HOW IT ACTUALLY FEELS TO BE IN THE MEDIA AS AN INFLUENCER & SUICIDE SURVIVOR | FEATURING IN THE COMING TOGETHER NEWSLETTER!!! | IN COLLABORATION WITH WAYTHROUGH

“Nobody counts the number of ads you run; they just remember the impression you make.”

William Bernbach

SUBSCRIBE TO THE WAYTHROUGH NEWSLETTER!!

A couple of months ago, I’m NOT Disordered reached the milestone of having 2.5 million readers and as a result of this, I put together a press release (I blogged about my advice on writing one of these, back in 2021 and you can read it here) and circulated it around my local and national news outlets. It’s resulted in a few features and the most recent, will be in the November issue (released November 28^th) of Waythrough’s newsletter: Coming Together and on speaking with the Communications and Marketing team, I had the idea to create this blog post promoting the newsletter because it’s actually not necessarily internal, anyone can subscribe (just click the link above or here!). In publicising it and having had numerous other appearances in the media, I thought I’d discuss how it feels to do this sort of work in the hope that it provides insight, and that budding Influencers or Bloggers feel more prepared in being offered or seeking publicity for their content creation…

THE SECRET'S OUT | MY BOOK | WHEN ALL IS SAID & TYPED IS AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER!!!

Available to pre-order NOW for £1.99

Released 01.02.2019

I think that ever since I’m NOT Disordered began to show popularity and success, I’ve kind of felt like writing a book was inevitable. And there has been so many occasions when professionals, friends, family, and readers have told me I could write a book about my mental health journey.

I think I waited so long to do this because I felt like my journey was unworthy of an entire book. 

Something I’ve experienced a lot with my mental health is having a lack of memory of the times when I’ve been poorly. This is both good and bad. It’s good because a lot of terrible things happened during those times and the bad part is that my lack of memory makes for a very thin book!

Luckily, I have my blog to tackle this dilemma! 

If I hadn’t blogged half of the things that I did, from my time in Hospital, then I wouldn’t have known all the things that’d actually happened there! I remember the life support machines, Intensive Care, and Mental Health Act assessments but I don’t remember all of the dramatic therapy groups, my struggling on leave home, and the constant battles over medication.

My gratitude for I’m NOT Disordered is for more than it supplying content for a book though!

Something I’ve never said before… this blog has given me my life back.

The abuse and my poorly mental health took away so many years when I could’ve done so much more with my life than sit in Hospital beds taking medication and talking about all of the bad thoughts and feelings I was having! But I’m no longer bitter about this.

And that’s because of I’m NOT Disordered.

My blog has given me a reason to be thankful for going through all of those bad times; because without them, I wouldn’t have I’m NOT Disordered! I wouldn’t have found my passion as a Blogger and I wouldn’t have all the opportunities that I do.

So it is with great gratitude and honour that I bring to you…

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Aimee Wilson's mental health blog; I'm NOT Disordered has had huge success across the world; with numerous media appearances, and collaborations.
When All Is Said & Typed is an archive of the entire collection of posts from I'm NOT Disordered (dated from January 2013 - January 2019) arranged into chapters and in chronological order. It can be used as a self-help guide with numerous posts featuring advice on managing your mental health or as a source of inspiration to read through the author's journey from psychiatric hospitalization to recovery.

Available to pre-order NOW for £1.99

Released 01.02.2019

TODAY I LOST A BESTFRIEND | REST IN PEACE DOLLY 12.10.2014 - 16.10.2018

I’m so sorry to have to tell you all this but today (16.10.2018) my cat, Dolly was put to sleep.

Last Monday (07.10.2018) Dolly got poorly so I took her to the Vets and she was put on an IV drip of fluids to help ‘flush her system out’ after blood tests showed that her kidneys weren’t working properly.

She came home Friday but on Saturday she had four episodes of diarrhea and two of vomiting, so I took her back in and initially the Vet said they could send her home with some medication for the nausea and vomiting but my Mum suggested we do a blood test to put my mind at ease. Even the Vet was surprised with the results; her kidney function was really bad and so she admitted again for a weekend of fluids and the plan to do a repeated blood test on Monday (15.10.2018). Again, the Vets were surprised to find that her kidneys had worsened. They told me that she could come home, and I remember asking “are you sending her home to die?”

TOP 10 UK BLOGS ON BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDER

So overwhelmed and proud to announce that I’m NOT Disordered has made it onto FeedSpot’s UK TOP TEN BLOGS about Borderline Personality Disorder!

Huge thank you to everyone at FeedSpot and most importantly, to all of you guys reading this! Without my readers I wouldn’t have the incredible opportunities that I get, and my work means the world to me! You guys have given me something to be proud of and allowed me to finally find my purpose in life. And that, is something I will be forever grateful for.

https://blog.feedspot.com/uk_borderline_personality_disorder_blogs/

WEGO HEALTH AWARDS

Thank you to everyone who’s voted so far!

To nominate me/I’m NOT Disordered for the category ‘Best In Show: Blog’ please visit:

https://awards.wegohealth.com/nominees/12376

MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS WEEK 2018 WITH I'M NOT DISORDERED | INTRO/WHAT TO EXPECT

https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/campaigns/mental-health-awareness-week

Welcome to Mental Health Awareness Week (MHAW) 2018 with I’m NOT Disordered!

This year, the focus of MHAW is stress, so for every day this week (14^th – 20^th May) there’ll be a post on this topic!

I’ve been toying with the idea of whether to tell you all what to expect from I’m NOT Disordered during this time, and whether to keep it a total secret and let you see day by day… But I couldn’t face publishing a post so short!

I'M NOT DISORDERED TAKES PART IN THE UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD RESEARCH STUDY | AD

The University of Sheffield have developed a questionnaire called ReQoL (Recovering Quality of Life) to help understand feelings and monitor the progress of recovery and quality of life for people who have different mental health conditions.

The research is being carried out by the University of Sheffield and is funded by the Department of Health.

It involves a quick (5-10 minutes) multiple choice questionnaire that does not affect your care.

For more information on the study please contact Dr Anju Keetharuth at the University of Sheffield by email at reqol@sheffield.ac.uk or by telephone on: 0114 222 0884

You can also read about the findings of the study and more details on the website: http://www.reqol.org.uk

NATIONAL SERVICE USER AWARDS 2018 | #NSUA2018

[Note to see who won each category; follow #NSUA2018 on Twitter!]

I remember when I was in Cygnet Hospital Bierley and they first mentioned the National ServiceUser Awards (NSUAs) and I couldn’t have been more interested! It was only the second time that Cygnet Healthcare had hosted the NSUAs and so there wasn’t much experience or knowledge when it came to the invitations I was involved – and by that I mean that I hand-made every single one!

The following year, I attended as a finalist alongside YoungMinds in one of the categories and we won!

So, this year, when I got told that I could have a spot doing the social media for the 2018 NSUAs I was over the moon and very excited! After many talks I was finally named the Event Blogger and then the Head of Social Media took poorly on the actual day of the Awards, I stepped up and attempted to fill his shoes with a barrage of tweets (each with the #NSUA2018 hashtag!).

WHY MY SHOULDER INJURY HAS AFFECTED MY MENTAL HEALTH

I’ve been meaning to write this post for quite a while now – well, since I first injured my shoulder which was September or October 2017! But I knew that writing it, thinking about what I need to write, could upset me so I knew I either needed to be sleepy and able to write this and go straight to sleep to avoid the aftermath, or needed to be really happy so that it might not even make a dent in my mood. Turns out, tonight, I’ve got the best of both worlds…

I think I wrote about the event that I dislocated it at actually… It was with my community support providers; Richmond Fellowship and by some strange reason, I was co-chairing their entire event!

A few months before that, in the June, I broke my collarbone whilst play fighting with a family member and didn’t realise that this meant my shoulder was still quite fragile. I don’t think I even turned that much when I heard a ‘pop!’ and felt my eyes tear up as I quickly excused myself from the event and ran to the toilets – the pain was so incredible that I actually felt sick with it.

#NURSINGANDCOPRODUCTION WITH CYGNET HEALTHCARE | AD

I was honoured, this week, to attend another Cygnet Healthcare event: ‘Cygnet Nursing Conference: IsCo-production the answer to reducing restrictive practice?’

Being invited to conferences, I like to make sure that I:

1. Understand the topic,

2. Have an interest in the topic, and

3. It will be relevant to readers.

When friends and family were asking what the event was about, I simplified it (not to sound patronising or condescending) with ‘talking about how working together can result in less restraints and forced medications and things(!).’ Number one? Check!

Co-production is the buzz word of the mental health industry right now; professionals are all promoting working alongside service users to create; a better experience of services, a safer environment, and a better understanding.  My personal experience of mental health services (as a whole) has been that staff would tell service users the rules and there were ‘punishments’ when they weren’t 100% adhered to. As my mental health improved, I began to see that what would be easier, is to work together; there could be no understanding without equality. Number two? Check!

The conference was centred around mental health. Number three? Check!

It was an early start - as most events/conferences are – but refreshments in the registration room and Rafik(Raf) Hamaizia’s cheerful, and positive Welcome speech seemed to have everyone eager for the day ahead!

COPING WITH MY ABUSER'S PROMOTION

I know already that this is going to be a hard post to write. And not because it’s deep, or emotional. But because I need to talk about something to do with my trauma, and as most of you (although there’s been a lot of new readers recently! – Welcome to I’m NOT Disordered!!) know; ‘due to legal reasons,’ I can’t give much information about the sexual abuse and rape that I was subjected to.

I could understand not being allowed to tell you the person’s name, but it’s that I can’t even tell you the basics. For example, what profession this person is in, or where the abuse happened. Apparently, just by saying those two basic details, and if you knew me during the years the abuse happened (2006-2007) then you could put it all together; and make a reasonable assumption of the identity of the person. Apparently, that wouldn’t be fair on him because he was never proven guilty.

AD | CYGNET NATIONAL SERVICE USER AWARDS | NOMINATIONS OPEN SOON!! | AD

I’m delighted to be able announce to you guys that for the 2018 National Service User Awards (NSUA); I’ll be taking on the role as Head of Social Media!

It’s a brand new role for this year’s NSUA and is a mark of their popularity in that they now need extra support in their publicity and communications (specifically in terms of social media) because they seem to become inundated with calls, emails, messages to the Facebook page, and to the Twitter account… But it’s thank you to all you lovely readers that they’ve chosen me for the job! That they’ve picked me for the position. Because if I’m NOT Disordered weren’t so popular then it would be of no benefit to them.

Initially, I was upset to hear that I wasn’t being given the log in details for the specially created accounts; although, at the same time, I understand the risk in allowing someone else access to an organisations’s social media. And now we’ve talked about it; it’s actually a compliment; they think I can do more good through I’m NOT Disordered and my own social media with its extended; and kind-of-huge(!) audience, readers, and followers.

I’m also now delighted to tell you all that on MONDAY 16^TH OCTOBER, the nomination categories for the National Service User Awards 2018, were announced to be…

·         Community Social and Vocational Initiatives

·         Breaking Down Barriers: Tackling Stigma

·         Health and Wellbeing Initiative

·         Outstanding Service User Involvement Award (team or individual)

And also the usual – ever popular – Service User Choice Award which will be voted for during the event!!

!!!NOMINATIONS ARE NOW OPEN AND WILL CLOSE ON FRIDAY 8^TH DECEMBER 2017

AND

INFORMATION ON HOW TO MAKE A NOMINATION WILL BE HERE SOON!!!

COMING SOON | LINE FROM AN UNFINISHED LOVE SONG BY GAIL CURRY | Ad

HI FOLKS!


I just wanted to let you all know about a project that's coming up in the next week or so... The launch of the poetry book: Lines From An Unfinished Love Song by Gail Curry

A while ago, I was approached by Gail, who is about to release her first book and I'll be working with her as her personal PR assistant!

Here's some photos to get you excited:

And to keep up with the latest updates, visit the Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/LinesFromAnUnfinishedLoveSong/

And to read my review of the book from my exclusive preview copy visit:
https://happyplanetstudio.co.uk/lines-unfinished-love-song/

AD | PRESS RELEASE: GARY JAMES MCQUEEN RELEASES MENTAL HEALTH CARDS - "ARE YOU OK?" | AD

After studying Textiles as a GCSE student, I’ve had a passion for fashion; and as I grew older I became addicted to reading Vogue and Elle for style inspiration and the amazing photography of runway shows that I knew I’d never get to see in real life. Then, in my twenties, I moved onto makeup and beauty products (still with a jam-packed wardrobe!) and developed a keen eye for designer bargains (because there’s no money on the trees in my garden) in T K Maxx – particularly Valentino bags!

As I moved into blogging and the online mental health world in 2009, it became clear that most blogs were about fashion and beauty. It was a good thing at the time because it provided a gap in the market for I’m NOT Disordered to fill and at the time there were only four popular mental health blogs (and none of them were written by a current inpatient).

Like I said, the fashion and beauty bloggers took over the internet and seemed to be the ones who collaborated and were approached by organisations who wanted to use the blog as an advertising opportunity with the belief that when readers saw the blogger wearing a particular shoe, or talking about a new mascara; their followers would want to buy the same thing.

MY BBC1 'NEWS AT TEN' APPEARANCE! | 22.05.2017 | Ad

Waking up to a missed phone call from Raf Hamaizia and a text asking me to call him back; I didn't, for one minute, think that returning the call would result in an appearance on the BBC national news!
A BBC Producer (Elizabeth Neeham-Bennett) had been in contact via the Group Medical Director at Cygnet Healthcare, with the opportunity for an Expert By Experience to be featured on the BBC 'News at Ten' later that day (22nd May).
The piece was in response to The Guardian's publication of leaked Facebook policies given to their moderators (the people that get your message when you click that little 'report' button). The policy mentioned 'revenge porn,' 'threats of violence,' and 'hate speech' and 'terrorism;' but the BBC were focusing their attention on the Facebook guidelines surrounding self-harm, and suicide, related content posted on Facebook.

“We’re now seeing more video content – including suicides – shared on Facebook. We don’t want to censor or punish people in distress who are attempting suicide. Experts have told us what’s best for these people’s safety is to let them livestream as long as they are engaging with viewers."

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/may/21/facebook-users-livestream-self-harm-leaked-documents

"Such footage should be “hidden from minors” but not automatically deleted because it can “be valuable in creating awareness for self-harm afflictions and mental illness or war crimes and other important issues.”

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/may/21/revealed-facebook-internal-rulebook-sex-terrorism-violence

"Watching It, I Felt So Vulnerable" - SPEAKING ABOUT SELF-HARM ON ITV TYNE TEES NEWS | Ad

WATCH THE PIECE ON ITV TYNE TEES NEWS

READ THE ARTICLE

When I got the e'mail from Northumberland, Tyne & Wear NHS Foundation Trust's (NTW) Comms Advisor with the subject line 'Possible ITV interview?' I couldn't open it fast enough! 

Turns out, newly released statistics showed that the amount of young people being admitted to hospital due to self-harm has significantly increased recently; and ITV wanted to run a piece about it on our local news; Tyne Tees.

I've always tried to reiterate that I am not a YouTuber. Or even, unless in he most basic of definitions, a Vlogger. I think that the only parts of my YouTube videos I've ever edited, has been the clips of Dolly when she's dreaming or chartering to birds and I edit out the minutes where she's stopped or gone quiet. I don't have a fancy camera with all of the posh settings to make the background blurred, or sending it to my phone via Bluetooth. I also don't have the big lights and microphone. Or the skills to add transitions between each clip. My point is, I'm not a YouTuber; and the vlogs you watch are exactly how things took place. I don't watch them back before uploading to check what I've said.

"Did you have a good Christmas?" "Um, no." - CHRISTMAS 2016

"Why do people ask questions that they only want a particular answer to?!"

Merry (belated) Christmas!
I hope you all had a good one!

I, did not.
It makes me sad to say that but I'm all about honesty...

ALTHOUGH! I do quickly want to make a point of saying that I love every single person who I shared my Christmas with this year: Mum, Ronnie, my Grandad, my Aunt, the cats, Ronnie's Family: Mum, Dad, Gran, Sister, Sister's Boyfriend, Brother, Sister-in-law, two Newphews, and the Dog!
AND that I am so thankful for all of my gifts this year from family (and almost family!), a top notch Fiance who reads my Wish Lists, beautiful best-friends (Lauren, Ellie - with my beautiful God-Children; and Sophie) and my thoughtful neighbours.

Photography: RJ Photography

#NEFestiveTTC16 | Ad

Note: Go to the pre-event promo to see the event poster, and to read more about my working relationship with Time To Change  .

TIME TO CHANGE'S FESTIVE NETWORKING EVENT IN THE NORTH EAST

Photography: RJ Photography

A Time To Change event, you say? 

Networking, you say? 

With 'festive' in the title?

See you there!

I believe that these networking events are so essential in spreading Time To Change's message to raise awareness of mental health stigma and the work they do to tackle it. Time To Change's Angela Slater (Regional Community Equalities Coordinator) explained that the motivation behind such events; the reason they're so essential, is because it connects people in so many different ways. Ways that can be beneficial to a lot of people. The event provided the opportunity for many organisation representatives to meet with Experts By Experience who can offer their unique skills to any mental health work; and by having a number of different groups, companies, and organisations there; connecting with one another also meant shared resources and skills, and help for one another who might be stuck for ideas, unsure on how to move forward with an idea, or just completely inexperienced in mental health work, campaigns, and events.

PRE-EVENT PROMO: #NEFestiveTTC16 | Ad

#NEFestiveTTC16

https://www.time-to-change.org.uk/

*More PRE-EVENT PROMO for this soon!!*

#NEFestiveTTC16

PDA or Expressing Love? [WE GOT ENGAGED!!] | Ad

Photography: RJ Photography

If you don't follow my Twitter or stalk my Instagram or subscribe to the YouTube channel then you might not be aware of my recent relationship changes...

[^^ cheeky little self promotion!]

I've been wanting to write something for/about Ronnie for quite a while, but I was having an internal debate; on the title of this post... I've seen many-a rant on social media about people (usually there's someone in particular that a person is having a sly dig at) who share details of their private life for the world to see. But it seems that there is no code for this. No rule. There's nothing that tells us 'it is ok to speak about your friends but it's not okay to speak about your family.' Or; 'it's ok to talk about your mental health problems, but it's not okay to talk about what has caused it.' Or (more relevantly) 'you can quote funny things your partner says but not those times when they're about their love for you.' You can't have a rule but make exceptions; because then how could it be decided where the line should be drawn?

Ronnie: Talking about our relationship on social media has always been cool with me. There's nothing wrong with letting people know how much you love someone or what you've been up to that day/night; but some things are still kept private too.

I finally came to the conclusion (obviously) that it's a personal decision and I'll post the things that I'm comfortable about telling people - with Ronnie's agreement. And if ever there was a 'perfect moment' to write about our relationship, it would be now.

Because now; there's this pretty sparkling thing on my finger to show the world that we promised each other forever. 

Ronnie has been there from the very beginning. Literally. We met in January 2009 and I took my first overdose that June. I toyed around with the idea of writing about these years (2009-2012) in our relationship but I feel that they're important to help those new to my life to understand the current changes and general 'goings-on!' Also, I realised that my reluctance to write about this time was that I didn't want to 'dwell on the past.' BUT, everything makes us who we are today; and there's a lot of different memories and emotions from those years...

In short, Ronnie held my hand whilst a hole was drilled into my shin bone to administer life-saving treatment, he'd take me to Hospital, or bring me home from Hospital, at the most ridiculous of times, and would sit in A&E with me for hours on end waiting to be seen. I think that those years were not only the hardest, but also the most strengthening of our relationship. As with many of my relationships (friends and family etc) during that time, once I was better, I felt that I had to 'make it up' to the person. An apology. A thank-you. These convictions have all gone after talking it through with Ronnie, and I think that the balance and equality in our relationship now is one of the most amazing qualities to it.

Our many fun and happy moments during 2009-2012 included driving for almost an hour for a McDonald's because we thought that a one further away (than our three nearest ones!) made their burgers much better, creating the inside jokes that I we still say seven years later, the many road trips; with my favourites being to the Lake District, Manchester and to a family wedding (from his side) in Knottingley. And, of course, I can remember all of those key moments:

the first time we met - that only after drunk kisses I was told that the people staring at me across the room were his parents and younger sister!

When we first said 'I love you' whilst driving home and Ultrabeat - Pretty Green Eyes was playing.

When we first danced together at my 18th Birthday Party (February 2009) and Beyoncé - Halo was playing.

Keep an eye out for the next post all about our relationship now and some more photographs from our amazing glamping experience (that Ronnie chose to propose on) with Pasturewood Holidays

PLUS!!

 EXCLUSIVE DISCOUNT CODE to experience it for yourself!