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Mental Health

What’s Going On In My Head

By Life, ThinkingNo Comments

I’ve had a lot going on in my head recently, so much so that I decided to write my thoughts out as a mind map. The idea was to offload my thoughts on to the paper. I’ve written this blog post for the same reason. So this blog post is about me and mainly written for me.

Here is the mind map:

whats-going-on-in-my-head-April-2017

A mind map of thoughts to show what’s going on in my head.

As you can see I quickly ran out of room on the paper. So here’s the list of just some of the thoughts going on in my head:

My Brother after his recent spinal surgery – He is now in recovery. I am relieved that his surgery went well. But I worry that he’ll push himself too hard, as sometimes he thinks he’s indestructible.

My friend whose mum recently passed away – It was an expected death. His mum was 87 years old and had been in ill health for the last few months. She’d had a long and happy life and been in good health for most of her life. But it was still his mum. I have thought about my friend and his family often since I heard the news earlier this week.

How good my new Dorothy Morrison candles & oils smell – For several months I’ve been putting in small orders with The Angry Cauldron, ordering a few Dorothy Morrison candles and oils each month. A few weeks ago, I paid combined shipping and my orders arrived earlier on in the week:

Dorothy-Morrison-Candles-Big-Order-April-17

Photo above is of my candle collection.

Dorothy-Morrison-Big-Order-Oils-and-Others-April-17

Photo above is of my oils chest. Included are Dorothy Morrison limited edition oils and other essential oils.

Need eyes testing –

I’ve not had an eye test by an Optician for a while. The Optician has sent two letters. Need to sort this out.

Vodafone letters wrongly stating I owe money – Vodafone have apparently sold a £100 debt of mine to another company. The problem is that I don’t owe Vodafone any money. I left Vodafone two years ago (in May) and everything was paid in full by Direct Debit. I have the bank statements to prove it.

The good time had at Grandma’s 57th Birthday meal – The family met up for my Grandma’s 75th birthday. We went for a meal in one of my favourite restaurants. I had a great time and have found myself frequently thinking of the family and the meal.

Week Off Work – I’ve got a week of annual leave coming up. I can’t wait. I’ve been thinking a lot about how to spend my time during that week off.

My friend’s Wedding in May – I’ve been thinking about what to wear, what to buy as gifts and what to take with me to the hotel (I’ve booked a 2 night stay in the hotel where the wedding is taking place).

What I’d do if I won the euromillions jackpot – The euromillions jackpot has been won quite a few times by UK winners this year. At the moment it keeps rolling over, making the jackpot prize bigger and bigger. So for the last few weeks I’ve been buying tickets and fantasising about what I’d do if I won the euromillions jackpot.

Electricity Final Bill – I misread my final electricity bill from SSE. I saw a credit on my account and not the debt balance that was in green. Easily done. But has meant that I have to find over £200 to pay the final bill.

I’ve left SSE via uSwitch for two reasons. Firstly because they didn’t take enough money by Direct Debt, so I was always in debt with them. I had repeatedly asked them to increase the Direct Debit, but they never did. The second reason was to save £50 per year.

Need to get rid of old sofa – My mum is kindly giving me her old sofa when she gets a new one. This is great because my sofa is on its last legs.

Man with a Van for new sofa – See above.

My Depressive Episode (December 2016 to now) – In December I started having some difficulties with my mood. I put it down to Christmas and being busy. My mood problems continued in January, with me noticing more symptoms. Again I put it down to busyness. In February I started talking to my GP about it. Fast forward to this week and my GP has referred me to my local Community Mental Health Team to review my medication.

The result of this depressive episode is that I’ve been working, eating, bathing, sleeping (terribly) and doing nothing else. Very little reading. Practically no creative output including no writing, no blog posts and even no thinking about them. Depression makes you feel empty, no ideas, no inspiration, no motivation, no energy and no drive.

I have been mediating more often, taking more time to relax and tried to do more of the things that I like.

My car needs a clean – The inside of my car looks like a shanty town. This is one my signs and symptoms of depression.

Candle Making: Pumpkin Spice orange candles – I really want to make a batch of Pumpkin Spice scented orange candles for Samhain (Halloween). I have the perfect jars to put the candles in. But I need supplies and that means I need money. Despite not having the money or energy/motivation to make them now, I like to think about them. How good they would look. How good they would smell.

John Smith from The Dead Zone by Stephen King – I’ve been slowly reading The Dead Zone by Stephen King. It’s about a guy called John Smith who recovers from a coma and can see the future by touching people or things. What I can’t get over is the main character’s name. John Smith. The story makes clear from the outset that he is an average guy. So using such a common place name to represent that he’s an average guy is not required. It strikes me as lazy on King’s behalf. It’s a great story, but is let down by John Smith’s name.

new-hoover-April-17

My New Hoover bought on Amazon: VYTRONIX VTBC01 1400w Compact Cyclonic Bagless Cylinder Vacuum Cleaner HEPA Hoover

Microwave needs replacing – At home things generally break in threes.

First the hoover started making noises like it was about to explode and take out half of the apartment block with it, so I bought a new one (pictured left) for a bargain price on Amazon. If you’re looking for a new hoover, then this is the one. It’s compact and the suction is powerful. I’ve been really impressed with it and didn’t realise how bad the old hoover actually was.

Since then the mop has snapped and the microwave has stopped heating up food properly and is rusting. So I now need to buy a new mop and microwave.

I wants –

We all have an ego that demands things like a two year old child. On my list of wants right now are the following:

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Take care and blog soon,

Antony

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Holocaust Memorial Day: Francine Christophe Shares a Powerful Story of being a Child in a Concentration Camp

By The Web, ThinkingNo Comments

Today is Holocaust Memorial Day.

Francine Christophe was a child when she and her mother were put into a Concentration Camp for being Jewish. In this video she shares a powerful story from her childhood. It is beautifully told, sad and has a wonderful ending. I encourage you all to watch it, it is four minutes that I think you will find meaningful:

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Take care,

Antony

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#MentalHealthMonday – A list of Famous People who have experienced Mental Illness

By Health, Inspiration, ThinkingNo Comments

Below are a list of famous people who have experienced mental health illness (in alphabetical order and by condition):

Anxiety and depression often coexist. Bipolar is characterised by episodes of mania which can include anxiety and episodes of depression. So although many of these people could fit under more than one mental illness, I have placed them in the condition that I feel bet fits.

Anxiety

MI-Charles-Darwin

Charles Darwin, Naturalist & Geologist [Deceased] According to Amanda Green
Image From & Copyright © Wikipedia.

MI-Heath-Ledger

Heath Ledger, Actor [Deceased] According to Amanda Green
Image From & Copyright © HeathUltimate on Tumblr.

MI-Matt-Haig

Matt Haig, Author
According to his own book Reasons to Stay Alive
Image From & Copyright © Matt Haig

MI-Vincent-van-Gogh

Vincent van Gogh, Painter [Deceased] According to Brain Pickings
Image From & Copyright © Wikipedia.

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Bipolar

MI-Ben-Stiller

Ben Stiller, Comedian & Actor
According to Amanda Green
Image From & Copyright © Vulture.

MI-Britney-Spears

Britney Spears, Singer
According to Amanda Green
Image From & Copyright © Celebmafia.

MI-Carrie-Fisher

Carrie Fisher, Advocate & Actress [Deceased] According to Hannah Parkinson at The Guardian
Image From & Copyright © The Wall Street Journal.

MI-Catherine-Zeta-Jones

Catherine Zeta-Jones, Actress
According to Express
Image From & Copyright © Wikipedia.

MI-Isaac-Newton

Isaac Newton, Mathematician & Physicist [Deceased] According to Famous Bipolar People
Image From & Copyright © Wikipedia.

MI-Russell-Brand

Russell Brand, Comedian
According to Wikipedia
Image From & Copyright © Letters Live.

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Depression

MI-Abraham-Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln, Politician & Former President of the USA [Deceased] According to Amanda Green
Image From & Copyright © bio.

MI-Alanis-Morissette

Alanis Morissette, Singer
According to Amanda Green
Image From & Copyright © Alanis Morissette on Twitter.

MI-Anne-Rice

Anne Rice, Author
According to Your Dictionary
Image From & Copyright © The Daily Beast.

MI-Charles-Dickens

Charles Dickens, Writer [Deceased] According to Amanda Green
Image From & Copyright © bio.

MI-Denise-Welch

Denise Welch, Actor & Presenter
According to Denise Welch in the Mirror
Image From & Copyright © Daily Star Sunday.

MI-Dolly-Parton

Dolly Parton, Singer
According to Dolly Parton in the Mirror
Image From & Copyright © Syedammaralavi1 on Pinterest.

MI-Drew-Barrymore

Drew Barrymore, Actress
According to Caroline Bologna on The Huffington Post
Image From & Copyright © Drew Barrymore on Twitter.

MI-Emma-Thompson

Emma Thompson, Writer & Actress
According to Roya Nikkhah at The Telegraph
Image From & Copyright © Hamilton Hodell Talent Management.

MI-George-Michael

George Michael, Singer [Deceased] According to People Music
Image From & Copyright © Lynn Allaway on The Huffington Post.

MI-Harrison-Ford

Harrison Ford, Actor & Film Producer
According to living in stigma
Image From & Copyright © QUEERTY.

MI-J.K-Rowling

J.K Rowling, Author
According to The Mighty
Image From & Copyright © MTV.

MI-Jim-Carrey

Jim Carrey, Comedian & Actor
According to Mental Health Daily Blog
Image From & Copyright © AngelicView.

MI-Kylie-Minogue

Kylie Minogue, Singer
According to Amanda Green
Image From & Copyright © Mirror.

MI-Princess-Diana

Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, Princess [Deceased] According to depression-guide.com
Image From & Copyright © Dr. Rebecca Hains.

MI-Robbie-Williams

Robbie Williams, Singer
According to The Independent
Image From & Copyright © Robbie Williams Store.

MI-Robin-Williams

Robin Williams, Comedian & Actor [Deceased] According to The Independent
Image From & Copyright © DAVID LANZILAO/REDUX on Daily Beast.

MI-Ruby-Wax

Ruby Wax, Comedian, Actress & Writer
According to herself in her autobiography How Do You Want Me? and in her two books about mental health: Sane New World & Frazzled
Image From & Copyright © MindBodySpirit.co.uk.

MI-Stephen-Fry

Stephen Fry, Presenter & Writer
According to Stephen Fry himself on his blog
Image From & Copyright © Stephen Fry.

MI-Stephen-King

Stephen King, Author
According to Stephen King himself in an interview with The Guardian
Image From & Copyright © eddymarchini on Pinterest.

MI-Trisha-Goddard

Trisha Goddard, Presenter
According to Amanda Green
Image From & Copyright © Alchetron.

MI-Winston-Churchill

Winston Churchill, Politician and Former Prime Minister of the UK [Deceased] According to Paul Foley at the Black Dog Institute. Winston Churchill famously called his depression the black dog.
Image From & Copyright © ITV News.

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I know there’s loads of famous people who have experience of mental illness who are not on these lists. If you feel compelled to tell me whom I’ve missed off, please leave a comment below.

The point of this blog post is to show someone experiencing mental illness that they are not alone. That they are among the great and the good.

mental-health-focus

Last year I wrote a series of blog posts with a Mental Health Focus. You can read them here: 5 Brilliant TED Talks About Mental Health, I’ve Been One of the 1 in 4, A List of Common Conditions and Treatment & Recovery.

Write soon,

Antony



I aim for posts on this blog to be informative, educational and entertaining. If you have found this post useful or enjoyable, please consider making a contribution by Paypal:


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#MentalHealthMonday – General Statistics for Mental Health in the UK

By HealthNo Comments

Here are some general statistics for mental health in the UK:

mental-health-statistics-uk

References
Time to Change (2016) Myths/facts, Last accessed: 4th December 2016.
Mental Health Foundation (2015) Fundamental Facts About Mental Health 2015, Last accessed: 4th December 2016.
Mind (2016) Mental health facts and statistics – Key facts and statistics on mental health problems and issues, Last accessed: 4th December 2016.
Mental Health Network NHS Confederation (2016) Factsheet March 2016 Key facts and trends in mental health 2016 update, Last accessed: 4th December 2016.

mental-health-focus

Last year I wrote a series of blog posts with a Mental Health Focus. You can read them here: 5 Brilliant TED Talks About Mental Health, I’ve Been One of the 1 in 4, A List of Common Conditions and Treatment & Recovery.

Write soon,

Antony

mental-health-wisdom-banner



I aim for posts on this blog to be informative, educational and entertaining. If you have found this post useful or enjoyable, please consider making a contribution by Paypal:


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