Reducing the stigma around mental health
By Nicola Anne I have a five-year old niece. She is absolutely stunning. She has gorgeous blonde curls, big blue eyes, and the most gorgeous pink lips. Friends, family, even strangers, often comment on these traits of hers. Pretty, Beautiful, Gorgeous “Aren’t you pretty?” they ask her. “Look at those Continue Reading
By Nicola Anne I was on social media earlier in the week, and found myself caught up in a discussion about ear-piercing. A mother was asking what the earliest age a child could be to get their ears pierced. This question came with a disclaimer – that she was not Continue Reading
By Nicola Anne I have now been in hospital for the best part of two months. I have seen a lot of patients come and go in that time. I have seen a lot of health care professionals aid these patients with various aspects of their health. There is an Continue Reading
By Nicola Anne When I asked my husband to describe me in three words… That was his response. Beautiful. Brilliant. Crazy. Bypassed in the chaos I think mental health awareness is often focused so heavily on the sufferer, that the people around them, the ones who are watching someone they love Continue Reading
I am currently sitting on my hospital bed, listening to the sounds of my neighbour have a dangerously heated argument. I could not tell you who she is arguing with. I have not seen them. To me, they are not real.
By Nicola Anne I had an ex boyfriend, who once told me that we shouldn’t be friends if it made things ‘harder for me’. I found this statement in itself quite an entertaining one; there was such an assumption that I would be the one, out of the two of us, Continue Reading
By Nicola Anne I was chatting to a close friend of mine today, and she mentioned to me that she was going through some mental health issues. I was genuinely surprised to hear this, as I see her gorgeous smiling face popping up regularly on my Facebook feed, always accompanied Continue Reading
By Nicola Anne Today I underwent my sixth round of ECT. Six general anaesthetics. Six seizures. Six times, with a prospective six more. I can’t remember things properly. My memories are scrambled; trying to put things in a timeline is like trying to think of a word that is on Continue Reading
By Nicola Anne At the end of the day. There is You. There is Him. And you are alone in this. Today. Today is subjective. Someone, somewhere, was born today; and someone else became a mother. Someone lived today; and someone else died. Someone fell in love today; and someone Continue Reading
By Nicola Anne “It’s true. Your parents didn’t lie to you. There is no monster under your bed. He doesn’t lurk in the shadows, or the cupboard. He isn’t waiting in the back seat of your car, or in dark alleys, ready to feed off your fear, your pain, your Continue Reading
By Nicola Anne “My biggest fear, is that eventually you will see me the way I see myself.” (Anonymous) The most fascinating thing that I have discovered to date whilst on this journey, has been the overwhelming desire to protect the people I love. Protect them from what depression looks like… Continue Reading