Trigger warning – this post talks in detail about psychosis and mental health. It may be upsetting for people who have experienced psychosis or seen others suffer. The blogs I have read on mental illness tend to be clean and tidy. The moral is clear – goodness wins out in the end. I can only assume that an unspoken,…
Mental health
A Letter To My Rainbow Baby
To my rainbow baby, Rainbow baby – I only learnt the term after your birth and it felt so apt. I smiled to picture you as a rainbow. That is exactly what you are – a colourful beam of joy, appearing at the end of a dark and dismal time. I’ve talked about my miscarriage before. Finding…
The Good Times
I have written a lot about the challenges of motherhood – single motherhood especially. As I put up posts like missing in action and this shit just got real, I worry that should I, or my son, (or really anyone) look back on this blog in years to come and think that this is the whole…
My Depression Diagnosis: Getting Help In Real Time
Six weeks ago I received a depression diagnosis, signed off work and given a prescription for prozac. This is my story so far. The first few days Last night I took the pill. Washed it back with a glass of water. Three seconds later I was panicking. Freaking out. Losing it. I texted a friend, confirmed I was just…
Some Non-Expert Tips For Suicide Prevention
On Thursday night I learned that we are coming to the end of suicide prevention, as well as pre- and post-natal depression awareness, week. I wanted – no needed – to write something. I had to share my thoughts on this topic. A topic which I never imagined I would have any insight into, but have somehow…
Keeping Mum: Why Do We Shush Mums?
It’s a strange thing isn’t it? That mum means, well, to be a mum, but to keep mum means being silent. How does that work? Mums are supposed to be silent? Granted, the origins of the two ‘mums’ are different, but it seems like a pretty neat coincident considering mums are being shushed wherever we go.…
My Response To Mayim Bialik on Divorce
As a divorced single mum, I make a bee-line for any blogs or vlogs out there that talk about single parenting and divorce from a mums perspective. Recently one of Mayim Bialik’s vlogs has been doing the rounds. It’s a piece about divorce, and how she co-parents with her ex. Now, I think it’s great…
My Divorce Is a Sign of Strength
If we don’t know personally, then we’ve surely all heard how marriage is hard work, especially once children enter the mix. There are so many posts about it; beautiful ones about the struggles and joys of married life,* and others which, quite frankly, border on the offensive – emphasising how nowadays people aren’t cut out for the hard work…
Depression: This Shit Just Got Real
I went to the doctor’s today. Told them I wasn’t coping. Suddenly everything feels very real. “Depression” was bandied around. I haven’t been coping for the last three years, so it’s not like it’s a new thing. But I’ve had to cope, had to carry on regardless. I haven’t been allowed to stop and breath…
Mental Health Campaigns are Missing the Point
Mental health campaigns are all around us. In principle it seems like a great idea – raise awareness, lessen discrimination and increase support for those with mental health issues, right? But is that what’s happening? It might be controversial, but I don’t think so. There isn’t the equivalent campaign for ‘physical health’. Instead there are specific…