Feeling Well with Allan Dumbleton

Allan Dumbleton is both a HEP Hero and public speaker. His journey towards overcoming hepatitis C has been long and challenging. Today he is well and free of the condition.

In a new Hepatitis/LiverWELL  short video, Allan talks about how managing stress through mindfulness and how ‘feeling well’ has been crucial to his recovery and ongoing sense of well-being.

“I feel well because I now have clarity, I didn’t feel well for many years because I had brain fog,” he says.

“My journey began in 1999, when some of the pharmaceuticals I took to get rid of the hepatitis C virus had really detrimental effects on me both mentally and physically. Throughout that period I lived with brain fog.”

Practising mindfulness has helped him gain clarity. It has become a useful tool in his daily life.

“Mindfulness is taking yourself out of the situation and concentrating on small things like touch, feel, sound and smell. It’s about being in that moment and it’s something you have to practice,” Allan says, although mindfulness is not always easy to do when you have, or have had, a chronic condition.

“I had the anxiety of waiting on results through three attempts at a cure, while bringing up a beautiful family and working in a fairly full-on career – it was exhausting!”

Now,  Allan says that dealing with his mental health and using tools such as mindfulness means he feels ‘refreshed.’

“I know what is important to me now,” he says.

What is Allan’s advice to others with hepatitis C? “Go to your GP, there is a cure now and if you’re experiencing any mental health problems ask your GP for a mental health plan.”

Find out more about mindfulness and the free tools we offer to help.