Just another 5 minutes

Listen to me talk about my experiences of mental illness on BBC Newcastle - 7minutes into the programme

Today, Time To Change reveal results of a survey of 2000 British workers, which suggests mental health remains one of the last taboos in the workplace.

When asked to select from a list, the topics they would feel comfortable discussing with their colleagues:
30% felt comfortable discussing a relationship break up; 25% money problems 20% dating advice 19% religion 18% sex, while only 13% said mental health, with the topic ranking lowest out of a total of 10 subjects.

One in four of us will experience a mental health problem in any given year and yet Time To Change say these figures show that when it comes to employment the vast majority of people still feel unable to speak openly about their mental health with their line managers and even their close colleagues.


The survey also revealed that over half of the workers said they would support a colleague if they noticed they were struggling with their mental health. However, 37% of these people said they wouldn't know how to.


We are now in t…

I know I've been quiet of late but I'm back. It's hard to know where to start.

I've had a challenging couple of months and I haven't been well enough to blog. The biggest problem is that I've not been able to talk openly due to the circumstances and that was stressing me out as I've actually needed the support more than ever.

I'm not prepared to go into details but what I will say is I've been the most anxious I have ever been. I wanted to write about my symptoms and just how bad anxiety can be. It's so far from being nervous before a test or interview. Anxiety is completely consuming and there is no escape or relief. If you think about a time when you've been nervous and then imagine that those nervous feelings don't go away, they are with you every minute of the day and keep increasing so that other things in your life also begin to make you feel unsettled, uneasy, worried, jittery, and anxious.

My anxiety has exploded like a firework…