Today is World Mental Health Day and this is a blog post I first wrote most of on this day two years ago and then deleted, feeling that it was too personal. I’ve changed my mind again, at least for the time being. The last decade has seen huge change in how we view health,
When I was 12, nearly 13, I had a science project due; one of my first of secondary school. I loved forests so I decided to look at the effects of deforestation which led me to studies of Greenhouse Gases. It was 2004 and while people knew about “global warming”, it was not on the
Tis the season for good intentions, for setting goals and challenging yourself to be better. But I’ve been known to give quite a lot of side-eye to the whole idea of New Years Resolutions because I think that for the most part they are a trap. Once a year people try to solve all the
“You should really be more careful what you put online?” “Aren’t you worried people will find out you’re bi/mentally ill/really angry about bogs more often than is socially acceptable?” Honestly maybe. Is there a culture of over-sharing on social media? – Quite possibly. But for me it’s not that simple. When you live with mental
For generations professional and amateur sorts alike have been a battleground of women athletes struggling for recognition. More than being excluded from sports played by men they often face discriminatory rules when they set up their own leagues. Generations of girls told they would not be interested or being shamed into quitting teams or training
People ask me “what do you want to do?” and my outside freezes while my insides start screaming “I don’t know.” I don’t know. But I want to know. As a little girl I had a lot things I wanted to do, acting, paleontology but what I really wanted to be as exceptional. To be
I have made my feeling on the state of mental health services in Ireland known in asides many times. But this Mental Health Day highlighted the disconnect between what the Irish government and its various agencies claims, and what they put into practise. The Green Ribbon (#EndtheStigma) campaign caught the support of numerous politicians. The
“The mode of production of material life conditions the general process of social, political and intellectual life. It is not the consciousness of men that determines their existence, but their social existence that determines their consciousness.” (Marx 1859) In what way is health, in particular mental health a highly political and potential radical issue? In
Fresh starts can be a birth; messy, painful and confusing but without them life would not get anywhere. And aren’t we just obsessed with fresh starts this time of year? I used to be a bit of a New Years’ Ebenezer Scrooge, grumbling about how full the gym would suddenly get and the fleeting glimpses
Blinkingly, I stick my head outside my cave. The sunlight seems foreign to me now. It stings but in a strangely comforting way, like antiseptic on a grazed knee. Words are not so easy when all the communication I’ve done lately is long distance or through the medium of Gilmore Girls marathon. Isolation can be
