Reducing the stigma around mental health
By Sara-Jane Morphew So, today those thoughts of the future are creeping back in. I’m not content with just feeling a bit better. The pressure begins: I need to make use of myself and get back to work. “What am I going to do?” This phrase goes round and around Continue Reading
By Claire Adult children of alcoholics We grow up in a world where alcohol is part of life. We go to weddings, christenings, funerals and other social occasions, and alcohol is readily available. I grew up witnessing my parents and relatives drinking and having fun, and in my thoughts, and Continue Reading
By Neil Hodge ‘DEPRESSION ISN’T REAL!’ Just recently, this Twitter account has been brought to my attention. It’s full of hateful, unhelpful comments about mental health. Andrew Tate ✔ @Cobratate Depression isn’t real. You feel sad, you move on. You will always be depressed if your life is depressing. Change it. Continue Reading
By Wendy K. Williamson It is Mental Illness Awareness Week October 5 through 11, making it the perfect time to bring up stigma. Unfortunately there exists a huge gap in the public perception of mental illness and the reality of who we are as human beings. If there wasn’t, we Continue Reading
By Sophie Ann Where do I begin? The stupid mistakes of my past have made me who I am. For the worse, I might add. The blind me of the past that couldn’t see what was right in front of her. Imagine me screaming, crying, looking into a mirror and Continue Reading
By Shirley Davis There are two basic facts about life that many people either were never taught, or that they try to say do not apply to themselves. We all need to understand that life isn’t easy and life isn’t fair. These two concepts are true for everyone, no matter Continue Reading
By Jonathan Reyes It’s not all that easy talking about bipolar disorder. I mean, when you bring up bipolar and mood, most of the time people just think, ‘Ehh, my woman or man is bipolar as fuck’. But when you start to mention the mood stabilising medications that you have Continue Reading
By Tina Blacksmith I never had a Hallmark mother-daughter relationship with my mom. She was an emotionally absent parent. My whole childhood, she was there in the physical sense. But emotionally she never showed up. I get that she was going through shit too. I really do. But growing up Continue Reading
By Stayingalive123 A member of my family is currently battling cancer at the moment and unfortunately, they are terminal. I have been lucky enough not to have had to deal with watching someone battle this awful disease before. Facing the reality, I can tell you, I never want to see Continue Reading
By Sam Taylor Can the negative be the raw material for the good? In the midst of my crisis, going through recovery and afterwards, I was lucky enough to have the support of friends. Reasonably often, I heard comments such as, “You can get through this, you’re really strong”. Or Continue Reading
By Hannah Robyn Today I was speaking to a friend about ‘things that happened’ when I was younger and how it is hard because I can’t seem to ‘get over it’, despite many years and plenty of therapy. Overcoming past trauma isn’t easy. In talking about things I came to Continue Reading
By Anonymous A couple of months, that’s all it has been. A couple of months of you being quite severely depressed. The depression has been going on far longer. For you, it’s been an on-off relationship for many years: over a decade. For me, I had one time many years Continue Reading