Sharon Smith, owner of GI Jane Bootcamp, has used her experience of childhood abuse to inspire others
New research has been published which links a reduction in the symptoms of generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) to exercise
Hello! It is a fine and beautiful day here on the south coast (at least the glare from the window hitting the computer screen tells me as such). This is my first blog post, and a very strange feeling it is too. I am a writer (obviously) and have...
25th May 2011
You probably won’t have come across me before, so allow me to tell you a little bit about myself and how it is that I happen to be here blogging about mental health.
About 14 years ago, I experienced a couple of quite severe “...
27th May 2011
Hello everyone! I am so pleased to have the opportunity to write for you, the Reader, and I hope that I can be of some sort of help to you in your journey to wellness. Mental health is especially important in today's world, with the stress of...
28th May 2011
Let me tell you a bit about my world.
I just love my job for Uncovered Magazine and consider myself very lucky. Not only do I get to write and research on the subject of mental health, which is very close to my heart, but I get to do it from...
30th May 2011
Thriving with OCD + emetophobia
OK so some of you will have read my top tip in issue three of Uncovered Magazine, but most of you will not, so I want to share my point once more.
As you can see from my profile, my favourite quote is:
"...
30th May 2011
So I had the fantastic opportunity to have lunch with Duncan Bannatyne last week. He is, as Uncovered readers will know, someone I have admired for a long time, so I was somewhat excited at the prospect. After the wonderful article I wrote...
1st June 2011
I spend a lot of time raising awareness of natural approaches to emotional wellbeing and mental health. As a result, people often conclude or assume that I am totally anti medication. This isn’t strictly true however. So in order to set the...
3rd June 2011
My favourite, favourite quote (as I have mentioned before) is: 'Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, but learning to dance in the rain' - V. Greene
Why?
Well, back before the nappy changing and responsibility, before the...
7th June 2011
When I was at my worst, during times that could best be described as “breakdowns”, or episodes of psychosis, I experienced a mix of extreme emotions, from anxiety to joy, through to terror, despair and total confusion. I didn’t...
11th June 2011
So, if you have been following my blog by now you probably realise I have a few unusual traits! But hey, we all have unique and wonderful facets don't we. I have touched upon my OCD and emetophobia, but the one thing that really lies behind it...
13th June 2011
The man in the below article- through his unwillingness to share his experiences, and his strength in doing so anyway-has inspired me to come clean about my own experiences with Borderline Personality Disorder. I have found it helpful in the...
14th June 2011
Today I'm going to tell you a story! It's a bit of an experiment for me. I don't usually write like this - so I hope it's okay!!
Once upon a time there was this sheep. Let's call her .... errm... Tanya. Tanya ...
17th June 2011
I LOVE this picture, it reminds me of myself; perched precariously over a chasm. However high I climb, however secure I am - I am always aware of the valley from which I climbed and the feeling of isolation in the dark places I have seen....
17th June 2011
Like Charlotte, the editor of this fabulous site, I have a favourite mental health quote:
“Recovery is about building a meaningful and satisfying life, as defined by the person themselves, whether or not there are on-going or recurring...
Anonymous
22nd June 2011
I hope you dance.
I am a heavy rock fan. The darker and more powerful the better - a band without chains and leather is usually a band I've never heard of. So this video choice may surprise you, but stay with me on this....
Back...
23rd June 2011
I, by nature, am the eternal optimist. I see good in bad and look for shreds of happiness in sad situations. My friends and family have laughed and cried about this facet of my nature.
I can see the negative side to this now...
23rd June 2011
I was moved to tears by Charlotte's latest blog on Friday and I promised her I would open up fully about what it's like to experience an "acute psychotic episode" -- the worst kind of nervous breakdown -- which happened to me 8...
Anonymous
27th June 2011
If you've read my previous blog, you may have spotted a couple of images of BBC TV Centre and Big AM Manchester's former studios at Salford Quays, where I was a journalist and bulletin editor/newsreader. A few people have asked me...
Anonymous
2nd July 2011
When the World says, "Give up!" Hope whispers, "Try one more time!" ~ Anon
Hope has played such an enormous role in my life journey.
My darkest days all have one thing in common - they all lack hope.
Hope...
6th July 2011
Living with Trauma
I am a veteran and suffer from PTSD. I will not to dwell long on the events that lead to my PTSD.
It was 38 years this month that I start my 18 month tour of N Ireland. My family came with me to Omagh for the tour.
Like...
11th July 2011
Deep Purple at The Royal Albert Hall
Most of you will already know that six years ago I was agoraphobic and housebound, so you, I hope, can imagine just how thrilling this post is for me to write.
Last Friday I was invited to my first proper gig...
13th July 2011
Stopping fear getting a hold
So the other evening I was sat in traffic for hours. This would for many years have created a huge amount of anxiety in me. However, I have learned that if I distract myself, tell myself that 'traffic can not...
13th July 2011
The symptoms and treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder may be difficult to pinpoint. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and it doesn't just affect soldiers at war. Anyone who has experienced or witnessed a very distressing event outside of...
15th July 2011
Recovery from psychosis by CBT - my story
I was feeling quite low on the day Charlotte commissioned this video so although I smiled with my voice I did not with my face. This is how people who've mainly worked in radio often are anyway: we...
Anonymous
15th July 2011
It’s not that commonly known outside psychiatry that medication designed to make you better from psychosis actually starts off by making you worse. These are known as “paradoxical symptoms or side effects” and in my case the...
Anonymous
23rd July 2011
Not all fun and games!
Up until now I have tried to keep my blog posts quite light - as I want to inspire you and let you all know that life with a mental illness does not have to mean a life of confinement and struggle.
Today I want to share...
26th July 2011
It’s rare that I have to seek permissions before writing a blog but I wanted to post today about Creative Support and Community Restart – the two organisations which have played the biggest role in helping me regain my independence and...
Anonymous
31st July 2011
I heard a quote this week and it went like this:
'Life is not about finding yourself, it is about creating yourself'
A quick google search tells me it is by George Bernard Shaw.
This quote inspired me, it also freaked me out a...
2nd August 2011
Lonestar - Amazed
Suicidal and Paranoid Ideation
I have touched upon my suicidal and paranoid thoughts in previous blogs, and a couple of weeks ago I had strong suicidal thoughts again and am still suffering mild ones this weekend and I wanted...
Anonymous
7th August 2011
When I was a kid I always dreamed big, so big in fact people would laugh at what I believed I could achieve. All except my mum of course who was the only other person I know who could dream as big as me.
Even when she was agoraphobic and in the...
17th August 2011
I wrote a news story this week about the emotional scars of children who witness domestic violence, I also went through an old folder of mine and came across a poem I wrote when I was probably around 13 years old. I'd like to point out it was my...
14th September 2011
Having written about the lesbian teacher abuse case this week and opening up about the abusive 'relationship' I had with a thirty two-year-old woman when I was just turning fourteen (for seven months), I feel as though I now have the...
7th October 2011
It's not how you feel it's what you do with it that counts!
I was touched this week by the blog post Calendar by Vet. Knowsley, especially as this week marked one of the hardest days of the year for me.
I pride myself on being...
20th October 2011
Life & death - Looking at the world through child's eyes
February this year saw a friend of mine commit suicide or as I like to see it a friend was allowed to die in a secure unit despite repeated cries for help. She was the partner of...
2nd November 2011
When life seems like it’s falling apart, and when the world feels out of touch, it can be hard to find a way to reconnect - especially when the longer nights are stretched out ahead of us for months come. Whatever the cause of the worry,...
4th November 2011
Happiness
What is it to be happy? I typed happiness into Google to find out what the rest of the world thinks happiness is and it really hit home that happiness is different for all of us.
Is happiness an emotion? A state of being? Fleeting or...
22nd November 2011
This is going to be the most controversial post I think I have ever written. Some of you will agree with me wholeheartedly, some of you will despise my words. These views are mine and don't represent my work with Mental Healthy!
I know quite a...
29th November 2011
My dear little girl Jade,
You would be eight years old this Christmas day.
I can close my eyes and see you, year by year, growing more beautiful by the day.
Your long dark hair is straight in my mind's eye, which is strange as both your daddy...
20th December 2011
I have always known I am a little different to other people. I am a little awkward socially -- I have some close friends but not a wide circle outside of the mental health field. I have immense problems...
Anonymous
7th April 2012
What is recovery?
At different points in my journey 'recovery' has meant something different.
At my worst, recovery to me meant being able to sleep for more than an hour at a time. To go a day without a panic attack. To feel alive...
18th May 2012
The Early Years
When I was 10 years old, Christmas time was magical. I had received so many gifts I just didn’t know what to do with them all.
“Put your toys and books away then,” said my mother smiling at my excited expression...
24th May 2012
If you long to find a way to lift your spirits, to get in touch with your inner sanctuary and find your real destiny, then read on.
Take a morning or evening, or a day at the weekend to try these ways of making your inner star sparkle. You will be...
16th August 2012
It's World Mental health Day, and today I want to say a BIG THANK YOU!
To my fish I forgot to feed, to my neighbour I ignored, to my teacher I flipped the finger, to my mum who bound my scars... Thank you.
To the man in the petrol station I...
10th October 2012
Fun at the dentist
I had never had any problems with going to the dentist when I was young. I enjoyed the occasion, receiving a sticker for my excellent teeth. However, when I was about eleven years old, the dentist discovered that I had two adult...
16th November 2012
Recently, I’ve been supporting a very close family member through a particularly messy relationship breakdown, and it has been utterly heart-breaking to see someone who was once so happy and full of life, appear broken and doubtful - and...
23rd November 2012
I advocate replacing birthdays with wisedays. Why the devil not? They do in some cultures, so why not here?
I’m grumpy about the way getting older is frowned upon; making wrinkles even more firmly entrenched, by the brainwashing media....
5th March 2013
It appears stating that people are in control of their own life and attitude is a most unpopular notion, but it is (in my humble opinion) not pointing fingers, rather empowering people to not be confined by excuses and take their lives into their...
14th September 2015
From the resus table to Fitness Ambassador
Well it has been a very long time since I last wrote a blog. Partly due to being very busy, partly through lack of feeling very inspiring. But today I am feeling rather proud of myself and want to...
2nd September 2018
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