Gum on My Shoe

Check out our top posts for the past month. Posts are listed by number of page views, most popular first. Your Thoughts Create Your Future, by Soph Hopkins I Once Knew a Genius Who Ended up a Simpleton: My Brother Gabriel Had Epilepsy and Bipolar Disorder, by Marie Abanga Our Top Posts of the Month (August 2017) When Readers Write: How to Love Feedback from Your Readers Our Top 10 Blog Posts of All Time Talking Freely in Ely: An Invitation to Cake Our three most visited pages were: Resources Contact Us News and Appearances  

My name is Marie Abanga and I am from Cameroon in Africa. Before my brother Gabriel was diagnosed with epilepsy at the age of eleven, all I knew about the condition was the appellation “fainting fits”. In my country and probably in a large chunk of Africa, such fits are still attributed either to evil attacks or ill luck. There is so much taboo and stigma surrounding such cases, to the extent that some families would rather hide their children suffering from seizures than risk public shame. They simply are never sent to school, or withdrawn once seizures set in. As if the epilepsy was not enough, I learned barely two months before my brother’s death that he had also been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. This made sense to me because I had witnessed firsthand several highs and lows of his behaviour, but I was left speechless. I remember a blog post I did on my blog in June 2014 on the occasion of his 33rd birthday, crying out loud: “ Somebody tell me what is wrong with my brother ”. ...

In honour of our readers and all the fabulous writers who have guested for us, we felt it would be great to showcase the ten most viewed posts of all time here at GumOnMyShoe.com . Interestingly, there is a 50:50 mix of our posts and guest contributions. Whether you are discovering them for the first time or revisiting a favourite, our top ten offers some brilliant and challenging reading. Which is your favourite? Fancy writing for us yourself? Check our Guest Post Guidelines and get in touch. We’d love to hear from you! Our Top 10 Blog Posts of All Time 1. Get It Right When Asking for Help with Bipolar Disorder, by Julie A. Fast In our most popular post ever Julie A. Fast, author of Loving Someone with Bipolar Disorder: Understanding and Helping Your Partner , Take Charge of Bipolar Disorder and Get it Done When You’re Depressed , discusses how to ask for help, a topic close to our hearts. ( More ) 2. michigan , by Mickey Solis Actor and screenwriter Mickey Solis discu...

I am delighted to announce I will be a guest speaker at the Talking FreELY Pop Up Cafe event, to be held at Ely Cathedral Conference Centre, Ely, Cambridgeshire, on Saturday November 4, 2017. Talking FreELY is a community in Ely which promotes mental wellness, and empowers those suffering the effects of mental illness to seek the help they need. For full details of the event check the Talking FreELY website or Facebook event page . Although it’s still almost two months away, I’m already excited! I’ve spent much of the past week planning my trip, including booking a room at the four star Nyton Guesthouse which is only a short walk from the Cathedral. My invitation came through one of those delicious social media happenstances that keep me coming back for more! The first connection came earlier this year on Twitter when I saw something retweeted by a friend of ours, mental health author and speaker Rachel Kelly, about the Happy Café Ely. I’m a fairly happy chap myself (I have ...

“Key to my future”—the quote that lead me to take control of my life, accept the help I need, and move on. I have been battling severe depression, anxiety and BPD since I was fourteen years old. In that time I have been in and out of hospital due to overdosing and cutting. No one would help me. I was labelled an attention seeker. I suffered seven and a half years with sporadic help and only crisis intervention. A recent move to Wales changed all this. Soon after the move my GP was concerned at my many attempts at taking my own life. Unfortunately, this continued. Two months ago I was assessed and put under continual assessment until I took an overdose that could have killed me. I remember crying for help in A&E and was then taken to a hospital for assessment. I didn’t know what to think but I knew deep down I needed the help. I was kept in overnight and transferred to an acute ward the following day. Talking to the nurses upon arrival I was shocked that it took a move to ...

Check out our top posts for the past month. Posts are listed by number of page views, most popular first. Bipolar Disorder and Psychosis: There Is Help and There Is Hope, by Amy Gamble What Is It Like to Volunteer with Time to Change? My Journey Through Anxiety, Depression, and the People That Changed My Life, by Jay Chirino She Is So Not OK: Being There When Your Friend Is Suicidal It’s Not Just for Kids: Reading Together for Fun and Friendship When Readers Write: How to Love Feedback from Your Readers Our three most visited pages were: Our Book Resources Contact Us