There's Always Light at the End of the Tunnel

This week saw the beginning of my college classes. As part of these class we have been working closely on bonding and getting to know each other in order to progress well throughout the next three years together. To allow us to get to know each other better and have a better understanding into each others life we were asked to prepare a life map and then make a presentation to our class regarding our life. I struggled with this assignment. I wasn't sure what I was going to share with my class. The fear of being judged, looked down on and treated like an outcast was at the forefront of my mind over the weekend in which I was preparing my presentation. I have decided to go into college and not tell people about my past, not because I am ashamed but because I wanted people to get to know me for who I am today but my past has made me the person who I am today. I fought with my mind the night before giving my presentation, my mind had all power and was controlling me. It was my mind w...

Bails of hay, real grass, some bunting and a picket fence on the side of the road in Dublin city centre, a site you couldn't miss, well unless you were me and walked right passed it without even noticing but I realised where I was meant to be when I saw some hay in the middle of the street! Today I attended park(ing) day in Dublin city centre to help hand out FREE stickers with the guys from See Change to encourage people to talk about mental health to break the stigma of metal health. If your like me you might not have a notion of what park(ing) day is because up until a couple of weeks ago I didn't know either. "PARK(ing) Day is a annual open-source global event where citizens, artists and activists collaborate to temporarily transform metered parking spaces into “PARK(ing)” spaces: temporary public places. The project began in 2005 when  Rebar , a San Francisco art and design studio, converted a single metered parking space into a temporary public pa...

On Monday I officially became a college student! Needless to say me being me I was very nervous and not very sure on what to expect. Thinking back now although today is only my third day I didn't really have anything to be nervous about. NUI Maynooth were more than welcoming, friendly and helpful. Beginning college is a new start for me, a start where nobody knows my background. Its not that I am ashamed of my past in terms of my depression and self harm but this new beginning in college allows me to have the chance to let people get to know me for me and not my past, people wont have the chance to judge me on my ill mental health and I am hoping it will stay that way. The aim of Label Jars Not People is to create a society where people with mental health issues are not judged, looked down on and seen as an outcast. My time here in Maynooth will be spent spreading the word of positive mental health and reducing stigma but it will also be a time for me to protect myself from the ...

On Saturday the 14 th  of September to mark world suicide prevention day/week Console held a Walk and Talk event in the Phionex Park. As we (Label Jars Not People)are working with Console this year to raise some much needed funds we were on site to lend a hand where needed. As suggested in the name this event was to encourage people to talk as talking is a key element to positive mental health. The walk/ run began at 10 am with many budding walkers and runners lining up at the starting line ready to take on this challenge in order to make a difference, get people talking and raise some much needed funds for Console. With the weather truing out to be dry and sunny people turned up without delay to take advantage of the good weather all the while supporting this amazing cause. This year from August 2013 to July 2014, our chosen charity is Console: the National charity for suicide prevention. We have chosen this charity as it is such a prominent charity in mental health awareness in ...

Taking time out to reflect is a huge part of my recovery and since I have finished my therapy in CAMHS I have had a lot of time to reflect on things which I have experienced in the past. I often think that I have had too much time to reflect but nevertheless it is important I do that so I can more on. One thing which I never really reflected on or thought about was my three and a half years which I spent attending weekly appointments with my CAMHS team. The only time I wasn't attending weekly appointments was the time when I was in hospital yet I was still very much linked in with the staff there. Now this post is not meant to be about praising CAMHS in Celbridge but I do have to say they were amazing. The support and care I received was top notch and I could not find any faults in it. They were dedicated to providing me with the best care possible and they did just that. They worked hard to get me a place in hospital when I was on the verge of attempting suicide, they worked h...