THREE MILLION READERS!!!

“Believe in yourself. You are braver than you think, more talented than you know, and capable of more than you imagine.”

Roy T. Bennett

When I’m NOT Disordered reached around 2,950,000 readers I realised I should start deciding/planning/preparing to write a celebratory blog post and then I made a bit of a mistake of asking AI (namely Chat GPT) for ideas on a theme or angle for it… Why was it a mistake? Because I loved almost all of its ideas! So, in this post, I will be chatting through a whole mix of bits and pieces about this achievement; reasons why I started, reasons why I temporarily quit, reasons why I kept going and the lessons I learned throughout those moments...

DAY SEVEN MHAW | SERIES RE-CAP & REFLECTION

“Always work hard, be honest, and be proud of who you are.”

Patricia Velasquez

Another Mental Health Awareness Week over! I feel like it actually went so quick! So, for anyone who may have missed some of the posts, I’ve added their links, a bit about each one, my thoughts and feelings upon reflection of each of them, other important links, and any lessons learnt from each post…

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2025!!! | FAVOURITE BLOG POSTS & COLLABORATIONS, BEST ADVICE & BIGGEST LESSONS, TOP PURCHASES ON AMAZON & ASOS, MOST WATCHED & LISTENED TO, GREATEST MOMENTS & ACHIEVEMENTS, & HOPES & PLANS FOR 2025

“I came to win, to fight. To conquer, to thrive. I came to win, to survive. To prosper, to rise. To fly.”

Fly, Nicki Minaj ft. Rihanna

Yes, here comes another year on I’m NOT Disordered! To celebrate the start of 2025, I thought I’d write this piece about a collection of things from this past year! The post will include favourite blog posts and collaborations from 2024, advice I’d give from the biggest lessons I’ve learnt this past year, as well as my top purchases (from Amazon and ASOS), my most watched TV Shows, Movies, and YouTube videos, and even my top five most listened to on Spotify! Then, I’ll be wrapping up this jam-packed post with my greatest moments and achievements from the entire year, some of my hope for 2025, and a bit of exclusive insight into a few exciting, upcoming plans…

5 THINGS I’VE LEARNT ABOUT PETS & MENTAL HEALTH | WISHING THE KITTEN A VERY HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY!!! | IN COLLABORATION WITH MAMMY’S BISCUITS

https://mammysbiscuits.com

Twitter: @MammysBiscuits

Instagram: @Mammys_Biscuits

Facebook: MammysBiscuits

“When you feel someone else’s pain and joy as powerfully as if it were your own; then you know you really love them.”

Ann Brashares

*This post features a Mammy’s Biscuits product: the ‘Birthday Girl’ bandana – you can browse & purchase their other designs here*

 I honestly don’t care how stereotypical this sounds; but I literally and genuinely cannot believe that I’m writing this blog post to celebrate my little maine coon/ragdoll mix kitten – Ruby – turning one year old! Now, if you’ve read, I’m NOT Disordered for even just a little while, you’ll likely know that I have pets and that I absolutely love them to pieces, and they help my mental health immensely. Because I’ve had quite a few (three who have passed and the three I have now) over the almost ten years since I’ve been in my own home, and I know I’ve written numerous blog posts at various stages of their lives, I wasn’t sure if there’d be an angle (also due to the fact I’ve actually already published a post in connection with Ruby’s Birthday, you can read it here) left to cover in writing this 1^st Birthday post for Ruby! But, fortunately, the first one I thought of – a post about the reality of life with pets and mental health – hadn’t been done before so, I decided to tackle it…

EVERYTHING I’M LEARNING FROM MY WORK WITH NEWCASTLE HOSPITALS ON THEIR MENTAL HEALTH STRATEGY | IN COLLABORATION WITH NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE HOSPITALS NHS FOUNDATION TRUST

Since the Involvement Bank of Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust (CNTW) advertised the opportunity on behalf of Newcastle Hospitals for its members to become involved in the development of their mental health strategy, I’ve been working alongside some of the most amazing NHS staff I have ever come across (namely Gemma and Fardeen)! And having created a post a while ago about my journey with the Trust (which you can read here), I thought I’d follow it up with this chat about everything I’m learning on this productive and inspirational journey to create a mental health strategy that genuinely has the Trust’s patients at the very heart of it…

If you’ve been reading, I’m NOT Disordered for a little while then you’ll probably know – or have noticed – that I’m very fond of creating collaborations with various organisations, charities, companies, and brands. My passion for this kind of content mostly stems from both the incredible opportunities or gifted experiences/products I’m offered, and from the idea that my blog is of a standing in the industry where being mentioned or featured on it, can be beneficial – in so many ways – for others. I feel that this says a lot about the standard of my posts, the popularity of my blog, and its examples and illustrations of the various definitions of the term ‘successful.’

BLOGMAS 2022 | DAY TWENTY-FIVE: LESSONS LEARNT, BEHIND-THE-SCENES, & A RE-CAP!

Welcome to Day Twenty-Five of Blogmas 2022

As if this is it – Blogmas is over! To mark the end of one of my absolute most favourite and most popular blog post series’ I’ve ever created, I put together this post full of links to the different forms of posts, little explanations of them, the lessons I’ve learnt from creating and publishing Blogmas 2022, and there’s even a little behind-the-scenes reel! Enjoy, and Merry Christmas!

GUEST POST | 10 THINGS MY FRIENDSHIP WITH AIMEE HAS TAUGHT ME ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH AND CARING SUPPORT | BY MARTIN BAKER

I’m grateful for the opportunity to write this new article for Aimee’s blog. The topic is one I’ve wanted to explore for a while. It builds on our shared belief in the value of mutually supportive friendships, and the fact that we each write in the mental health sector. Here, then, are the top ten things I’ve learned since Aimee and I met in February 2016. I’ve focused on things I think will be most useful to other people in their lives and friendships. 

1. Plans change (and that’s OK)  

Whatever health issues your friend lives with, there are likely to be times they need to cancel or rearrange plans, sometimes at short notice. Rather than becoming upset, remind yourself that any frustration or inconvenience you’re feeling is minor compared to what your friend is dealing with.  

LESSONS LEARNT FROM I'M NOT DISORDERED'S FIRST POSTS | MARKING EIGHT YEARS SINCE BEING SECTIONED FOR 2.5 YEARS

Earlier this month (July 17^th), it was eight years to the date of me being sectioned and beginning a two-and-a-half-year long admission in a psychiatric hospital which specialised in Personality Disorders...

For the three years previously to that admission, I’d been in and out of both psychiatric and medical hospitals because my local NHS mental health Trust had no services specifically for someone with a Personality Disorder diagnosis. The lack of understanding from the professionals who – in my opinion – should have actually been the most knowledgeable people in providing help and support, contributed to a number of other reasons why I had made two suicide attempts and self harmed on a number of occasions. The lack of services in my locality was also a reasons why, when I ended up on life support after a third suicide attempt, the professionals made the decision to admit me to a private hospital over 100 miles away from home, where the ‘average length of admission, was 12 – 18 months.

After around six or seven months in the hospital, I had a really positive 1:1 with my Key Nurse and it felt like such a productive step toward recovery, that I decided I wanted to document it in some way. And so, I’m NOT Disordered was born and my blogging career began.

LESSONS LEARNT FROM CHRISTMAS CONTENT | DISCOUNT CODE INCLUDED!! | IN COLLABORATION WITH PRETTY PERFECT PRODUCTS | AD

With not long left until December, I thought I’d do a quick post to get everyone in the mood for I’m NOT Disordered’s Budget Blogmas which will mean festive, daily posts from December 1^st until Christmas Day. So, here’s a few of the lessons I’ve learnt over my years of blogging at Christmastime…

LESSON ONE: APPRECIATE THE LITTLE THINGS MORE

http://www.imnotdisordered.co.uk/2013/12/its-christmasss.html

The first Christmas of I’m NOT Disordered was way back in 2013(!) and I was still a psychiatric hospital inpatient – and had been for over a year. It had meant that my first Christmas in the hospital – the one before I started blogging – was literally spent in the hospital because I was deemed not to be safe or well enough to be allowed leave from the section of the 1983 Mental Health Act that I was detained under. And to be fair, all I can vaguely remember about it was watching old re-runs of the comedy The Inbetweeners on Christmas Eve until past lights out and everyone convincing the staff to let us stay up until after 1am! 

Spending Christmas without any of the little traditions my Mum and I had developed over the years, meant I was so much more grateful when my Psychiatrist finally agreed to grant me leave from December 23^rd until the 27^th to spend the entire festive period at home. And in doing so, I throughly reaped the joy and laughter I had with my Mum to the point that I wanted to write it all down before I forgot and so my blog post went up Boxing Day!

So, the little things? 

EVERYTHING LOSING PETS HAS TAUGHT ME | PET REMEMBRANCE DAY 2021 | IN COLLABORATION WITH CATS PROTECTION

This post is in memory of Saffy, Dolly, and Pixie – my furry little lifesavers.

“Death ends a life, not a relationship.”

Mitch Albom

Whether you know me personally or only through my social media or the content of my blog, I’d like to think you know that I’m the type of person who is forever looking on the bright side of difficult situations. And I think this is because I’ve experienced how it feels to allow myself to only see the difficulty of everything. To concentrate on the hardship and fail to find hope. And I now know what damage that can cause me to do to myself. I know it can leave me feeling as though I’d rather be dead than continue to experience it. And so, I’d like to take this Day as an opportunity – not to concentrate on the devastating impact of the loss of three very important pets since creating I’m NOT Disordered – but instead, to talk about the lessons I’ve learnt from the loss of Saffy, Dolly, and Pixie; in the hope that it will benefit others going through a similar hardship…

DON’T BE ASHAMED TO TALK ABOUT YOUR SADNESS

This lesson came particularly when my lop-eared, Lionhead bunny Pixie was put to sleep in April this year (you can read more about her death here). Prior to losing Pixie, both of the most notable pets passing (Saffy and Dolly) were cats and for some reason, I think that even people without pets can be more empathetic to someone who’s lost their cat than they would for the death of a rabbit. I think that with rabbits mostly being classed as a ‘small animal’ a lot of people (especially those who haven’t owned a rabbit) see them as less significant. 

When I bought Pixie in September 2017 ( you can read more about adding her to the family here), the visual hallucinations of rabbits had just come back and spotting her in my local Pets at Home, I had the impulsive idea that maybe holding her would help me. I knew that I couldn’t touch my rabbit hallucinations because every time I got closer, they moved away. So, I thought that in holding and stroking a real rabbit, maybe I’d feel more grounded. And I was right; the next day I returned, bought Pixie and took her home where she continued to help me. She continued to bring me back to earth when all my mind seemed to want to fly away and ignore all of the very really challenging moments and situations.

I’M NOT DISORDERED TURNS EIGHT | A LESSON PER YEAR

Going to start this post in the stereotypical way: I can’t believe it’s been eight years since I created, I’m NOT Disordered! I think that being able to still remember the day I started my little blogging career, is just testament to how important my blog is for me, what it means to me, and the hugely beneficial impact it has had on my life. To think that my blog has become what it is today from its tiny start in my hospital bedroom still amazes me! All the achievements and opportunities I’ve experienced these past eight years, have surpassed even my wildest dreams(!), but I’ve tried to keep my feet on the ground, and to always feel that I’m learning from my blog…

 

2013 – I learnt how quickly things can change

I experienced my mental health change very dramatically in – what felt like – a very short space of time… In February 2013, I ran away from the psychiatric hospital I had been in since the Summer of 2012 and made an attempt to take my own life (you can read more about it here). Then, by August 2013, I was allowed to go on the therapy trip to Flamingo Land (which you can read about here)! 

THREE LESSONS I’VE LEARNT FROM MY GOD CHILDREN | MY TRIP TO SEE THEM IN EDINBURGH

I’m forever grateful for the fact that I was so late to my A Level History class that the only empty seat left in the classroom was beside Ellie! Sitting beside her, I didn’t ever imagine we’d be best-friends thirteen years later and that she’d be Mum to my three incredible Godchildren!

Due to work and school opportunities, Ellie and her husband moved the family to a town just outside of Edinburgh and with the UK lockdown pretty much immediately following their move, I’ve not been able to visit until now! And the trip to see them all was my inspiration for this post…

You should always appreciate time spent with loved ones

The initial lockdown regulations meant that I couldn’t see my oldest God Son (Jonas) for his Tenth Birthday so I sent presents and was sent a photo of him with his gifts and the biggest, cheesiest smile on his face! As happy as I was to know he had liked his presents (a Lego Sports Car & American Candy!), losing the ability to see him was really triggering of my memories around being in the psychiatric hospital over 100 miles away for two and a half years. Being in the hospital for so long meant that I missed out on the majority of Jonas’ life aged 2 - 4, and being in and out of hospitals for the last six years has meant that I’ve missed out on some milestones for my God Daughter; Emmy (yes I named my cat after my God Daughter!), and my youngest God Son, Kasper. 

MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS WEEK 2020 POST SIX | BUILDING ON PASSIONS & HOBBIES AS KINDNESS

"Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world."

Harriet Tubman

Welcome to the penultimate post in Mental Health Awareness Week here on I’m NOT Disordered!


Today, I thought I’d talk about how beneficial hobbies and passions can be and how building on them can be an act of kindness!


I wouldn’t say that I really have a ‘hobby’… but I used to! I used to absolutely love horse riding after going to a friend’s Birthday party at some stables, and I’d go for lessons every weekend at a local farm. I was obsessed with horses so when I wasn’t riding one, I was pretending that I was. Unfortunately though, I had a bit of a scare whilst riding one time – the horse I was on decided to gallop and when he finally obeyed my commands to slow down, he came to an abrupt stop at a jump and I almost went straight over his head! It was enough to dissuade me from riding ever again and so my one real hobby dwindled.


It didn’t seem like long without riding when the abuse began, and I stopped noticing or caring that I didn’t have a hobby or any real passion. Looking back, not many people I knew had a hobby then, so I really didn’t stand out for it; it wasn’t as though it was another sign of abuse that people missed… 

LESSONS LEARNT ABOUT RAPE & ABUSE | 13 YEARS SINCE MY ABUSE ‘ENDED'

TW: discussion of self-harm & suicide

I was sat on the bathroom floor with sharps in front of me and a strange, but sadly familiar, feeling in my entire body. My head felt full to the brim with thoughts to self-harm and an intense anger was gripping my heart. The scariest thing was that I didn’t know why, until I looked at my phone and saw the date; April 20^th. It was almost as though my mind and body were so well-adjusted to marking this day in some fashion every single year since 2007, that without even consciously noting the date, I still knew what it was!


Realizing the date, I found myself being left with a decision to make; should I go ahead and cut, or should I throw the sharps away and write a blog post about it?! Of course, I chose the latter, and not because it was the ‘easiest’ answer or the most straight-forward and without so many possible complications. I chose it because I had a choice and where there’s a choice, I will never choose self-harm anymore. If I’ve self-harmed in recent times, then it’s because I’ve felt it was the only coping mechanism robust enough to deal with whatever I was experiencing at that time.

FIVE THINGS THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC HAS TAUGHT ME BY MARTY BAKER | GUEST POST

I’d like to thank Aimee for inviting me to contribute to this article for I’m NOT Disordered and for the opportunity to share things I’m learning in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

1. I Live a Very Privileged Life

Coronavirus has brought home to me what I already knew, which is that I live a life that is privileged in many ways. I’m fortunate to be in employment, my job is secure, and I’m able to work from home during this crisis. I’ve had to cancel my holiday and I miss meeting friends but I’m fine for groceries and can cover any extra costs and expenses that might come up. Most importantly, I’m able to keep in touch with the most important people in my life. As I said recently in an audio blog, “There are many people in far worse situations than I am. I count myself as very fortunate.” 

2. How Interconnected the World Is

I think we’re all learning how interconnected the modern world is. There’s a downside to that, in that it’s meant the virus has spread rapidly within communities and around the world. But there are positives too. I’ve been moved by people’s responses to what’s happening, many of which are using the Internet in creative new ways. Local support networks, Amazon wish list exchanges, online concerts and exercise classes, counselling and therapy appointments using Skype and Zoom, and social media peer support are just some of the examples I’ve come across. 

BLOGMAS 2019 – POST FOUR : LESSONS LEARNT FROM FIRSTS | JACK & THE BEANSTALK PANTOMIME AT WHITLEY BAY PLAYHOUSE | AD

Thanks to a poll on my Twitter back in November, my wonderful followers decided that I should publish a blog post and film a vlog every day for the entirety of December! 

So welcome to December 4th…

Yesterday (December 3^rd) I went to Whitley Bay Playhouse and saw Jack And The Beanstalk with my Mum. Now, should you be surprised that I’m not just writing a review on the pantomime? Not if you’re a long-time reader! There are so many excellent blogs out there that write great reviews, that you don’t need another one from me(!); so I like to put a different spin on things and with it being the first time I’ve seen this story, it got me thinking about writing this post on new things and firsts…

Ironically, I actually wasn’t sure where to start with this post because when I think of firsts, I immediately go to the negatives; the first time I self-harmed, my first suicide attempt, the first time I was sectioned… and I felt as though I shouldn’t talk about those things in Blogmas but hey! This is a mental health blog and mental health doesn’t just go away for December and Christmas! So, to put a positive spin on things; here’s the lessons I learnt from my firsts…