A TREASURE TROVE BLOG POST: MAID OF HONOUR INSIGHT INTO THE BEST-FRIEND’S PRE-WEDDING WARM-UP!!! | IN COLLABORATION WITH TURTLE BAY NEWCASTLE

“There will not be a magic day when we wake up and it’s now okay to express ourselves publicly. We make that day by doing things publicly until it’s simply the way things are.”

Tammy Baldwin

For more info and to make a booking:

Turtle Bay Newcastle | Caribbean Restaurant & Bar - Turtle Bay UK

I’m very pleased and proud to say that this blog post is in collaboration with Turtle Bay Newcastle – the venue for my best-friend’s Wedding Warm-Up! To determine where to host it, we – the Best Man; Jesse, and I made some enquiries and in talking to Turtle Bay Manager; Abbie, about a booking, they allowed us to come to the restaurant early to decorate the table etc and gave us an extra half an hour at the table (typically you’re given 1.5 hours at your table) in return for some mentions on I’m NOT Disordered and on my social media (@aimes_wilson on Twitter and Instagram - please check them out for the videos from this event!). So, I’ve put together this blog post which is basically a little ‘treasure trove’ of memories, photos, advice, links, and ideas…

EXCLUSIVE INSIGHT INTO THE HISTORY OF TIME TO TALK DAY ON I’M NOT DISORDERED | TIME TO TALK DAY 2026

‘Time to Talk Day 2026 will be held on 5 February 2026. This event is a significant initiative aimed at promoting open conversations about mental health and wellbeing, encouraging individuals to listen and share their experiences. It is a day for everyone to come together to break down stigma and support one another's mental health.’

Time to Talk Day - Mind

You won’t believe how stressful this post has been! So, it usually takes me about a week to create a blog post of a decent length and the graphics to accompany it, but it wasn’t until February 3^rd that I realised Time To Talk Day was coming up very soon and I had no content for it! At first, I messaged fellow mental health Blogger Martin Baker (of www.gumonmyshoe.com) and I said it was only two days – but when I started writing content that was about prioritising and the fact that my Mum’s Birthday is the same day of Time To Talk Day I realised that’s actually three days (Mum’s Birthday is February 6^th). Then, I googled and it turns out Time To Talk Day is just the first Thursday of February and that yes, this usually lands on the 6^th but this year it is actually the 5^th – so my maths ended up, sadly, being correct and I was back to not only rushing the content but also, finding a new topic because it is, in fact, not on my Mum’s Birthday(!). So, with two days’ notice, the best I could do was to run through the archive of previous Time To Talk Day posts and providing some insider, exclusive insight into each one…

35: AN AGE NO ONE THOUGHT I’D REACH | HOW REPORTING MY TRAUMA WAS MORE LIFE-SAVING THAN MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES | IT’S MY BIRTHDAY TODAY!!!

“The best revenge is the massive success.”

Frank Sinatra

It sounds dramatic to say that I can’t believe I made it to 35, but when I tell you that, on numerous occasions, even the professionals – mostly Psychiatrists, but also two ICU Doctors – made comments that they couldn’t envision me making it to my ‘next’ Birthday (mostly between the ages of 18 and 23!) … perhaps now you’ll see the rationale to my surprise that I’m still here?! It meant that I was originally going to centre this Birthday blog post around reasons why I believe I managed to make it to this age, but I found out that I’d done something incredibly similar for my 28^th Birthday (you can read it here) and my 31^st (which you can read here)! In thinking about the reasons, I made it, I realised that I’d list reporting my trauma as the first one – even though I had interactions with mental health services before that which most would probably assume should getting help and support, should have been the first life-saving thing to happen. So, I decided to focus on that…

A POEM FOR MY (ALMOST) STEP-DAD! | HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DADDY BEAR!

EXCLUSIVE INSIGHT INTO THE REVAMP OF GUM ON MY SHOE | GUEST POST BY MARTIN BAKER

“I’ve discovered that in order to make big changes in the world, we have to begin at home.”

Ann M. Martin

I feel like I’ve been waiting a long time to publish this guest post by my best-friend and fellow mental health Blogger (on www.gumonmyshoe.com), Martin Baker. This is mostly because over recent years, he’s actually mentioned a couple of times the idea of making changes to his blog, particularly, in terms of the layout, design, and content of the pages etc but obviously hasn’t acted upon those considerations… Until now! Just two days ago – on January 24^th – Martin finally revealed the huge revamp he’d been working on for what feels like a lifetime! And I’m so incredibly proud of him for taking this huge step and risk, for putting so much time, energy, and thought into blogging. I’ve always said that whilst I don’t have a whole of ‘friends’ I do feel a special connection between Martin and I because he’s my only best-friend with a blog and with blogging and content creation in general, being such a huge and important part of my life, it really matters to have someone who appreciates and understands all that it can entail. So, wishing Martin the most massive of luck for the response he receives from his blog’s readers and an equally massive well done for the dedication, determination, and commitment it took to do the revamp! Now, over to Martin…