Getting high in a different sort of way: from squatting to the floor 50 times a day — In October 2022, I contemplated suicide. I'd let things spiral so far out of control I fought to get out of bed and live each day - because I no longer saw the point in it. I knew of Mind as a charity but it wasn't until the start of…

And, yes, all these things DO exist — It will soon be the day that divides us: the living and the dead. Yes, dead people celebrate Valentine’s Day too and every year, they get discounted. Where’s their ‘top 10 gifts’ Listverse list? It makes me weep for the cadavers scrambling their bones together for last-minute ideas and coming…

Shannon Ashley’s exhausting battle with lipoedema is far from over — as published in MetroUK — As soon as I got my lipoedema diagnosis last year, tears rolled down my cheeks. For years, doctors told me that I was ‘just fat’. But finally, a medical professional had confirmed my disproportionately large legs were a medical condition — an extremely painful chronic disease that causes fibrotic fat…

Nothing’s been the same since the day it happened — Mental illness is a clever leech. No one can see it but you can still feel its teeth in your back. Inchmeal drinking out your life until pints of you are gone. You’re not sure where it came from or when it found you but you know one day it…

An up-and-coming autistic writer who captivates with her personal mental health stories and poetry — I’m fortunate that I often get opportunities to meet new people on Medium all the time. Even more so now I am an Editor. What’s rare is getting a certain feeling when you first read a piece. …

The rant nobody will ask for but most secretly need — Whether you like it or not, every reader on Medium is going to be sold the writing dream. Some are more susceptible to it than others. Enter me when I joined Medium in 2020. I was a professional copywriter who thought my 7+ years of experience would give me major…

Adults and young people should have a clear path through the minefield of free mental health support — In researching the state of the UK’s mental health since the nationwide lockdown hit in March 2020, I’ve stumbled upon some concerning statistics. Suicide claimed a staggering 25,871 lives in England during the first 9–15 months of the COVID-19 pandemic¹. The WHO estimates a 26% and 28% increase respectively for…

Who I read on Medium, why it matters and sweet props where props are due 🍊 — Hey, it’s Rose. 👋 January. The month we vow to change our lives for the better by making promises we’ve already broken by the end of it. Try as we might, it often happens. No need to beat ourselves up about it. There’s always February. My pen-friend Bob Merckel is…

I suffer from Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria and I need to share how I’m feeling with someone — I’ve lived with Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria (RSD) for most of my life. It’s become an unwelcome lodger that not even countless therapy sessions could evict. It causes me extreme emotional sensitivity — sometimes even pain — triggered by the perception that I’ve been rejected or criticized by people I deem…