Gum on My Shoe

By Aimee Wilson When the virus was first being talked about on social media, I honestly thought it was a joke because Corona is a popular drink among many of my friends and family! And now look at the world! I’m ashamed to say that I don’t think I started taking it seriously until things began closing and the supermarket shelves started to empty! In all honesty, I thought that people were just panicking for no reason and causing unnecessary drama. Firstly, I don’t really pay much attention to current affairs; not because I’m ignorant. It’s just that I don’t see how worrying about something that either doesn’t concern me or that I can’t do anything about, is helpful to my mental health. Some people might think that makes me self-involved but feeling powerless is one of my triggering emotions and to hear of people starving and dying or their country being on fire, doesn’t help my safety and is there a whole lot of point in risking my safety for something I can’t change? 1. Your foo...

At the start of the year I posted a list of Six Things I'd Quite Like to Do in 2019 . I shared an update in August, but how did I get on overall? Let’s take a look! 1. Take Three Well-being Courses ACHIEVED I feel I've done pretty well with this one. I began two courses which I've yet to complete: Overcoming Self-Sabotage at DailyOM and OpenLearn's Understanding Autism . I updated my Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training and took Pluralsight's excellent Introduction to Emotional Intelligence , also Future Learn's Understanding Suicide and Suicide Prevention Strategies in a Global Context . Best of all I completed the three day Personal Leadership Programme offered by The Living Leader . This was excellent and gave me plenty to think about. The single best aspect of the course was the Vision Statement we were each invited to write: a snapshot of the ideal life we might have if we believed anything were possible. That is something I will be keeping v...

This is a midyear update on a post I wrote back in January: Six Things I'd Quite Like to Do in 2019 . Let’s see how I’ve been getting on! 1. Take Three Well-being Courses ONGOING At the start of the year I enrolled on the Overcoming Self-Sabotage course at DailyOM. I completed the first three lessons (of fourteen) but ground to a halt and haven't managed to get moving again. I have updated my Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training, though, and am currently taking OpenLearn's Understanding autism course. I've also completed Pluralsight's excellent Introduction to Emotional Intelligence . The course recommended the book Boundaries by Henry Cloud and John Townsend, which I bought and am working my way through. I'm finding it exciting and challenging — always a great combination! Speaking of exciting and challenging, I've been offered the opportunity to undertake the three day Personal Leadership Programme by Living Leader later in the year. It w...

This article was originally published as a guest post on Peter McDonnell’s blog. I am grateful to Peter for inviting me to guest on his blog. He didn’t set a specific topic so as I sit here in one of my favourite coffee shops on a Saturday morning I’m wondering what to write about. What to share. On the table beside me is the book I have been re-reading for the first time in decades: John Powell’s Why Am I Afraid to Tell You Who I Am? It’s not a book about mental health as such. It is a book about communication; about sharing our truths, doubts, fears, delights, and hang-ups with one another; and in so doing, allowing understanding and compassion to grow. (It is Powell’s contention that only by being honest and open with others can we come to know ourselves.) And that is of relevance to all of us, whether we live with a mental health diagnosis or not. This kind of honest communication is fundamental to the close, caring, mutually supportive relationship I have with my best ...

At the start of 2017 and the start of 2018 I listed a number of things I would “quite like to do” during the respective years. I’ve had a lot of fun - and some challenges - with this and I want to continue in the same vein. Here then is my list for 2019. I’ll let you know how I get on! You can see how I did in previous years here: 2017 | 2018 . 1. Take Three Well-being Courses I took two excellent courses at Newcastle Recovery College Collective (ReCoCo) towards the end of 2018. The first was on self-harm awareness . The second was a Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) Awareness workshop . I have worked on – and used – my WRAP plan since taking the workshop, which is a testament to how useful the classes were. In the coming year I’d like to take three additional well-being / personal development courses, not necessarily at ReCoCo. The health of any friendship is the responsibility of both parties but I have a history of being either “way too much” or “not enough” in my r...

Back in January I posted a list of seven things I’d quite like to do in 2018 . I shared a mid-year update , but how did I get on overall? 1. Read Two Books ACHIEVED The two books I originally selected to read (actually to reread) were Talk Like TED , by Carmine Gallo, and Peter Matthiessen’s The Snow Leopard . I didn’t finish the first and haven’t started the second but I did reread Alan Garner’s The Owl Service , and Fran and I recently finished A Fatal Obsession , the latest thriller by Maine author James Hayman. 2. Bring My Weight Back under 180 Pounds ACHIEVED As I reported back in June , I’d had very little success through the first half of the year, but I finally found the motivation to do something about it. I brought my weight down from 192 lbs to around 178 – 180 lbs, where it has remained for a month or so. My intention is to press on again to reattain the weight I was at a few years ago when I first brought myself down from 200 lbs. Watch this spa...

This is a midyear update on a post I wrote back in January: Seven Things I'd Quite Like to Do in 2018 . Let’s see how I’ve been getting on! 1. Read Two Books Back in January I selected two books to read (actually, to reread): Talk Like TED , by Carmine Gallo, and Peter Matthiessen’s The Snow Leopard . I have read maybe half of Talk Like TED , so I’m going to declare this one as “ongoing.” Fran and I are reading the first Outlander novel by Diana Gabaldon which counts too! I have recently thought to reread The Owl Service , by Alan Garner, not least because of its relevance to an article I am researching on the glamour (“magic or enchantment”) of mania. This was inspired by a quote from Tennyson’s Idylls of the King . And called her like that maiden in the tale Whom Gwydion made by glamour out of flowers The ancient tale of Gwydion and Blodeuwedd is central to Garner’s story, which I have known and loved for years. 2. Bring My Weight Back Under 180 Pounds I cannot t...

Today — Saturday, May 19, 2018 — is the day of the Royal Wedding. I wish Harry and Meghan well in their life together but I brought myself out to the coast to avoid the media, and social media, onslaught. It’s just not something I feel a part of. Here at Tynemouth there is calm and space and air and sky and sea. And a bench where I can sit and write. A week ago I was also writing. Not here but in the café at the city library. At the suggestion of my boss Judith I was drafting a piece about Mental Health Awareness Week for the corporate blog at the company I work for. I submitted the article on Monday morning. It was published Tuesday lunchtime and to be honest I’ve been blown away by the response. It’s been picked up by management up to and including our CEO. I have a meeting next week with one of the senior managers to explore how I can get involved with the company’s mental health initiatives. This week has also seen me out twice socially. That’s not a typo — TWICE! Both eve...

Rather than setting myself new year resolutions, I’m choosing six things I’d quite like to do during 2018, plus one carried forward from last year. It’s something I tried last year , and it worked out nicely for me . 1. Read Two Books As I’ve described previously ( It’s Not Just for Kids: Reading Together for Fun and Friendship ) Fran and I regularly read together on Skype. We’re currently reading Outlander , by Diana Gabaldon. It’s been a while since I read anything on my own, though. I’ve chosen two books to (re)read: Talk Like TED , by Carmine Gallo, and Peter Matthiessen’s The Snow Leopard . 2. Bring My Weight Back under 180 Pounds This is the carried forward one! A year ago my weight was hovering around 190 pounds. I brought it down to 182 but it climbed again at Christmas and New Year. My long term aim is to maintain between 174 and 176 as I managed a few years back, but 180 will be a nice step on the way. 3. Have One Weekend Away From Home A potential trip to London l...

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 ...

As authors, Fran and I hope our words will touch those who encounter them. This week we have been blessed to have three readers share with us how they have been affected by our book. Excerpts are quoted here with permission. Judy Fryer sent me a photo as she was settling down to continue reading. Judy: My afternoon reading! Really enjoying the book and finding it helpful, interestingly written and touching. Martin: Thank you so much! It’s beyond amazing when someone shares how they are finding the book. What works for them. What resonates. It’s a cliché to say it makes it all worth it, but it’s true! Judy: Indeed it is so worth all the blood sweat and tears. Having ‘cared’ for my son the best I knew how 20 odd years ago, when I knew nothing about depression let alone Bipolar, I find myself thinking back and wishing I had had a resource like HTLT to support me and give me hope. It is written with such care, understanding, compassion and honestly, one cannot help but connect and ...

I recently updated our YouTube channel with four short videos of me reading excerpts from our book. I recorded them whilst on holiday at Bowness on Windermere in the English Lake District. I think the videos came out pretty well. I am standing outside. There are trees behind me. There’s a breeze blowing and I have to keep catching my hair back from my face. In a couple of places, I think you can hear sheep. I appear calm and composed, as though this was exactly how I had intended the recordings to go. I thought you might be interested in the real story! I’d taken my copy of High Tide, Low Tide on holiday, intending to record myself reading a selection of passages to share on our social media. On the Wednesday evening I set out on a short walk, looking for a suitable recording location. I wanted somewhere private enough that I’d not be interrupted or observed, away from traffic and other background noises, with suitable support for my smartphone on its mini tripod. I heade...