides from Deborah Bircham from live Well with Chronic Illness webinar 'Foods and Infammation'. In this talk, we will be exploring some of the foods that can provoke inflammation and some of the foods that can help reduce it, and how we can use these foods to help us with MCAS.
Dysautonomia
PowerPoint slides from Roselle O Brien's webinar on 'Dysautonomia', an umbrella term used to classify multiple disorders in which the autonomic nervous system isn't working properly.
Your Safe Haven at Home
PowerPoint slides from Roselle O Brien's webinar on 'Your Safe Haven at Home' exploring the realities of "safe haven" in the mast cell world, what it means, what it entails, crucial elements---and why it's so essential. Add to the tools in your ever-growing toolbox of health supports with insights and strategies for creating your safe haven.
MCAS and Environmental Pollution the Toxic Truth
PowerPoint slides from Deborah Bircham from Live Well with Chronic Illness' webinar on 'MCAS and Environmental Pollution the Toxic Truth' exploring the connection between MCAS and environmental toxins.
What is detoxing and how might it help with MCAS?
PowerPoint slides from Deborah Bircham from Live Well with Chronic Illness' webinar on 'What is detoxing and how might it help with MCAS?'. Learn tips and tricks to reduce toxins in your body and the environment.
Stress and Mast Cells
PowerPoint slides from Roselle O Brien's webinar on 'Stress and Mast Cells' exploring how stress impacts us physically in our bodies, the role it plays with mast cells and in mast cell activation, and some strategies for managing stress, the stressors in our lives, and mast cell activation reactions that can be brought on by stress.
Pillars of Health
PowerPoint slides from Deborah Bircham from Live Well with Chronic Illness's webinar 'Pillars of Health' exploring how these ‘pillars of health’ can improve the situation for any health condition. Deborah will share her unique ‘Health Discovery Framework’ with us, which she uses with her own clients.
The Neuroscience of Mindfulness
PowerPoint slides from Deborah Bircham from Live well with chronic illness's webinar 'The Neuroscience of Mindfulness' exploring the neuroscience of how Mindfulness works, and how everyone can develop their own unique mindfulness practice to support them to manage difficulty and feel better—EVEN if you struggle to sit still, switch off and relax!
Understanding Lyme Disease – a general introduction to Lyme
PowerPoint slides from Deborah Bircham from Live well with chronic illness's webinar 'Understanding Lyme Disease – a general introduction to Lyme'. For many people, there is a significant overlap between Lyme Disease and MCAS, and Lyme can be an underlying root cause for MCAS.
How to Fight On in Tough Times – Tools and Tips to Foster Mental Resilience
PowerPoint slides from Deborah Bircham from Live well with chronic illness' webinar 'How to Fight On in Tough Times – Tools and Tips to Foster Mental Resilience' examining some simple tools that can help us all to navigate life’s ups and downs more skillfully.
How to be Heard: Advocating for yourself within the NHS
PowerPoint slides from Vicky Pearson's webinar 'How to be Heard: Advocating for yourself within the NHS'. This event was designed to help individuals learn how to approach MCAS whilst accessing medical care within the NHS and how to advocate for yourself as a patient.
How to Sleep Well
PowerPoint slides from Deborah Bircham from Live well with chronic illness webinar on 'How to Sleep Well' exploring what sleep is, why we need it, and how we can support our body to get as much good quality sleep as possible.
Vagus Nerves and Mast Cells
PowerPoint slides from Roselle O'Brien's talk on 'Vagus Nerves and Mast Cells' exploring the role that the vagus nerves play in regulating stress, inflammation, and mast cell activity.
Long COVID and the Mast Cell Connection
PowerPoint slides from Roselle O'Brien's talk 'Long COVID and the Mast Cell Connection' exploring what current research has shown about the long-COVID-mast cell connection and what that may mean to managing symptoms as we support our health in challenging times.
Immune Health - How to Fight off Bugs and Viruses Naturally
Powerpoint slides from Deborah Bircham from Live Well with Chronic Illness' webinar 'Immune Health - How to Fight off Bugs and Viruses Naturally' looking at how the immune system works, and how we can support it to function optimally using diet and lifestyle measures.
Mast cells and the mind
A PDF to support our session on mast cells and the mind by Deborah Bircham
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