Mental health problems have a way of taking over. I’m lucky enough never to have been hospitalised or signed off work. Life has always stumbled on. But moods and behaviours creep in and twist their tendrils around daily life. They trick you into thinking they’re normal, into nourishing them. It’s not until they start to…
Category: Writing my mind
Recovery is long, messy, uncomfortable and emotional – but i’ll keep trying (and talking)
Glad to have an eating disorder? Apparently Liz Jones is glad she has an eating disorder. In her latest piece for the Mail, she tells us that recovery is so hard that it’s easier not to try. She’s lived with an eating disorder for so long that she’d rather take refuge in behaviours that feel…
Avoiding an unwanted pregnancy far outweighs any side effects of contraception…how dare you say it’s that simple?
Women on hormonal contraception are more likely to be treated for depression Recent research has shown that women taking hormonal contraception are more likely to be treated for depression. And we already know that those with pre-existing depression may have their symptoms worsened by the pill. Tell us something we don’t know. I’ve avoided hormonal contraception completely…
A letter to Incognito about OCD
Hey Incognito, You probably haven’t thought it through – and I’m sure you don’t mean to cause offence – but I wanted to highlight some of the problems with your OCD Hand Sanitizer product and the accompanying text. OCD is an incredibly debilitating mental health problem. So much so that the World Health Organisation ranks…
The next step in recovery – letting go of clothes that don’t fit
Too small I’m selling some of my favourite clothes. Some of them are definitely too small. I bought them when I was at my lowest weight last year. Fitting into a smaller size was an unhealthy but irresistible boost to a fragile self esteem that had narrowed to focus only on my weight and ability…
Writing a blog about your mental health – why and how?
Blogging about my mental health A few weeks ago had an internet date. Of sorts. Not a romantic first date (thank goodness) but a face-to-face meeting with someone I met online. Someone like me in lots of ways. Someone who could be a friend. We knew a lot about each other’s vulnerabilities and fears before…
Please help me raise money for Mind
Update – I did it – thank you! I also blogged about it for Mind – Exercise, mental health and taking on Ride London.
What I’d tell my 2015 self about dieting, body positivity and accepting medication
Yesterday we celebrated our first wedding anniversary. Our wedding was a magical day but, in the two years since we got engaged, life has taken some unexpected turns. My mental and physical health has taken quite a bashing. I’m not fully recovered – and I’m working hard to challenge and change thought patterns and reactions that…
We need to talk about mental health and trying to conceive #takeoffthetape
Mind has been asking people to #TakeOffTheTape and share something that makes them anxious. Something they haven’t spoken about before. I thought I would use the opportunity to write about something that’s hardly spoken about at all. I’m finding it incredibly hard to balance trying to conceive with managing my mental health. We don’t talk about…
Standing up to stigma – why I blog about work, projects & my mental health in one place
Pressing pause Every time I go to press ‘publish’ on a tricky post exploring my mental health I pause for a moment. The way my blog has developed means that my personal struggles and successes sit alongside blogs about my work and details of my skills, training and experience. Should I keep them separate? Will employers reject…
The Regret Tape and the I’m Not Good Enough Mix – new metaphors and thinking tools for managing anxiety and depression
I’ve recently come off Sertraline after 15 years on various SSRIs. It’s been a long and tricky journey but I think I might be almost there. I’ve written a bit more about that here. Using metaphors to identify, share and understand my mental health During this period I’ve found two metaphors very helpful. I love…
Coming off anti depressants – withdrawing from Citalopram and Sertraline
Day six in Foster’s brain and all is reasonably calm… As I write I’m on the sixth day without any form of SSRI at all. This is new territory for me. I’ve taken them every day for 15 years (with terrible healthcare making it much trickier). Three months ago I moved to Sertraline. Two months…
PMT, hormones and withdrawal – treading on mood eggshells
It’s fair to say I’m not compleeetely on top of things today. The doctor moved me from Citalopram to Sertraline last month (slightly better for any potential pregnancies) and suggested I try and reduce the dose a little (again in preparation for the same). I wasn’t sure whether this was a good idea considering I’ve…
Exercise addiction and eating problems – good days, bad days and thought gremlins
It’s been a few months since I last wrote about the tangle of eating, exercise and emotions I have found myself in this year. I’m tired. More than anything I’m tired of thinking about food, eating, exercise and what I ‘should’ be doing. It’s just so tedious. Meditation, interesting work, DIY, time spent with friends and…