Happy Girl Winter: How to Overcome Seasonal Depressive Disorder
‘You Are Not Alone in What You Are Feeling’: The Trouble with Toxic Positivity
Toxic positivity stems from the idea that if we are going through something negative, we should “focus on the positive” and “look on the bright side”. These phrases, which so many of us internalise, negate the importance of allowing ourselves to feel the negative emotion in order to work through our pain and heal in our own time…
Black Girl Bipolar: Mania and Other Magic Tricks
Depression was the first magic trick I ever learned. I knew how to be around my favourite people, all while trying to maintain the expectations of being a woman with a good head on her shoulders, all while feeling empty inside. Nothing seemed worthy of celebrating, and I didn’t like myself enough to care about anything…
‘Growing into a Healthier and Happier Human Being’: My Experience of In-Person and Virtual Therapy
During my sister’s first visit home, she was full of stories about the amazing experiences that she had been having. I sat and listened silently, anger bubbling inside. Then, one night, the anger burst in the form of a screaming rage. When a gap emerged between the screams and tears, my mum calmly stated that I should consider seeing a doctor. I accepted…
Schizophrenia, The Pandemic, and Me: My Experience in a Psych Ward During Covid
I had my third psychotic episode after stopping the medication that I had been on for ten years. This time it was around April 2020, just after covid was announced and lockdowns took effect. I was admitted to the hospital involuntarily. I was also diagnosed with schizophrenia. I was hospitalised for only a month. However, because of covid, my experience was profoundly different to those in my past…
All Screwed Up: Recovering from My Fitness Obsession After Hip Surgery
Supporting this feeling of success was the attention that I was getting from those around me, who endorsed my slimmer and fitter self. I rationalised controlling my food with the fact that I was liked more like this. I was achieving greater things and fitting into society's image of a woman. The dangerous underlying negative impact of my obsession with sport and nutrition was ignored. It went on for years.
An Unrecognisable Reflection: Struggling with Identity Amid Depression
Navigating depression is hard when so many people tell you their own opinions. “You should have a better diet,” they say, “Just get over it,” or “It’s all in your head.” These thoughts run around in your mind like a rollercoaster at full speed. The twists and turns of what depression tries to make you believe leave you nauseated. That’s how it was for me.
Mental Health is Not a ‘White People Disease’: My Diagnosis and Addressing the Stigma Around Black Mental Health
Lockdown & Me. Mental Health During COVID-19
Every person in the UK has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, some more than others. For most people with mental health disorders, the uncertainty and confusion has been overwhelming. I did not believe I was one of those people until I was diagnosed with two life changing mental health conditions during lockdown.
Enough is enough
Why I’m taking enough out of my vocabulary.