Gum on My Shoe

By Roiben I know a lot of people who struggle to see Mental Illness as a disability. Some of this is due to years of Stigma, perpetuated by a media and government which all too easily labels people as scroungers. We are accused of not trying hard enough, of just needing to pull our socks up and get on with it, and in doing so to, somehow, magically get better. In my opinion Mental Illness is more often than not a Chronic Condition and very much fits the criteria of a disability. By way of an example, I have Type 1 Diabetes, which I manage with medication and changes to, and monitoring of, my diet and wellbeing. I have times when it is well controlled and pretty much routine day-to-day. I have other times when it is less controlled and I need to seek the advice of medical professions and maybe even go into hospital. I have been diabetic since I was four years old and it isn’t going to go away anytime soon. I was first diagnosed with a Mental Illness when I was twelve years old. I ...

By Chris Good Originally posted on the author’s blog . I have a story to share. It is My Story. My goal is to provide comfort, hope and inspiration to others who may connect with what I have written. As I have a lot to share I have split My Story into three separate posts. Chapter One: Twenty-Plus Years of Misdiagnosis and Incorrect Treatment (this post) Chapter Two: A Life Changing Diagnosis at Age Forty Chapter Three: Hope and Inspiration The obvious place to start my new blog is to share my own experience of mental illness, the time span of which is my entire adult life (which at the current age of forty is in excess of twenty years), as well as all of my late teens. I also suspect that I would have suffered to some extent in my more formative years, undiagnosed. I have thought long and hard about the length of Chapter One. Whilst I know it’s long, I do believe everything written is important and relevant. If you connect or identify with even a single part of it, I’ll be de...

By Sarah Fader Everyone has their own darkness Mine is outside of my skin at times Creeping slowly around the confines of my mouth not allowing me to speak only telling me to feel what I don’t want to feel. You see my dark and also the light even when it’s hard to find even when it’s invisible to everyone around me. That is your power That is your gift You sit quietly Listening as she talks she cries she needs you and you’re not afraid in fact you embrace the raw feelings. I’m relieved to know that there are people like you in the world Thank you for loving without question and embracing us without fear. Don’t change who you are Ever And Keep listening It matters. &nbsp Sarah Fader is the CEO and Founder of Stigma Fighters , a non-profit organization that encourages individuals with mental illness to share their personal stories. Like six million other Americans, Sarah lives with panic disorder. Through Stigma Fighters, she hopes to change the ...

Sometimes it happens that you read or hear or experience something so sharp, so surprising, so out of left field, so TRUE that it stops you in your tracks. That’s what happened the other day when I came across this quote on social media. Imagine meeting someone who wanted to learn your past not to punish you, but to understand how you needed to be loved. (Author unknown) There is personal relevance in the words, for me and others in my life right now. But that’s not what I want to write about. What I want to explore — and I am writing as much for me as for you, dear reader — is why it would ever be otherwise. Why are those lines so shocking? Ought not every person we meet — certainly every person we allow in close — approach us in such a way? Perhaps. Well, yes, in fact. But for a whole heap of reasons silence and stigma and shame remain powerful forces in society at large and in the smaller, more immediate communities in which we live out our lives. Wherever we meet — in our famil...

There are moments when everything stops. I felt it yesterday after a week or more filled with activity and people and work and possibilities and doubts and anxieties and joys and new friends and old friends and smiles and conversations and sharing and a movie that touched me deeply. After all of that there came a pause. Not an ending but a natural hiatus, like the moment between breathing in and breathing out that we fail to notice most of the time because we are too busy doing or saying or thinking about other things. And I didn’t know what to do with it. The gap. The space. I told Fran I felt flat. And she said: Embrace the flatness That was it. Three words. She knew I didn’t need a lecture or a diagram or a two hour conversation. And she was right. And what came to me in that moment of being reminded (re-mind-ed) was something we have been working with over the years we have been friends. FEEL IT. CLAIM IT. LOVE IT. LET IT GO. It can be challenging to handle powerful emotio...

Check out our top posts for the past month. Posts are listed by number of page views, most popular first. Bipolar and Saying No: Why I Can’t Always Do Fun Things with You How I Identify with Brain on Fire What a Week That Was! How Writing a Memoir Has Helped Me Talk More about My Mental Illness No Promises Asked For, Offered, or Needed. A Vacation Postcard to My Best Friend. Our Top Posts of the Month (June 2018) What Is It Like to Volunteer with Time to Change? My Interview in a Cupboard for BBC Radio 5 Live How to Write the Best Acknowledgement Page for Your Book Get It Right When Asking for Help with Bipolar Disorder Our most visited pages were: Resources Contact Us About Us Our book: High Tide Low Tide News and Appearances Testimonials  

I’m writing this at AMT Coffee in Newcastle’s Central Station. I am meeting a friend in an hour or so but right now it’s Marty time. Just over a week ago I attended Newcastle Recovery College Collective’s leaving party at Broadacre House. The college is moving to new accommodation in the autumn and there was a distinct “end of an era” feel about the event which amply demonstrated how important ReCoCo is to those who use it. I had a fabulous time listening to the karaoke (Vikki you were awesome!) and even got up to dance at one point. Thanks to everyone for making me feel so welcome. The following day I volunteered for Time to Change at Newcastle Pride. This was the third time I’d done so and as usual I had a great time catching up with old friends (hi Carol, Angela, Aimee, and Amanda) and making new ones (hi Nicki!) We were there to engage with folk visiting the event, to share information and answer questions about Time to Change, and to help encourage a more open approach t...