So, we have to start somewhere right? So why not with myself? Over the next few months, years I will be conducting a study into the treatment of mental health through fiction. But not made-up stuff. The background to every story will be a real-life example, filled with challenges where the sufferer has found a way to change their thought process. There is no one-stop cure for mental health. This is another hope.

 What I aim to do is create a space where those struggles can be explained. A place where anonymity is key. Protecting people from abuse because they have worries they cannot cope with. Something we’ve all had enough of.

I’m currently waiting to hear from Loughborough University to see if I’ve been accepted to do this for a PhD. Now, I’m no academic, this study is for everyone who knows someone who has mental issues they could use a little help with. There’s no stigma here, over 5% of the global population has depression, according to the World Health Organisation. I’ve suffered with it for more than 30 years, I have now found ways to control it, to be aware of it sneaking up on me. 

Do get in touch. I’ll be posting the first of my pieces in the next couple of days, in the meantime, here’s the handwritten version.