Trigger warning: This post has references to attempted suicide and overdoses. If you have personal experience of this subject then you may find it triggering. 17 years ago today I took my final overdose. It was one of a number of attempts to commit suicide. But it was the one that changed my life forever. And it is a night that I will never forget. The Night That I Will Never Forget After the overdose, I was taken to the…
Trigger warning: This post contains details of attempted suicide. You may find it triggering if you have personal experience of this subject. The memory is a funny old thing! There are times when I can’t remember what I did yesterday. Then there are days that stay with you forever. Sometimes these days are the best days of your life – the day you got married or gave birth to your children. But sometimes these days are the worst days of…
Trigger warning: This post contains references to depression and attempted suicide. You may find this triggering if you have personal experience of such subjects. Dear Lucy I know that this is the most traumatic year of your life. I know that you’re broken. And you’re looking for a way to mend yourself. But there doesn’t seem to be a solution. The pain and depression are too intense. The hole is too deep. Nothing can fill it. You feel like you’re…
Deciding to have children is a tough decision at the best of times. Deciding to start a family when you have chronic depression and anxiety, and take regular medication is another thing altogether. Years ago, I read an article in The Guardian that discusses the July 2014 guidelines that were issued to GPs by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE). These guidelines give doctors advice on how they should treat female patients who suffer from depression. In particular, it recommends that…
A few months ago, I decided that I needed to restart writing about the happy moments in my life and share the times that bring me joy and put a smile on my face. So Finding Happiness And Chasing Rainbows was born. Happiness isn’t always easy to come by. Sometimes you have to work hard at finding your happiness. You have to search for happiness, chase after it and once you’ve found it then hold onto it. That is why…
Today is Time To Talk Day 2019, an awareness day run by the campaign Time To Change. This year’s campaign is about bringing together the right ingredients to have a conversation about mental health. This has inspired me to write a post about why I talk about my depression. And why it is so important that we continue to talk about mental health. I was first diagnosed with depression in 1999, at the age of 20 years old. I was…
I’ve suffered from depression for 20 years now. During that time I have changed as a person. I am not the same girl that was diagnosed with depression in 1999. I have had to change to get better. To fight the devil that is depression. The stalker that is poor mental health. But I never expected that suffering from depression would teach me some valuable lessons about life. Lessons that I’m not always brilliant at following. Yet when I do…
I often believe that people who suffer with mental health problems get a raw deal. They are considered sad individuals who can barely crack a smile. That they aren’t able to feel happiness or joy. This is untrue. I can feel great happiness and joy. I can feel the excited happiness that comes when you dance around the room to your favourite song. The happiness that comes from chatting with your best friends. I know the contented happiness that comes…