I found out this afternoon that my ex-partner of three years, Ian, died unexpectedly in his home 2 days ago. I lived with Ian for three years in my early twenties and our dating caused a bit of a scandal as he was 23 years older than me – 45 when we got together….
Category: Life
The latest…
Things have been a bit quiet on my blog for the last six months. A lot has happened, mainly positive, and with some challenges. The main change has been a house move. We still live in Derby but the house we were in had to be sold because of being owned by my partner and…
My mental wellbeing: a visual reminder
Tomorrow I facilitate a workshop in which women with perinatal mental distress will be asked to explore their health journeys visually. This caused me to remember a similar collage that I created at the request of a wonderfully supportive nurse to represent my own health and well-being needs and challenges. it is an honour…
March’s photos
A range of my happenings in March as recorded by me and Mylo:
January in photos
I got a new phone and have photos to share.
I hear voices, I just didn’t ever realise the significance of it.
Today was the section of my research module that detailed the experiences of voice hearers, via a person-centred construct that applied meaning to their experiences, moving it away from a pathologised symptom of illness. Instead, voices are expressed as a natural response to traumatic events, often appearing at times of high stress and when reframed…
Retreating… towards life
My retreat was a deeply moving and intense experience. Mindfulness and meditation have taken a special place in my life in the last three years. I first encountered them via Compassion Focussed Therapy, a therapeutic practice that was originally developed in Derby by Dr Paul Gilbert. I have meditated pretty regularly for the last two…
Living life through the cracks
Cracks are funny things to talk about when you are autistic and have mental health problems. People who are mentally ill are referred to as crackpots, or just cracked. As individuals and increasingly as a society we talk about the cracks that people fall into as we become more complex individuals and block contracts become less…
To my amazing friend
One of my friends is a very special person, who is beautiful, kind and hides her ability, talent and light away at times. I read something when I went on retreat that made me think of her, straight away and although these aren’t my words, they say exactly what I want to better than I…
Guy Evans Artist
A great friend of mine (and amazing artist to boot) is a chap called Guy Evans. We met through life classes he ran in Derby several years ago, which I attended first as a pupil and then as a life model. I built Guy’s website for him whilst on a stay in the Crisis House…