A SUPER SCARY PRE-HALLOWEEN REVEAL | INTRODUCING…

“Commitment leads to action. Action brings your dream closer.” 

Marica Wieder

You know, sometimes I actually hate writing titles like that – clickbait I think you’d call it – but I also recognise that it draws in readers rather than putting the announcement topic where you can see it straight away. But then that reminds me of when I first started blogging and someone asked me why I regard the number of readers so highly and celebrate the milestones; it makes me worry that people will think I’m superficial or being ingenuine. Being asked that though, led me to think about it and to develop answers for being asked it again! But my two reasons for caring about the size of my audience are actually also relevant to my thoughts on this title. The first is that the more people who read my blog, the higher the chance that my content helps someone. Then, secondly, the higher the following the more opportunities and experiences you can access or be offered. I don’t want to milk it though… So, without further ado, I’d like to introduce you to:

INCASE YOU DIDN’T KNOW… AND P.S. THERE’S A NEW PROJECT DATE!!

So, I’m aware that it’s almost one week since the last blog post and in the second prior to it, I promised to attempt to create new content at least once a week because I’m putting so much attention and time into a hugely special project. But, recently; that’s had to take a backseat too when – on Saturday 18^th – I was sectioned under the 1983 Mental Health Act and admitted to a psychiatric hospital… 

I’m actually still currently sectioned, but I’ve been on home leave since Wednesday with a view to discharge tomorrow! I’ve very obviously and predictably started writing a blog post about the entire fiasco of my mental health crisis and how the legal assessment came about; but I found myself getting upset with the reminders of how difficult this past week has been so that’s gone on the backburner until I’m a little bit less vulnerable and ‘delicate’ (as my Mum put it!). But, I still wanted those of you who are only following my journey on here and not social media, to know why there’ll be an extra silence on I’m NOT Disordered…

Finally! The hugely special super-secret project has a new release date of November 18^th, 2023 – let the countdown begin!!

10 THOUGHTS, ADVICE, ‘PINCH-ME’ MOMENTS, RECOMMENDATIONS, & A SERIOUSLY MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT!!! | HAPPY 10TH BIRTHDAY, I’M NOT DISORDERED

“When you start living the life of your dreams, there will always be obstacles, doubters, mistakes, and setbacks along the way. But with hard work, perseverance, and self-belief, there is no limit to what you can achieve.”

Roy Bennette

 I feel like, there’s been a lot of instances – particularly recently – where I’ve made the comment “I can’t believe that this is happening…” and this blog post celebrating I’m NOT Disordered’s 10^th Birthday, is definitely one of those occasions…

I guess that the most obvious place to start is by talking about the creation of the blog way back in 2013…

In the summer of 2012 – after three years in and out of both psychiatric and medical hospitals – a psychiatrist recommended I be admitted to a hospital specialising in my diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder. I had an assessment with one unit, and they conceded that they couldn’t accept my flight risk. On my second assessment with the hospital in Bradford (over 100 miles away from home) they were happy to admit me, but I refused to go after hearing of their very structured, intense, and rigid way of running things. The sound of a therapeutic timetable and wake-up/lights-off times, felt overwhelming and unappealing.

TIPS FOR WRITING ABOUT HALLUCINATIONS | I WROTE A CHAPTER FOR THE PRACTICAL HANDBOOK OF HEARING VOICES – AVAILABLE TO BUY NOW!!!

Buy your copy: https://bit.ly/38P5yag

Let the walls crack, 'cause it lets the light in
Let 'em drag you through hell
They can't tell you to change who you are
That's all I know so far

All I Know So Far – P!nk

 A good few years ago, I began collaborating with the author of the book Emily’s Voices (which you can buy here), and she asked me to write a chapter for the book she was in the process of writing; The Practical Handbook of Hearing Voices! The book was scheduled to publish a while ago, but the pandemic kind of put a spanner in the works and so I’m really pleased to say, it has been officially published TODAY!!

I wrote a blog post for World Suicide Prevention Day with advice for writing about suicide (you can read it here), and its popularity has encouraged me to write this piece in a similar format…

Find a metaphor or expect a lack of empathy 

I think that when I discovered a metaphor for my auditory hallucinations not long after creating, I’m NOT Disordered in 2013, it was a real turning point in me feeling understood and that gave me the experience of an overwhelming sense of relief.

Without that metaphor, I experienced such a lack of empathy – which I attributed to the pure fact that no one could understand or appreciate what I was going through. And I believed this was the case because admittedly, even I didn’t understand what was happening to me. I didn’t have the words to form an explanation that I believed would be efficient and powerful enough so that others would understand. That might seem hard to believe considering I’m a blogger and all I do is come up with words to explain things! So I think that not being able to do that, really illustrates just how new, scary, chaotic, and unpredictable things were.

HOW TO READ ABOUT SUICIDE & STILL BE SAFE | I’M WRITING A FICTION BOOK – COVER RELEASE INCLUDED!!! | WORLD SUICIDE PREVENTION DAY 2021

I’ve felt some pain,

I’ve seen some things,

But I’m here now

Good Old Days – Macklemore ft. Ke$ha

This year, having already written a blog post (which you can read here), specifically in preparation for the inevitable influx of content themed around suicide for World Suicide Prevention Day; I thought I probably wasn’t going to publish any other content… Then I found myself working on my next book – which is largely around the reality of suicide and realised that now might be the ‘right’ time to reveal some of the top-secret details(!) and talk about how you can cope with reading topics like this…

My very first book; When All Is Said & Typed (which you can buy here) it was definitely a case of purely copying and pasting all of my blog posts on I’m NOT Disordered from its beginning in 2013, to the date of publishing the book in 2019. It meant that when I began considering another book, I felt it could also be based around blogging for two reasons: Firstly, I had learnt so much about blogging and I’m NOT Disordered had come so far since that first book that I had a ton of new ideas, and secondly, I felt that this book would feel so much more different if it meant I was writing it from scratch. That yes, there were blog posts copied and pasted, but they were mostly to be used as examples of the content rather than being the sole content of the book.