Lets Talk About Mental Health

Big institutions all say they don’t discriminate and treat people with mental health issues fairly in accordance with their needs but in reality do they? I give you the example of the Driving vehicle licensing agency (DVLA) I was asked by my psychiatrist to report my medication to the dvla and...

Sept 10th was suicide prevention day. I was reading the paper yesterday and in it was a letter from a man to a complete stranger thanking him for saying "Good morning" and giving him a smile. Nothing remarkable you might think but he then went on to say it was this gesture of kindness that...

I recently attended a seminar on Neuro-diversity. It got me thinking, as much As I often wish I was a different person without anxiety and depression, I have to accept the fact I am who I am and everything that goes with that. If I was this mythical person without my conditions, I wouldn't be...

There is a tale of a man in a men's room who saw a spider struggling to get out of a urinal, taking pity he got a paper towel for the spider to get on then laid it on the floor. The next day he came into the men's room to find the spider squashed and dead on the floor. The meaning of this tale...

The road to recovery from mental illness is never straight or easy. It twists and turns in unexpected ways and sometimes along the way we stumble and fall. A series of unforunate events have led to me having to go sick again with my anxiety overwhelming me. Trying to change things for the...

People might think they are being helpful but actually they can do more harm "Don't worry" is probably the worst thing to say to someone like me, if I could not worry I'd have done it by now. "Get a grip" "pull yourself together" "you'll get over it" "it's just a bad patch/phase/day you...

It's a year today that I was hospitalised but the memory is as fresh as if it happened yesterday. I eventually returned to work though I insisted on a new line manager which I got whom was much more supportive and though she admitted she knew nothing about mental health she at least listened...

....he was right of course....my brain had taken my fear and gone on a bad rollercoaster ride with it without a shred of evidence to support it. In my hyperthetical universe this had taken place in the space of a day. Why didn't I just wait and see what the boss said on Monday? ....and as it...

"Can you come and see me in my office on Monday morning" for someone who suffers anxiety, these words send a cold shiver down my spine. My first thought is "what have I done wrong?" I then start scanning my memory to try and pin point the error my boss is certain to be bringing up on Monday...

Whilst I was glad to be out of hospital the world felt like a scary place. It was good to be in familiar surroundings at home and feel a semblance of normality but in my head my future was still uncertain. Did I still have a career, what would people think when I went back? The hospital...

The staff looked after me and one male nurse would sit with me and explain that I was in the right place, I would get help and I would get out again and be happier. It took some time for me to accept this. For the first time I saw a psychiatrist and was eventually diagnosed with anxiety and...

I eventually I had a breakdown trying to deal with the ever increasing stress. I felt unsupported at work by a manager who didn't understand and just thought I was lazy, I felt if I lost my job (one that I enjoyed) my life would just come to and end, I'd be homeless and alone (none of which was...

My own journey of illness and recovery is a long one. I have suffered anxiety most of my adult life though I personally don't call it that. The dictionary definition describes anxiety as worry, it doesn't come close to what I have experienced, terror would be a better word. I used to have...

what is the first thing that pops into your head when you hear the words "Mental health"? The responses I have had when I asked this question ranged from mad people, schizophrenia, illness, psychos, asylums and dangerous people. The vast majority in my experience were negative but mental...

OCD is an anxiety disorder where the sufferer can have unwanted urges or thoughts and which are distressing and worrying and to relieve these thoughts and anxiety they carry out certain routines (known as rituals) repeatedly. Theses thoughts can be harming a loved one, acting violently or...

The way I see it, if I broke my leg, okay so I'm going to have some mobility issues until it heals but chances are it won't adversely affect me beyond this. If I have a mental health illness it's not just my mind that is affected, as a nurse once said, what affects your mind affects the rest of...

In the UK according to statistics from various surveys over the last few years it is estimated that 21 % of the UK population had suicidal thoughts at sometime in heir life. About 7% of the population have attempted suicide and nearly 8% of the population have self harmed. people contemplate...

Having a mental health illness is NOT a personality flaw nor is it a personal weakness in your character and anyone can develop mental health problems regardless of race, gender, social status, lifestyle, religious beliefs or wealth. Whilst sometimes in my worst periods I wish I did not have...

I can only talk about UK statistics but if you know them for your own part of the world please share. I will share my experience of mental ill health and what I have done to get help in hopes others will learn just as I did that you are not alone and you should not be ashamed of it and to help...