Browsing Tag

mental health

Feeling The Love With Little Mister H And My First Emotions

Posted on November 7, 2018

A photograph of a little boy playing with his favourite toy and Robbie The Rabbit from the My First Emotions box - Feeling The Love With Little Mister H and My First Emotions - Mrs H's favourite things

Back in September, Mr H and I celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary. We were lucky enough to have a weekend away. Just the two of us. And Mr H’s parents very kindly agreed to stay at our house with the kids. As we left the house on the Friday, Mr H’s mum was holding Little Mister H up by our kitchen window so he could wave at us as we drove off. It was lovely to see him with a…

Mental Health

My First Emotions: The Parent’s Guide

Posted on August 5, 2018

A photograph of a mother and her toddler son enjoying the activities from Skylark Learning's My First Emotions Box - My First Emotions - The Parent's Guide - Mrs H's favourite things

Mr H, being a communicator by trade, is always reading books about human behaviour. He recently read out this sentence to me from a book by Jonathan Haidt called The Righteous Mind (the fun we have in our house!): “We are deeply intuitive creatures whose gut feelings drive our strategic reasoning.” It really connected with me because, as someone who has struggled with my mental health all my life, I know how true this is. On any day, my feelings…

Mental Health

Antidepressants And Me – My Story of Taking Antidepressants

Posted on February 24, 2018

Trigger warning: this post mentions depression, anxiety, taking antidepressants, self-harm and attempted suicide. If you have personal experience of any of these then you may find this post distressing. Next year will be the twentieth anniversary of my diagnosis of depression. It will also mark almost twenty years of taking antidepressants. That is huge! It means that I’ve suffered from depression for the majority of my adult life. If you’ve read this blog before then you’ll know that I’m very…

Health & Welfare Mental Health

5 ways I’m Trying To Look After My Health

Posted on January 26, 2018

A photograph of a woman - 5 Ways that I'm Trying to Look After My Health - Mrs H's favourite things

This post could also have been called 5 ways I’m trying to become happier in my own skin. Because I’m not happy in my own skin at the moment. And when I look in the mirror and I don’t like the person I see staring back at me. I’m reminded of a line from one of my favourite songs: “It’s just that we stayed, too long In the same old sickly skin.” …

Finding Happiness

50 more things that make me happy

Posted on January 7, 2018

A photograph of a mother who is walking in the woods and looks happy. She is smiling at the camera and her little boy is asleep in the Pao Papoose Baby Carrier - 50 More Things That Make Me Happy - Mrs H's favourite things

“The true secret of happiness lies in taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life.” William Morris The past few months have been tough. Yet I’ve entered 2018 with a new and positive outlook. I’ve set myself some goals and I’m looking forward to the year ahead. Like most people, I’m constantly in the pursuit of happiness. I want my life to be filled with experiences and moments that make me happy. But recently I’ve realised that happiness…

Mental Health Thoughts & Inspiration

When The Words Won’t Flow

Posted on January 5, 2018

A photograph of a woman with brown hair wearing a red plaid shirt and red lipstick - she is looking down and away from the camera - she looks pensive - When the words don't flow - talking to children about Depression and Anxiety - Mrs H's favourite things

Sometimes when I write about my depression the words just flow. It’s as if they were always there just waiting to be written down in black and white. On other occasions, I want to write but the words aren’t forthcoming. They won’t flow. Words are created and deleted. Sentences are written and rewritten. Paragraphs are formed and unformed. I can start a post about one thing and then it becomes about something completely different. For example, when I sat down to…

Thoughts & Inspiration

18 for 2018

Posted on December 29, 2017

Over the past few months, I’ve begun to listen to Podcasts. One of my favourite podcasts is Happier by Gretchen Rubin, the author of The Happiness Project. In one of her recent podcasts, she shared her list of 18 things she plans to do in 2018. As soon as I heard Gretchen and her sister discuss their 18 for 2018 lists, I knew that I had to write one for my blog. It’s part bucket list and part goal setting but…

Mental Health

An Open Letter To The Girl Who Just Attempted Suicide

Posted on November 24, 2017

A moody photograph of a woman with brown hair standing and looking mournfully down to the ground. With one hand she is twirling a necklace - An Open Letter to the Girl Who Just Attempted Suicide - Mrs H's favourite things

Trigger warning: If you have personal experience of suicide or suicidal depression then you may find this post upsetting. If you’re currently struggling with suicidal thoughts and you’re in danger then please call 999 and request an ambulance immediately. My dear girl As I write this letter to you, I have tears pricking the back of my eyes. My heart hurts thinking of you lying in that hospital bed. Because last night you took an overdose. It was your fourth.…