Last year, James Withney of The Recovery Letters emailed to see if I would be interested in contributing a letter to the published anthology. The Recovery Letters are addressed to people experiencing depression. They share experiences and give friendship and hope for recovery. I’ve always believed in letters and writing as a way through difficult…
Tag: Recovery
Signs of change and coping with cheese – how my eating disorder recovery looks now
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
The mindfulness of dogs – a #mentalhealthselfie for Mind
Mind asked me to created a #mentalhealthselfie, a video blog about my mental health, for Mental Health Awareness Week 2015. The theme was mindfulness. “He reminds me to be curious” – how Watson helps me practice mindfulness As I blogged for Mind about my Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy course in 2012, I decided to do something…
Take 5 to blog for Time to Change
Time to Talk for Time to Change Today is Time to Talk day. Once again the Time to Change campaign is encouraging people to take some time to break the silence that so often surrounds mental health problems and have a conversation with friends, family or colleagues. Or, in this case, the internet. #Take5toBlog So…
Why ‘Depression Island’?
A 2016 update Hello! Just wanted to pop in and add some notes to this post. It’s 3 years since I wrote it and since then my mental health has fluctuated and changed quite a lot. I still manage depression but trying to come off my antidepressants really increased my anxiety for a while. And a complex combination of…
Five good things a day for World Mental Health Day and beyond..
Happy World Mental Health Day everyone! Looking after your mental health If you don’t have a diagnosed mental health issue then you’d be forgiven for thinking that World Mental Health day isn’t for you. But we all have mental health in the same way we all have physical health – and that mental health needs…
What’s in a letter? Creative letter writing for self guidance and managing mental health
A blast from the past Last week, through the magic of social media, I made contact with a penpal I’d last written to over a decade ago (she has since written a wonderful piece on catching up with old friends here). Exchanging letters is a wonderful way of making and cementing a bond. You share…
Happiness – an emotion, a mood, a goal or a way of life?
What would we describe as a ‘happy life’? “The idea that humans can capture a mere mood – ‘happiness’ – and somehow preserve it seems absurd. As an aim for life it is not only doomed but infantile.” Sebastian Faulks – A Possible Life The idea of ‘happiness’ seems to have been popping up everywhere…