There's Always Light at the End of the Tunnel

Its 6.30am and as I am sitting here writing this I am trying to make sense of an overwhelming sense of hope, of belief, of courage and of solidarity. This morning, at 3.30am I made my way along with some family and friends to take part in Darkness into Light, Maynooth and without a doubt it has been an amazing an unforgettable experience. I have often said that there is hope, that things will get better and that there is always light at the end of the tunnel but sometimes this can be hard to see, and recently I have been struggling to see that hope and light. This morning I saw that light, this morning I took a journey with my family, one which I have made many times before and this morning I travelled from darkness into light. It was more than raising money for a good cause, it was more than doing some exercise, it was physically stepping out of darkness and into light, reinforcing the belief that things can and things do get better. May is green ribbon month, a month in which ...

As someone who used to engage in self-harming behaviour I am now left with marks all over my body, marks which will remain on my body for the rest of my life. These marks were once something which I looked forward to seeing, something which I felt I needed in order to get through the day and something which I wanted but now, now this is not the case and these marks are for life . I try very hard not to let my past define but it is hard, how can I not let it define me when the pain and suffering which I experienced is written all over my body in the form of scars? Lines from my knees to my hips, from my stomach to my chest and from my wrists to my shoulders. Lines which symbolise a time in my life where I experienced nothing but pain, I struggled to see the good in each day and a time when I was ready to take my own life in the hope of finding some peace and removing myself as a burden to my family. These lines aren’t just any lines, it’s clear they are scars and it is clear ...

Have you ever noticed that only people with physical illnesses are seen as survivors? Have you ever noticed that if you survive a serious operation which could potentially end your life you are considered a survivor or if you are in a near fatal accident and live to tell the tale you are a survivor or if you have been diagnosed with a life threatening illness and defy all the odds and survive you are view by society as a survivor? Being viewed as a survivor symbolizes strength, courage, bravery and determination. Surviving something as life threatening as cancer or a rare heart condition gives you the title of a survivor, a courageous and brave warrior that never gave up fighting. It allows the people around you to become inspired, honor you and see you as a role model, all because society has given you the title of a survivor. It takes some strength to defy all the odds and become a survivor of a serious illness such as cancer, believe me I know the strength which ...

We are all very much aware of the recent death of the much loved actor Robin Williams. Robin Williams death as sparked much conversation in the media regarding suicide and more specifically reasons as to why people believe Robin Williams took his own life but I am not here to write about that as I know all to well from first hand experience that there are many different reasons as to why people take their own life, something which is not a choice nor is it a cowards way out. In light of his recent death my brother sent me an article which was written regarding his death stating that Robin Williams did in fact not die by suicide but he died from depression, a mental illness which has the power to control your life, invade your thoughts and make living a chore. This article (  http://www.umbrelr.com  ) is thought provoking and really do make you think about things, even I found myself changing the way I think about suicide despite myself at times in my life attempting t...

Something, which I struggle to deal with, is the idea of change. I hate change and would do anything to avoid it yet it is impossible to avoid change. However the certain aspects of your life, which you can control such as your style or your hair colour, are things, which I will never change, or so I thought. In a bid to raise funds in behalf of Label Jars Not People I have decided I would embrace something which I hate, something I struggle to deal with and something which many people too struggle with, I have decided to embrace change and actively change something which I have control over in my life in the hopes of raising some much needed funds for our charity of the year, Console. After some thought I have decided to dye my hair. What was originally meant to be my entire head soon went to parts of my hair as in my current situation with work and placement for college it is not practical to arrive with blue hair. So in a bid to follow through with my decision to dye my hai...

Nobody is immune from a mental illness. There is no special vaccine that can prevent a mental illness. There is however ways of looking after your mental health in order to reduce the chances of you suffering from a mental illness. These ways include eating right, exercising, getting enough sleep etc.  But no matter how much we look after ourselves we are still not immune to those bad days, the days where we want to stay in bed, curl up in a ball and wish we could go back in time. We are not immune to these bad days and every now and again it is these bad days that remind us we need some looking after, we need to take some time out or that we just need to do something, which we enjoy. For me it is these bad days that remind me that I need to give myself a break, look after myself and do something positive for me.  This week I had a bad day. I woke up and I was not in control of my mind. I was at the mercy of my thoughts, feelings and emotions. ...