We are in the midst of a mental health crisis and no matter how many millions of pounds are ploughed into glossy awareness campaigns, no matter how many Royals and celebrities look down a lens and tell us that things can change, no matter what colours we wear or filters we add to our social media accounts, without huge amounts of actual ring-fenced funding to support mental health services, this downward spiral will continue. Continue reading
This isn’t about grand gestures, life-saving surgeries or miracle treatments – it’s about the little things that happen every day in GP surgeries, A&E departments and wards all over the UK, every day. Continue reading
There are 84 sculptures standing precariously on the edges of tall buildings in London. Each one represents one of the 84 men a week who die by suicide every week. You might have seen them overhead, on TV or in … Continue reading
People are tired of the monotony of living with mental health issues, when no amount of talking feels like it ever gets them anywhere.
People are frustrated with waiting lists, cuts to services, and postcode lotteries, when we are told that early intervention is key but also non-existent.
People are angry at constantly broken promises, extra funds being dangled like carrots that disappear in front of our eyes because they are never ring-fenced.
People are scared that at a time when more mental health treatment is needed, the NHS is on its knees and it is the overworked, underpaid nurses that need anti-depressants. Continue reading
With awareness and rising numbers of people asking for help with their mental health comes the need for services and treatment that is available and affordable – and that is desperately lacking and showing no signs of improving. Continue reading
Imagine you’re a freelance journalist who’s been asked to write up a report on a disease you have no experience of, or know only a limited amount about. Whether it’s a rare form of cancer or type 1 diabetes, what … Continue reading
I, and many people I have communicated with through social media, have very mixed feelings towards this day and other similar ‘Awareness Days’. So I thought I’d list a few things, because… well, balance. Continue reading
Most people with eating disorders sit between the extremes and have to live and survive in a society which itself has an unhealthy obsession with weight and image… Continue reading
Anorexia has the highest mortality rate amongst mental illnesses. It is a slow suicide, and ending up in a coffin really isn’t a good look. Continue reading
I don’t think we need a food revolution and I don’t think that the definition of bravery is for the Tories to ask for more money from a country that already uses foodbanks. Continue reading
A little project I helped on a while back Out 02 July 2015 ‘Dear Stranger is an inspiration’ Stylist Dear Stranger is a collection of inspirational, honest and heartfelt letters from authors, bloggers and Mind ambassadors to an imagined stranger. … Continue reading
It’s May! That means it’s my birthday, but I’m not that bothered about that this year because I really hate odd numbers (a completely irrational hatred, NOT “a bit OCD”, because y’know, that’s not how it works, at all). What’s … Continue reading
The truth is that in some, if not many cases, there is a calculated risk involved when it comes to taking diet pills or supplements purchased over the internet. We shouldn’t be worrying so much about the name of the chemical, but addressing what it is that drives people to become desperate enough to take pills without even knowing what’s in them. Continue reading
Everybody deserves to have a voice and everybody deserves to be listened to. Continue reading
Maybe she’s born with it... Maybe it’s Fluoxetine. 