11th April 2025

HARTBEAT

WHAM have taken over Hartbeat this week!

This April we're celebrating two meaningful awareness moments - National Pet Month and Stress Awareness Week! We thought we'd combine the two, a double 'WHAMMY' you might say. We've asked Kokorers to share how we combat stress and how our furry friends help us out!

And breathe...

Dan S - Running is a big one for me. Even if it's a struggle to muster up motivation some days, I always feel the benefit and it really helps clear my head. Cooking also helps a lot - nothing more therapeutic than prepping everything and honing my knife skills while I'm at it. Gaming is also great, whether on my own or playing online with my friends. And then if all else fails, just whack a good movie on and forgot about life's stresses for a bit!

Sam S - I have started doing Pilates twice a week which has really done wonders for my stress levels. I have also been off social media for the past 2 months as a detox! Not sure when I’ll be back as it’s actually very relaxing not knowing what everyone else is doing. LOL!

Ange - Yoga, Meditation, Sound Baths, Long Walks, Ice baths, Bubble baths, Singing in the car, Walks and talks with friends/family, Cuddles with Buddy (and the children).

Emily B - Lots of things! The typical serotonin boosters always help me - going on a walk, seeing friends, going on a run. I think it's important to remember that sometimes it's just not THAT deep. I've tried meditation a few times which actually does help when you're in the zone, and reading a good book. I think a walk is my favourite one - it's easy to get your head so scrambled over something and sometimes you just need 10 minutes of fresh air and sunshine!!

Hannah - I have to have time for myself – no plans, no pressure, just wake up when I want to wake up and do whatever I wish to with the day with no one making demands of my time. Easier said than done.

Kokoro's Pet Corner

Sam S - His name is Freddy, there’s no cool reason! We just thought it was cute. He’s Fredrick when he’s naughty though. Being greeted by the Fredster when I get home honestly makes any day better. He is always so happy to see me and, if I’ve had a bad day, we’ll sit on the bed and have a cuddle till I feel better. He knows when I need a hug!

Ange - Buddy – after Buddy the Elf from ‘Elf’ as he was born at Christmas time (plus is was the only name all the children could agree upon!). Gets me out for a walk twice a day (tech free, out in nature, noticing the seasons, living in the moment), gives me my first cuddle of the day, always happy to see you, gives you the best greeting when you come in, brings me joy to watch him playing and having fun 😊

Peter E - This is Snowy. I wanted to call him Boris after a certain politician with a similar haircut but I got overruled (fortunately) and he’s now Snowy after the dog in TinTin (kind of). He definitely helps my mental health by making me go take time out to go for walks with him and by the amount of people who come up and say how cute he is (they obviously don’t know him).

Emily B - I LOVE MY CAT. I'm utterly obsessed with her. Her name is Millie and she was already called that when we got her from Cat's Protection. Honestly sitting and cuddling her improves my mental health daily. Without sounding like a weirdo, I love taking care of her and she's just so loveable. I can't imagine her not being in my family! We all adore her

Jaz - Kya was named after the protagonist in a book called 'Where the Crawdads Sing'. The character definitely has both a wild and gentle side so I think it suits her pretty well! Despite weighing over 40kg, Kya's favourite thing is to sit on my lap, so she sort of acts like one of those giant weighted blankets. She's definitely a very calming presence in my life and also makes me get out in nature at least twice a day which is great.

Dan S - Dora- we had seen a rescue cat with same name, so we decided to pinch it. She very much lives up to her namesake's enthusiasm for exploring though! Actually, quite a lot when I think about it. She's very intuitive and will come over for cuddles whenever I have a bit of a wobble. Being able to play with her or even just sitting with her asleep on my lap and giving her all the pets can give a big boost. Or just having a laugh at her when she goes off on her zoomies - can't beat it!

Hannah - May: she was a stray, starving, beaten and eating a dead dear to survive. She was finally caught in May – and named after the month in celebration!
Roux: I got my first cat Romy when I was 5; she dies when I was 25. I loved her so much I named her ‘Roux’, short for ‘Romy-two’

Brindle: orphaned at 4 weeks old. Naming choice – does what it says on the tin

Ginger: found in a ditch half dead. Named by my 3 year old nephew. Does what it says on the tin (brother to Tiger)

Tiger: found in a ditch: nearly dies at least 6 times. Just cost me £780 in vet’s bills for heart murmur. Was called ‘Morse’ but Dodge thought it was a stupid name and called him Tiger after his childhood cat.

Shelby: found in a ditch: 450g. Teensy and flea ridden. Named after Carroll Shelby the automotive engineer. Hoping he didn’t do something terrible as a person to make this a bad choice
Enzo: …you guessed it…another ditch find. Named after Enzo Ferrari. Have a horrible feeling he was a twat in real life but didn’t know that at the time of naming

Merlin: little village stray, scooped up a few weeks ago. Dodge wouldn’t let me call him Catticus or General Pusskin…so we settled on Merlin

Smudge: inherited him – neglected village cat in a very bad state. Very much loved and now magnificent
They rush to me when I come home – it’s just magical.

Brittney - There's not really a cool story behind her name; she's named after her mum as we just really liked the name. Her registered name is 'Angel Wings', but I wouldn't describe her as particularly angelic! 😉

Molly's favourite form of exercise is fetching a ball, so I end up taking her to the local park most days. In addition to forcing me to get some fresh air, I regularly see a lot of other dog owners in the neighborhood which has made me feel more like part of the community; before we got Molly I didn't really know anyone besides our immediate neighbors even though we'd lived there for few years by the time we brought her home. She's also a real character (I refer to her as 'opinionated') which can be frustrating at times, but she makes me laugh every day with her silly antics - it's hard to be angry at her for stealing the TV buttons for the umpteenth time when she's so cute!

Cerise - This is my girl, Lemmy, she has an ace of spades on her forehead so the place that named were inspired by Motorhead, we chose to keep it! She helps me a lot with my mental health, she has such a funny personality so I'm always laughing at the things she does! Her howling and singing is a serotonin overload, I just adore her!!

Ade- sustain a smile with a red stripe fellow

Birthday corner

Finally, wishing a very Happy Belated Birthday to our birthday twins, Jade and Mike (April 8th)!!

That's all for this week folks, have a glorious weekend in the sun (hopefully)!

See you in a couple weeks for WHAM pt. 2!