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My mental health issues started when I was young. When I was four years old, I experienced seeing things that were not there, and hearing voices. At the time, for reasons unknown; and my teens were filled with mood swings. I was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. I also live with a chronic illness called ulcerative colitis; a form of inflammatory bowel disease that causes inflammation of the colon and rec

When I first started writing about my experience with mental illness, the world of mental health in media felt quiet. Of course, there were people writing about mental health issues — but there was nothing I could quite relate to. Writing has always been therapeutic for me. I treat it like a diary. In some instances, this is great — it allows me to write authentically and realistically. In other cases, it’s not so great, because it means that I’m vulnerable. Not just to other

I was first introduced to musical theatre when I was about 8 by my Papa — he had the Les Misérables soundtrack and after finding myself...

I was working as an assistant teacher in English in my hometown Qingdao, in China’s eastern Shandong province, during the summer before...

In two weeks, my baby goes to daycare for the first time. He’s already one, and in his little life so far he has only met one other baby — once. I remember the first time he laid eyes on another child his age. It was like he’d had a lightbulb moment, realising that he wasn’t the only baby in the world. He looked so happy; smiling away and even trying to stroke the other boy like he would our cats. But it was also heartbreaking. Though I was made up for my baby, I couldn’t hel

Can early-life stress be the cause of the coexistent development of psychological, cardiovascular and metabolic disorders? The EarlyCause...

Sharing a part of yourself is never easy. Raising awareness for matters that are not widely discussed, especially amongst young women,...

Intrusive thoughts are a normal part of life. Unfortunately, everyone has them. Maybe you’ve been standing on a train platform and had a mental urge to jump onto the railway. The thing is with intrusive thoughts, that most people tend to shrug them off as just that — thoughts. However, people with obsessive compulsive disorder will likely ruminate on them. They’ll question what these thoughts mean and whether they have any purpose. The most likely answer is of course no — but

Let’s talk about the MINDEP study, my PhD journey and life after it. As a clinical scientist, it’s sometimes difficult to understand...

Aristotele once said that “the aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inner significance; for this,...

When I was growing up, I was brought up to understand, and to be understanding of mental health issues. My mum has bipolar disorder, and so I was always taught about it by her. I watched her experience episodes of depression and mania, which helped me to learn more about it, and to be empathetic, compassionate and supportive. I have an amazing relationship with my mother. We are best friends (though we argue like worst enemies occasionally), and so when I was later diagnosed

From a young age, I always wanted to perform. As a toddler, my mum put me in all of the ‘little girl’ classes — ballet, gym-bunnies, the...

In the UK, COVID-19 restrictions have begun to ease from March 8th, 2021 after a punishing 3rd lockdown during the British winter. The...

Yesterday, I shared a tweet talking about how I add things to my to-do list having already done them, just for the satisfaction of being able to cross it off. And it seems I’m not alone in doing this, as more than 3,000 people liked the tweet, and many commented to say they do exactly the same thing — with some branding it a form of self-care. me: *writes to-do list* also me: *adds something i’ve already done just for the satisfaction of crossing it off* — hattie gladwell (@

Modelling is exciting until you experience it yourself. There are many hidden agendas that made me question the industry itself. I...

I was very unwell with bulimia nervosa as a teenager. I felt insignificant next to my friends. I received comments on the size of my legs from horrible boys and I’d hate getting changed in the same room as my mates because I’d constantly compare myself to them. It was a feeling that had followed me my whole life, receiving comments on my weight from as early as four years old. I was always the bigger sister, in age and in size, and for me, the way my body looked had always st

If you have no idea what “psychoneuroendocrinology” means, no worries. It is not all that complicated and really just three words merged...

Bipolar disorder is a serious mental health condition that severely affects a person’s mood. It is a relapsing-remitting condition. It...

I remember sitting on my sofa in front of the television gazing past the screen. I wasn’t myself. I’d been feeling very low, and had been going through a depressive episode with my bipolar disorder. I remember feeling numb, as if I wasn’t really present. Like my body was floating above me as the world kept spinning around. I’d been experiencing suicidal ideation. But it was odd. I didn’t want to be here anymore, but I also didn’t want to die. I wasn’t afraid of dying, but it

A conversation on women’s safety and the potential to make change At 9pm on the 3rd of March 2021, Sarah Everard left a friend’s house in...

I am a junior doctor keen to explore the meaningful connection between my two personal passions, the arts and health. Can the arts be...

I’ve been a mental health writer for nearly eight years now. It’s something I enjoy writing about, and it’s something I know how to write about, because I have been diagnosed with several mental health conditions. But it’s not easy. Writing about mental health means opening up to the world and making yourself vulnerable. It means potentially sharing things that are quite personal to you, and worrying years later about who’s read it. Writing about your mental health means trus

I’ve always been someone who loves going out. To events with friends, for sleepovers, out shopping, clubbing, you name it. I was confident. I had been dealing with mental health issues for a long time, but from the ages of 18–23 I was outgoing. And then the Covid-19 pandemic hit, and it all changed. I had my son last April, and started experiencing postnatal depression and perinatal anxiety symptoms quite quickly. I remember having the baby blues pretty roughly — crying at ab