Petra Boynton
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petraboynton.bsky.social
Petra Boynton
@petraboynton.bsky.social
#Safety and #wellbeing advocate and creator of the #PEEPSS Model.
Social Psychologist. #Methodologist. Sometime #AgonyAunt. Advice giving as praxis. Critical #MentalHealth. Lives by the sea.
Come for a #ResearchTip, maybe ask a question, stay for cat pics
Pinned
#ResearcherRenew starts again on 02.01.26.

You're invited to a friendly, supportive and practical start to the year. No charge.

#AcademicSky #PhDChat #AcademicChatter #PhDSky #HigherEd

Find out how it works here:
theresearchcompanion.com/researcherre...

Full schedule in the pic below.
Reposted by Petra Boynton
Friends, I am excited to announce that my Center for Wildlife Studies biology and ecology of sharks course went so well that we're already running it again! Class starts in February and you can sign up now.

🧪🦑🌍🦈
Biology and Ecology of Sharks and Their Relatives (Online & Field) — Center for Wildlife Studies
www.centerforwildlifestudies.org
January 5, 2026 at 8:16 PM
Reposted by Petra Boynton
@buttonlass.bsky.social important content
you did not see this kitty pull a glizzy heist

good morning
January 6, 2026 at 1:55 PM
Reposted by Petra Boynton
I think it's time for this:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIeP...
DANSONS LA CAPUCINE - PAROLE DE CHAT
YouTube video by Parole de chat
www.youtube.com
January 6, 2026 at 5:06 PM
Reposted by Petra Boynton
Centre Yourself. That's your third #ResearcherRenew activity, one to enjoy when you like this month that you don't need to share publicly. Just keep it as something lovely for yourself.

theresearchcompanion.com/centreyou
Centre Yourself - The Research Companion
You may have heard the phrase 'fit your own lifejacket before you fit someone else's'. Today's #ResearcherRenew task is about putting your needs first.
theresearchcompanion.com
January 6, 2026 at 12:05 PM
Centre Yourself. That's your third #ResearcherRenew activity, one to enjoy when you like this month that you don't need to share publicly. Just keep it as something lovely for yourself.

theresearchcompanion.com/centreyou
Centre Yourself - The Research Companion
You may have heard the phrase 'fit your own lifejacket before you fit someone else's'. Today's #ResearcherRenew task is about putting your needs first.
theresearchcompanion.com
January 6, 2026 at 12:05 PM
Reposted by Petra Boynton
Your second #ResearcherRenew task is a gentle and hopefully uplifting one.

Think back over the last year and acknowledge something you enjoyed or that went well.

Your initial reaction may be 'nothing', so challenge yourself to identify one small thing.

theresearchcompanion.com/what-went-we...
What went well last year? - The Research Companion
Praise begins with you. But that might feel challenging. Here's how to take stock of all you've achieved and celebrate how amazing you are.
theresearchcompanion.com
January 4, 2026 at 1:54 PM
Your second #ResearcherRenew task is a gentle and hopefully uplifting one.

Think back over the last year and acknowledge something you enjoyed or that went well.

Your initial reaction may be 'nothing', so challenge yourself to identify one small thing.

theresearchcompanion.com/what-went-we...
What went well last year? - The Research Companion
Praise begins with you. But that might feel challenging. Here's how to take stock of all you've achieved and celebrate how amazing you are.
theresearchcompanion.com
January 4, 2026 at 1:54 PM
Reposted by Petra Boynton
Welcome to #ResearcherRenew 2026!

Today's task is very easy. Pick a piece of music or a song that brings you comfort, lifts your spirits, energises or inspires you, or simply makes you smile.

Add it to this thread if you feel like sharing.

Happy New Year

theresearchcompanion.com/researcher-r...
Researcher Renew - The Research Companion
#ResearcherRenew What's that all about then? Here's an introduction to the coming month - and your first, lovely, task.
theresearchcompanion.com
January 2, 2026 at 10:06 AM
Welcome to #ResearcherRenew 2026!

Today's task is very easy. Pick a piece of music or a song that brings you comfort, lifts your spirits, energises or inspires you, or simply makes you smile.

Add it to this thread if you feel like sharing.

Happy New Year

theresearchcompanion.com/researcher-r...
Researcher Renew - The Research Companion
#ResearcherRenew What's that all about then? Here's an introduction to the coming month - and your first, lovely, task.
theresearchcompanion.com
January 2, 2026 at 10:06 AM
I saw a snow white squirrel on my walk in the park today

If that's a good omen for New Year's Day I'll share the luck with you.

And if it's the start of some kind of quest, then I'll be needing as many fellow travellers to help me as possible.
January 1, 2026 at 11:41 PM
Happy New Year!

Allow yourself hope and joy. Each small act of kindness for you, someone you love, a neighbour, or a stranger is resistance against apathy, despair, hatred.

No need for promises, resolutions, or plans. 2026 will fall as it may.

But you can do small things, hourly, daily, with care
January 1, 2026 at 1:53 PM
Reposted by Petra Boynton
In Chinese #mythology, Nian(aka the fearsome “Year”) is a lion-dog beast chained to a heavenly pillar under the Purple Star God’s watch. Each New Year’s Eve it breaks loose, descending on villages to devour the unwary. Over generations, people discovered its weaknesses: noise, fire, and 1/2

🎨 丁雲鵬
January 1, 2026 at 1:45 PM
Reposted by Petra Boynton
Just making sure that 2025 is definitely over
January 1, 2026 at 4:43 AM
Reposted by Petra Boynton
#ResearcherRenew starts again on 02.01.26.

You're invited to a friendly, supportive and practical start to the year. No charge.

#AcademicSky #PhDChat #AcademicChatter #PhDSky #HigherEd

Find out how it works here:
theresearchcompanion.com/researcherre...

Full schedule in the pic below.
December 31, 2025 at 3:36 PM
#ResearcherRenew starts again on 02.01.26.

You're invited to a friendly, supportive and practical start to the year. No charge.

#AcademicSky #PhDChat #AcademicChatter #PhDSky #HigherEd

Find out how it works here:
theresearchcompanion.com/researcherre...

Full schedule in the pic below.
December 31, 2025 at 3:36 PM
The volume of messages I still get from MP's staffers and people working as local councillors seeking support suggest whichever party* the job is harder, largely thankless, and often really challenging. For constituents, because of constituents, due to social/media, and rising hate and intolerance.
That’s obviously alarming news for the PM, and many people will argue that’s a result of his strategy

I’m intrigued by the chart, though. Since Brexit scuppered Cameron, every PM has been less popular than their predecessor. Might that also suggest that the job itself is also getting harder?
December 31, 2025 at 1:33 PM
New Year's Eve can be great for planning and resetting if that helps you feel confident and happy. Equally it's perfectly fine to ignore the occasion completely. Or approach these first few months of the year as moment to slow, take stock and prioritise your wellbeing.

You decide how to mark time.
December 31, 2025 at 12:06 PM
Reposted by Petra Boynton
How poetry can sustain us through illness, bereavement and change

theconversation.com/how-poetry-c...
How poetry can sustain us through illness, bereavement and change
Writing does not take us away from the difficult and the painful. If we write with courage and with integrity, it can take us to the very heart of it.
theconversation.com
December 31, 2025 at 11:45 AM
'Nothing is impossible, it seems, when you get together and make it happen.'

Upbeat article featuring some amazing students from my school. Shows the importance of grassroots activism.

Turning anger into community pride in North Shields.

www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
‘People will listen’: turning anger into community pride in North Shields
A tour of local ‘wins’ shows how the charity Citizens UK is working with residents to build a better, fairer society
www.theguardian.com
December 31, 2025 at 11:07 AM
Reposted by Petra Boynton
For a more nuanced view of C19th psychiatry in general, I have been spending years compiling this bibliography - it wasn't all restraints and stigma - www.lesleyahall.net/victpsyc.htm
Victorian Psychiatry
www.lesleyahall.net
December 31, 2025 at 10:35 AM
Reposted by Petra Boynton
While I am yay! for what they were doing there, they were building on a tradition going back to the Retreat at York pretty much a century earlier en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ret...
The Retreat - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
December 31, 2025 at 10:34 AM
The story of the pioneering psychiatric hospital www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
The story of the pioneering Graylingwell Hospital in Chichester
The 19th century hospital was renowned for its pioneering methods in mental health treatment.
www.bbc.co.uk
December 31, 2025 at 9:38 AM
Yesterday we spent a lovely afternoon looking at London landmarks and hunting for Snoopy.

If you're in London and want something free to do over the New Year you might enjoy it too.

www.fleetstreetquarter.co.uk/events/explo...
SNOOPY IN THE CITY MAP
Explore the Snoopy in the City map and discover twelve unique sculptures hidden across the Quarter!
www.fleetstreetquarter.co.uk
December 31, 2025 at 9:27 AM
Reposted by Petra Boynton
MTV music channels in UK and Ireland have now closed. End of an era 📺
December 31, 2025 at 8:22 AM
Reposted by Petra Boynton
Getting into the mood for part 2 of this year's excellent 'Are we alone?' space-themed @rigb.org Christmas Lectures with Dame Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock (7pm tonight on BBC Four) with a bit of Stern Combo Meissen's 'In den Kosmos' from 1978 www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uKm...
Stern Combo Meissen In den Kosmos 1978
YouTube video by Alfredo Rodgers
www.youtube.com
December 29, 2025 at 12:59 PM