BLOGMAS 2019 – POST EIGHT : STIGMA & MISCONCEPTIONS | BEAUTY & THE BEAST PANTOMIME | IN COLLABORATION WITH THE THEATRE ROYAL NEWCASTLE | 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 8th…

I struggled to think of a subject to write about in this post because as usual, I won’t be doing a review of the pantomime. Like I said in Wednesday’s Jack And The Beanstalk post, there are so many media sites doing an awesome job at publishing straightforward reviews that I don’t think you guys need another one doing that! Also, this is first and foremost, a mental health blog so telling you my favourite parts of a pantomime would be completely irrelevant!

For those who don’t know the story of Beauty and the Beast; it begins with an enchantress disguised as a beggar lady. She approaches a Prince and offers him a rose in return for allowing her to sleep in his Castle to escape the storm. When he fails to look beyond her appearance, she casts a spell on him which turns him into a Beast and tells him that unless he meets true love before the final petal falls from the rose then he’ll remain that way forever. And then ‘Beauty’ comes along in the form of a local village girl! And that’s all I’ll say because I don’t want to spoil it for those who haven’t seen it!

I guess the point of the story is not to judge a book by its cover, through not holding a preconceived idea of a person and seeing beyond a person’s appearance by appreciating their personality and who they actually are. It’s also about being kind to others and treating people how you would like to be treat.

Here’s – what I believe – are the five most popular misconceptions in mental health and what people should know to eradicate these beliefs:

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…