Hi.

I’m not 100% what shape this blog is going to take right now but I’ve been wanting to start it for a long time and if I wait until I know exactly what I’m doing and it’s perfect it’s never going to happen so here we go!

Essentially I want to focus on discussing and sharing all aspects of mental health. I strongly believe that simply talking and sharing and learning about mental health is incredibly important. I’m guessing you somehow found your way to this tiny corner of the internet because either you or someone close to you is going through a tough time mentally and guess what!? That’s really normal!  Mental illness is always going to be shitty and confusing and not always make any sense but if one day everyone felt comfortable enough to openly talk about it it would be a hell of a lot easier to deal with.  And the best way to reduce stigma around something is to just start talking about.

I’m not going to pretend I’m a qualified psychologist/counsellor/psychiatrist, and the bachelor of science side of me is really wary of publicly putting out any information/opinions about such a serious health issue without citing every second sentence with a peer-reviewed scientific article.  From my own personal experience however, I found that researching and knowing all the facts about something very helpful, but it’s not the same as hearing personal stories and encouragement from real “normal” people.  In the last few years, a combination of understanding the science behind what’s going on inside my head and hearing what other people have been through and how they’ve dealt and still deal with it has really helped me.  What has really made me feel more confident and strong though is knowing that a lot of the time, people simply don’t deal with it. Normal, strong, successful people can and do have breakdowns and severely depressed episodes and panic attacks and scarily low points and it’s okay! It’s horrible, yes (the last thing I want to do is romanticise mental illness), but it’s perfectly normal.  Sometimes shit happens but it doesn’t last forever and I promise you will be okay 🙂

It’s true for any big issue, but I believe particularly for mental health, that the more accessible information that’s out there about it the better. I’ve definitely been through some pretty low, confusing times and I want this to be a happy, honest place where I can share my own experiences in the hope of making someone else’s life a little bit happier and less confusing.

If this blog helps just one person to momentarily feel a little bit less alone, scared, or hopeless then that’s all I want 🙂

Annabelle.