There's Always Light at the End of the Tunnel

Yesterday I found myself missing my mam which is not surprising as not a day goes by that I don't think about my mam or miss my mam but yesterday was different. Every year there are two days which I dread and would do anything to avoid and yesterday was one of those days. Yesterday marked 8 years without my mam. The 30th of July is marked in my house with a trip to my mams grave with some nice flowers to show our love and how much we miss her. Yesterday was different though, yesterday I wasn't able to sad or annoyed at the loss of my mam, yesterday I felt numb and empty, I didn't know what to feel. As usual my dad, brother and I went to my mams grave but this year was different for me, I couldn't get out of the car, I couldn't stand at her grave, I couldn't talk to her, I couldn't cry for her all I could do was sit in the car and wait for my brother and my dad. Thinking today about what I was going to write here on my blog I decided to share my confusion...

We are back and bigger and better this year. Last year we were a small team of five people but this year we are a team of eleven people. With a team of five people we worked hard and as a team and as a result we raised a total of 1000 euro for the national charity Aware. If five people can raise 1000 euro by selling t-shirts and holding a cake sale we are feeling optimistic about this year selling t-shirts and holding events in order to promote positive mental health and raise much needed fund for this years charity, Console. This year we are selling t-shirts with positive sayings and designs in order to promote positive mental health and all profits will be going to Console. Not only that but we will also have more designs than last year designed by our very own Ashling Nesbitt, keep an eye out for the pictures :) In addition to selling our t-shirts we hope to hold events in our local community and in areas such as Dublin. This events will include everything from Family Fun days to ...

I recently finished  three and a half years of psychotherapy in CAMHS- child and adolescent mental health services. As I turned 18 during my final year in school and was struggling with the stress and pressure that the leaving cert brought with it, an agreement was made between my psychologist and my dad that I would remain in the child services even after my 18th birthday until I finished my leaving cert in order to prevent any further stress being put on me which may have contributed to a downfall leading to further self-harm. I wasn't going to complain about this decision as it was in my best interest to continue my psychotherapy in child services as it would mean less stress for myself as changing services and getting to know new psychologists is very stressful and in the past has proved problematic for myself. While this arrangement was for my best interest I am currently feeling a bit lost. When I finished in CAMHS I was told that I would be transferred to adult s...

It is not very often that you hear people talking about a health mind. I have often heard people talking about the importance of having a healthy heart and a healthy body but what about a healthy mind? Do we not feel it is important to have a healthy mind? Is our emotional well-being and mental health not as important as our physical health? Our society has created a stigma attached to mental health and well that certainly needs to be changed because the fact of the matter is that mental health is just as important as our physical health. Often when people think about mental health they think about it as something negative but the reality of it is that mental health is not a negative thing. Mental illness may be considered a negative thing but not mental health, mental health is something we all have. "Mental health is not just the absence of a mental illness. It is defined as a state of well-being in whig every individual realises his or her own potential, can sole with the nor...

Ever since I was young athletics has always had a huge part to play in my life and more importantly Celbridge athletic club has been a huge part of my life. I have been a member of Celbridge athletic club for the past 11/12 years. I was always up at the track training once I was old enough to join the club and despite being too young to compete in competitions I was always brought along to the competitions. During my childhood while things were a bit rocky and often uncertain athletics was the thing which I could always count on. Our trips to competitions during the weekends would be our family time, my two brothers, my mam and dad and me. Once I was old enough to compete in all the competitions I was at every competition be it track and field or cross country I was there. If I was a sub on a relay team I was there if it was raining I was there, If I was sick I was there. It took me a while to find the event for me and so for many many years of athletics I went to competitions and ...

On Sunday the Brady's Florida adventure officially began :) So on Monday myself and my family made our way bright and early I might add to Walt Disney world. Despite the rain and the thunder and the lighting we had an amazing day!!  We arrived around 10am and we did not leave the park until around 11pm needless to say the next day we were all exhausted but still ready for more Disney with a half day spent in Disney's Hollywood studios.  We laughed and we cried, well Shane and Amy cried and I screamed on the roller coasters.... Crying at one stage and screaming before we even got on the rock n roller coaster in Hollywood studios but I loved every minute of it. The weather had been good I guess. Not a lot if sun but it is warm very warm. Yesterday was been the best day so far (we even got burnt!) .... Nice bright, sunny and warm. I am a lover of warm weather but due to my scars I struggle with wearing t-shirts. Yesterday for the first day on this ...