Gum on My Shoe

Fran and I find analogies helpful when discussing mental and physical health. This is especially true when one person has little or no experience of what the other is attempting to convey. In this post I want to share a few models and analogies we find useful, and introduce a new one we’ve only recently taken up. I’ve described a few of these previously in The Stress Bucket and Other Models That Help Me Talk about Mental Health . Spoon Theory Perhaps the most well-known analogy for chronic illness is the spoon theory created by Christine Miserandino. The idea is that people living with energy-limiting conditions such as MS (multiple sclerosis) and fibromyalgia begin each day with a limited number of energy units, represented by spoons. If you’ve ever come across the terms spoons or spoonies online in a health context, that’s what they’re talking about. Waves Although Fran and I reference spoon theory on occasion, we’re more likely to employ our home-grown models. I’ve al...

This year’s Time to Talk Day is Thursday February 6, 2020. I wrote recently about feeling flat which is something that happens from time to time. Many of my friends live with significant mental health issues and it would be easy for them to dismiss my accounts of when I am feeling low. It is a testament to them and the nature of our friendships that I feel safe sharing how I feel no matter how mild that might be compared to what are often dealing with. My friend Aimee Wilson blogs at I’m NOT Disordered about her lived experience with serious mental health issues including borderline personality disorder, self-harm, and suicidality. My moods, issues, and problems are mostly trivial in comparison to hers but Aimee has always treated me with respect and empathy. The following exchange is a great example of this. It meant a lot that she did not assume I was okay but checked to be sure. Martin: Hiya. I’m making some notes towards answering the questions at the end of your tra...

This article began as a fourteen minute audio clip recorded on my way into work. The recording is a bit rambling in places but I’m starting there because that’s how I was feeling that day. Flat. I’ve edited for clarity and added some other relevant material. You can listen to the recording here on our YouTube channel . Good morning. I wanted to see if I could capture a little of how I’ve been feeling since some time yesterday. It’s what I tend to call “flat.” That’s verbal shorthand for a sense of feeling fairly low. Not actively low or depressed; it’s more like the absence of any specific emotion than the presence of a negative one, if that makes sense. Over the past year or so I’ve noticed it occurring every now and again. It doesn’t usually last more than a day or so and it doesn’t impact me severely if I don’t engage with it too much. If I do engage with it, or if something happens to exacerbate things, it has the potential to take me bit lower but when it first occurs it’s ...