When I was 18 all I needed to be a superhero was a cape. I think I wore my pants over my trousers a few times. Everything around me was easy. I had what I thought was a magic chair. I threw my clothes on when I got home late at night and they magically appeared, washed and ironed, in my drawer
Mindful West Run: The Book Worm
When I was 18 my life revolved around study. First, the Leaving Cert and then onto college for a degree, post-grad, scholarships etc. I was living what I thought was the dream, studying exactly what I wanted, where I wanted. I lived in a bubble where that was all that mattered. Some would say, I never left!
Mindful West Run: Dear 18-year-old Karen
Dear 18 year old Karen, BREATHE! It will all be ok, you don’t need to have all the answers, the master plan, it is normal to be unsure and confused. The Leaving Cert year has arrived, CAO forms are to be filled and it seems everyone knows “what they want to be”….
Mindful West Run: A letter to my 11-year-old self
Dear 11-year-old self, When you get to my age, you will realise “it was not the end of the world”. At 11 years old I found myself in a world where my parents had separated. It was 1983 in Ireland when people stayed together, no marriages fell apart, or so I thought
Mindfulwest Run: On the road you find your soul
It’s said that when you find people who not only tolerate your quirks but celebrate them with an agreement of “me too”, to hold on to them
I still remember the day that we first started our journey. It was a winter’s evening in early January. I had to escape the toxicity of city life’. I needed a moment away from the fake smiling, laughing and the facade of happiness
My journey from grief to finding myself
22 years ago my journey with poor mental health and weight issues began, I had always been little I was born to a family of what my dad endearingly terms hobbits or little people, I was an average weight like most kids I had some puppy fat etc
At the ripe old age of 41, let me tell you a story. Some parts are good, some sad, some hilarious and some tragic. However, I tell you in the hope that you hear, truly hear, the message. If you are struggling, REACH OUT – the sooner the better
Diane’s training diary – Tiara 10k for A Lust for Life
The WMM is something I have admired other people doing for years but never thought it would be something I would do
What am I now? I have asked myself this question quite a lot over the past five years. It started one winter evening driving home from a training course where I suddenly realised that I couldn’t do my job anymore
It’s a tough one, I have to say, because I’ve found with the passing years my ability to recall even recent happenings- let alone the earliest of memories- has very much diminished
Bipolar changed me; It changed me in ways hard to describe. I had it my whole life but the symptoms were mild enough to go unnoticed and even when they weren’t, no one knew. Not my parents, my teachers, my friends, my family or my therapists
Every moment is a teachable one
As a 25-year-old man, I know that the knowledge I possess of myself and the world I live in is at times limited, sometimes very limited. But I do know that I can learn from any situation no matter how earth-shattering or negative it may seem
How emotional intimacy can transform your mental health
Intimacy, according to the Oxford English Dictionary can be defined as “the state of having a close personal relationship with somebody”
The unexpected wisdom that changed my life
My struggles with my mind and my anxiety is not well documented. For the longest of times, I did everything I could to hide it from both myself, as well as from the people closest to me
Managing your mental health when a loved one is seriously ill
Ten years ago I spent six months caring for my mother, in and out of the hospital, from an out of the blue cancer diagnosis until her death at a far too young age. It was a surreal time that seemed to just pass in a blur
Using public art to advocate for kindness, connection and community
I have always loved public art for its visibility and accessibility to everyone
Maria Lynn @Pinch_of_pos is a student paediatric nurse who is passionate about lifting the stigma around mental health. She has created this video to bring people together in a hope that others realise that they are not alone
2020 has been the year of Kindness. So much has been thrown at us but through it all we’ve found the simple acts of kindness are what matter most. #kindnessmatters has become part of our daily vocabulary
Secondary school students: we need your help for the incoming first years
We are looking for any sound souls who are currently in secondary school and are interested in getting involved in an exciting project that will be rolled out around Ireland
The not-so-age-old question: What does a panic attack feel like?
What does a panic attack feel like? A question I get so often but words fail to give an appropriate answer. I always try but have never given it justice
Oh, Dear Little Old Me Just Let Me Be, Vain and without Pain, I have told you “I am Grand”, Please go away, Let Me Be, Little Old Me. But Why Not Cry???? So that We can be More than you and Me
I got up this morning, turned on some Jazz music (as opposed to the TV which has the potential to suck me into binge-watching!), had breakfast, did some journaling, did some much-needed apartment cleaning
Dealing with mental health while recovering from physical trauma
It’s been almost a year since I last competed in my sport. For as long as I can remember I’ve been a fighter and while every athlete has a sell-by date, what happens when that date is fast-tracked
Breaking up with social media, for a better relationship with myself
Imagine you are in a crowded room; everyone is shouting, everyone is hurting, everyone is angry, the volume gets increasingly higher over time as nobody feels heard
After the terrible news of the suicide of Caroline Flack, someone who I have followed online and really liked her positive energy, zest for life and lovable personality, I wanted to write down a few words on suicide and mental health
It’s difficult to remember in these times, that love once prevailed in your heart over fear. It may even be hard to distinguish the two, but be comforted in the knowledge that they are separate entities
I have my own struggles with my mental health, more specifically with anxiety. I recently wrote this poem. You blind me, you chase me, You choke me, you race me, You may never ever go away
When I was 7 years old, my mother died. That’s when my depression started. I didn’t realise it until many years later. I was a kid, not really understanding all the attention and sad eyes I was getting off people
Looking for a signal fire, a red alert is always a justifiable way for me to keep going. I know there will be no sign from a god in a white robe or angels circling the proximity of my emotions
There is a place inside all of us that we long to visit, a place left unattended since childhood and a place that contains the forgotten treasures of our distracted and worried adult heart
Last night I dreamt of a horseman speeding past me. He collected a dead woman’s body of the left hand side of the road. I chased him with my pitchfork in my left hand Down a very straight dark road
I wonder what happens when I remove myself from the structures that make up my life. Computers, television screens, even news outlets, all designed to give the illusion of connection
When I was little, mum and I would scamper away from the platform to hide inside the station if I saw or heard an orange train bombing toward us down the line. Remember them, the orange trains?
The beautiful benefit of accepting our suffering
Whether you’re dressed from head to toe in Penny’s or Gucci it’s a common misconception that a smile is the finishing touch to most outfits
Upcoming Irish spoken word artist and comedian, Kevin Pigott loves to explore the power of words (and humour in his comedy) to convey the importance of human connection and healing along with simply recognising the potency of our words
Is it ok not to be okay? – Society’s Last Taboo
One of my earliest memories is knowing that I was going to die. Not fearing it, not worrying about it but viscerally experiencing the moment
But you are such a confident person! How could you have panic attacks?
But you are such a confident person! How could you have panic attacks? Wow, if only I had €1 for every time somebody said this to me over the past 8 years
This Winter has hit me harder than any previous year. Previous to this college year I had spent the past year and a half abroad, so when I came back to reality I knew it would take me a lot of mental effort to get through the Winter season
Finding mindfulness and creativity with photography
A few years ago, after receiving a diagnosis of breast cancer and being successfully treated, I began to take stock and decided to retire from the job I loved, for my health’s sake
My mind is a colourful wasteland, where a wildflower has grown – Part four
Fast forward to 2020, I’ve had my world flipped upside down countless times, sometimes I wonder have I just been very unlucky or am I prone to traumatic experiences?
Today, I choose to sit down with this pain, and not avoid it in all the usual ways. I wish to feel it and lie down with it in the forgotten meadow of the past
My mind is a colourful wasteland, where a wildflower has grown – Part three
What was life? I questioned everything and everyone around me, including myself. My spirit had broken and I didn't even know how to put myself back together
Look at the tree, Deep rooted in the ground, Not fighting the wind, Just swaying around. Look at the sea, Constant and strong, Lapping on shores, Never stays in too long
My mind is a colourful wasteland, where a wildflower has grown – Part two
I was in a battle with anxiety and depression for the entirety of my teen years. I had bad experiences but I often get flashbacks and memories of my childhood
Mind matters: New Year’s Resolution – I’m going to be less stressed
I have heard this mantra many times since the beginning of the year, in various forms but with the same hopes, that we will manage to lessen the stress in our lives in the coming year
My mind is a colourful wasteland, where a wildflower has grown – Part one
The earliest memory I have of hearing the word anxiety takes me back to when I was 6 years of age and I was hit by a car with the driver drunk behind the wheel
Resolve to love yourself, to practice simple self-care and slow down
If like me, you’re halfway through January 2020 without a new year’s resolution in sight, I applaud you. This year, I decided that “new year, new me” wasn’t an option, that it was time to stop berating myself
Apparently, I’m “a rock”. According to a litany of family members, friends, ex-girlfriends, I share many of the same properties as a slab of granite or a lump of marble. They see me as being almost impervious to pressure and able to take on the load-bearing duties
Taking Pen In Hand: Writing and Seeking Solace
You have heard of the expressions, "You drive yourself crazy" and "Don't drive yourself crazy." When you have lost a loved one to suicide, as I have, your mind becomes uncontrollably overwhelmed
Toxic comments and my New Years Buzz
After three particularly challenging years, my buzz word for 2019 was boundaries. I successfully implemented them with my mother and siblings
A personal account of surviving the break
For many people, Christmas can be such a joyful time, but it can also be an unexpectedly lonely time of year for all sorts of very valid reasons
So, we’ve overcome yet another year. 2019 is gone and we’ve begun 2020, a new year and a new decade! Some people don’t believe in new year’s resolutions and laugh at the “new year, new me” slogan that everyone is accustomed to saying
How I learned to stop being socially anxious and love my life without alcohol
My social life used to consist of heading down to the corner bar to see what or who was happening
Sober living as a twenty-something-year-old
Have you ever done Dry January? I’ve done it three times now. This coming January is not only my fourth Dry January, but it’ll also be my 37th consecutive month without alcohol
How to feel better about yourself – trauma recovery drawings
Michael Davitt is an author and artist focusing primarily on mental health issues
The truth: A trainee psychologist perspective on mental health
I’ll be honest. I started the journey to become a psychologist in order to become an expert at managing my own emotional experiences, so I could help others manage theirs, so I could fix the world...
How I Tackled a Body-Focused Repetitive Behavior and How You Can Too
Body-focused repetitive behaviours are habits like biting lips or picking at hair
I better give you a little introduction on who Frank is or you’ll probably think I’m writing some weird letter of complaint to Frank from down the road. During a counselling session, I was asked to describe how I feel
Speaking out for my dad and brother
A Roscommon woman has spoken out on Facebook about how the Irish Mental Health Service has failed her family. Leah Cull from Arigna in County Roscommon lost both her dad and her bother to suicide
The bittersweet complication of new love and loss. Parenting children without a father and the art of accepting a new male role model in your children's life
I had a choice to take my own life
I nearly chose to end my life, but I made a good choice that day when I didn’t! Life is full of choices. But then there are the times when we have no choice whatsoever
30-year-old filmmaker, Michael Lee Aldridge from Athy, Co. Kildare, created a documentary about mental health. ‘You’re Not Alone’ documentary looks at how someone learns to deal with their mental health struggles
There are a lot of myths and stereotypes around taking medication for mental health issues. They are used as the butt of jokes or insults such as “have you taken your meds today?”
Eliminating the negative stigma associated with anti-depressants
When it comes to treating mental health issues such as anxiety and depression, there are many al-ternatives and things you can turn to
October began the start of a slowdown, the go-slow seeping forth like thick pumpkin soup spilt on the countertop. The darker mornings bringing foggier risings from a cosy bed
OCD comes of age: My wrestle with the beast
We all have intrusive and distressing thoughts occasionally. Mary might see a woman on the news who suffocated her elderly mother with a pillow for talking during Love Island and think "Imagine if I did that!?"
This is my brother before and after, Who was once full of fun and laughter, until he became sick, Then he was so ashamed, and who was to blame? Mr Minister, and HSE and lack of care are on the list
An Open Letter to My Brain: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Is Just a Tumour
I used to think you were defective, demonic; evil personified. A fantastical beast plucked from the vividest imaginings of hell
Love may be the greatest drug of all
It’s peculiar how love can take a hold of you. It locks you in its grasp, sometimes so tightly that it's hard to breathe. But the release gives way to moments of pure ecstasy. This year, I’ve been thinking a great deal about love
Discovering Peace within with Transcendental Meditation
Over the last little while, I have been introduced to the part of myself that’s underneath my conscious mind. It is a place of peace and serenity and I honestly find it hard to believe how I haven’t indulged in it before now
Minority Mental Health Awareness in Ireland
This is to bring awareness to the unique struggles that underrepresented groups face regarding mental illness
There were just 21 minutes left in suicide awareness day. All day I’d had the urge to write something. I even went to a coffee shop with the intent to write, but didn’t
Grief is just love with nowhere to go
Instantly, I felt I’d lost something. My friend and foe, my mind, my marbles, my sense of the world. At the very same time I found something, something I wasn’t looking for, something that was to overwhelm me
I vividly remember an English class when I was 14 where random students were being asked to read a paragraph from a book. My heart was thumping, my head was spinning, my hands and legs felt weak
“You must be having the best time ever”. The same words said to me from each conversation from relatives at home as they look at my life through the screens on their phone
Is the best way to deal with your past, or should you just take a leap?
Dear reader, here’s a little fruit for thought. Is it possible to move on from your past but not fully let it go and can ‘not letting it go’ be right thing for you
I’ve loved music from day one, like most of us I suppose. I remember when I realized that I could write my own and it was the first time I ever really felt I had expressed the pain that was inside me
We have just moved to Sligo, me, my 8 year old son, our two dogs and our hamster Bear. Bear is the smallest member of our family with the biggest name and the biggest heart. So Sligo here we are, one and a half weeks in and life is good
The terrible two with claws in deep They make us err and make us weep Who have us toss and turn at night When pulses race, and chests get tight The first prevents you being your best
The psychologists have been told to survey my psyche. They’re trying to see if my mind is a mountain range full of jagged precipices or a desert, bare boned and dry. They begin topographically, looking at the contours
A Smiling Face Doesn’t Guarantee “Happiness”
A smiling face does not always mean that a person is happy. Smile is something that can hide anything which is going on in a person’s mind
Dear Reader, I hope you are keeping well and you aren’t taking much heed of the news these days. So what have I been doing? Well I did the most beautiful walk on an Irish trail, took in the breath-taking scenery
Echoes. There it is. Again. That feeling of a blackness inside. It’s an echo. An echo of depression. Things have been good. Despite the worry of my wife’s chronic illness, its been okay
Feminism, eroticism and mental health
My practice is an intertwinement of feminism, eroticism and mental health, developing a connection with a feminine audience by investigating the deep psychological connections between all three fields
Growing up with mental illness
My mental health journey began at five years old. My very first teacher wrote on my school report 'anxious at times.' It set the tone for the next fifteen years
Hello, I’m Aoife…I’m here today To make a change To advocate for mental health. Mental Health? What’s that? Who does it effect?
When they tell you you’ve had a nervous breakdown you become like an astronaut you find yourself drifting, pleading for someone to provide you with the right equipment
Power in Silence: ‘Northern Star’
Do true stories really have clean arcs with a beginning, middle and end? Or do our lives feel more like just a series of rooms, with open-ended ideas and unresolved tension?
You know that feeling? The one in your gut that is seemingly screaming at you? The one that, despite your best efforts, keeps reminding you that something is off?
