Each week we publish blog posts on a whole range of topics, relating in some way to mental health — written by Mind staff, service users and health and policy professionals. Some blog posts may not reflect official Mind policy.
We welcome comments and questions on our posts, but have a few ground rules to keep the site welcoming and interesting to every body. The first rule is the most important: be respectful of other commenters and bloggers.
Amy is a 21 year old student in the final months of an English and Drama degree at the University of Sussex.
5 CommentsHelen blogs about the "heaving ocean" of depression and asks why whether we should be more concerned about the mental health of society.
How did I get here? After dipping my toes in the ocean of depression in my early twenties, 20 years later I plunged head first, deep into the middle of the ocean. I was lost, trapped and struggling to stay afloat.
5 CommentsSarah opens up about her postnatal mental health problems and the distressing and confusing feelings she had for her infant daughter. She wants to tackle the taboo around such difficult feelings.
Whenever I read in the news about a mum who has killed her child, I can’t help but think “that could have been me.” When I think about my daughter and the last time we saw each other; smiling, laughing, playing, singing, hugging, I find myself asking if our secret past ever actually happened? Did I really try to smother her when she was a baby?
Viewers of the BBC’s School drama Waterloo Road will this week see one of the characters diagnosed with schizophrenia – a storyline that we helped to develop.
8 CommentsThere’s a question I’ve been thinking about a lot lately and it’s this:
If you could do just one thing to change the world, what would it be?
I’m a mother of two, a musician, a writer. I’m good at making chocolate brownies and hugging my friends, bad at getting accounts done and remembering to water houseplants. Oh and I have a diagnosis of bipolar disorder. Throughout my life I have experienced huge, recurring mood swings.
5 CommentsThis is a guest blog from Sara, who reviews Beyond the Reach of Ladders and discusses the difficulty of talking about mental health. This is part of a series this week to highlight our campaign to end mental health stigma, Time to Change.
What makes some people turn towards danger, rather than away from it? How do you help the helper, or enable a hero figure to acknowledge vulnerability? And how does an outsider gain the acceptance and confidences of an established community unaccustomed to sharing their feelings?
6 CommentsAs part of the its plans to abolish red tape, the Government is looking at the Equality Act and have asked people to comment on whether the Equality Act 2010 should be entirely scrapped. Apart from the question itself being misleading, critical comments posted on the site show that we are still a long way from creating a level playing field for people with disabilities.
Catherine Zeta-Jones today added her name to the increasing number of people who have felt able to speak out about their experience of mental distress. It creates quite a furore to do this when you are as famous as Zeta-Jones — the news became top twitter trend almost as soon as it was announced.
15 CommentsThis is a guest post from the Mental Health Action Group (MHAG) in Derbyshire.
Back in 2008 the Government introduced national concessionary bus passes. People with physical disabilities, learning disabilities and sensory disabilities were eligible but as you may well be aware, and to our cost, they did not include a category for people with mental health problems — our difficulties are sometimes less obvious!
4 CommentsYesterday cricketer Michael Yardy hit the headlines after his decision to return home from the England squad because he was experiencing depression. Like many sportsmen before him, including fellow cricketer Marcus Trescothick, footballers Tony Adams and Neil Lennon, rugby player John Kirwan and boxer Frank Bruno, he is experiencing a mental health problem in his sporting prime.
Our campaign Time to Change, is trying to break down the stigma attached to mental health problems, quite simply by getting people talking.
5 CommentsOn a visit to a local Mind a couple of weeks ago, I met Helen (not her real name) who told me about some of her mental health experiences. She started having problems when she was at school, but nobody thought about mental health, so she was put down as the “class oddball”.
13 CommentsI wanted to thank our supporters for making such a vital contribution to our submission to Professor Harrington’s Independent Review of the Work Capability Assessment (WCA). Many of you got in touch either by sending us your experience of welfare and benefits or by responding to our survey on the review. This evidence provided the basis for our response to the review and we are hopeful that it will lead to real changes to the WCA.
21 CommentsMy mum battled with depression for many years and in 2009 sadly took her own life. She committed suicide by walking out of the house one morning in the dark and freezing cold, walking a mile from home in a flimsy nightie, with no shoes on and plunging herself into the deepest darkest lock of a local canal. Anyone who knew the strong and wonderful person my mum was would realize how ill she would have to be to do such a thing – how irretrievable she must have felt her life had become.
3 CommentsAs the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) continues its inquiry into disability-related harrassment this summer, David Stocks from RADAR shares his personal experience of the devastating consequences hate crime can have on mental health.
Find out what you can do.
31 Comments