Category: Lived experience
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Older with bipolar – a double whammy
Life after work I came to the end of my formal working life a few years ago and believed I still had something to offer in terms of skills and experience. After a few months I realised that I wasn’t quite ready for full retirement and I sought out part-time paid work – nothing onerous,…
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Navigating stigma with a mental illness
Are there signs before diagnosis? I was diagnosed with manic depression (as it was then known) relatively late, at thirty-one, after several years of depression and the requisite manic psychosis. I sometimes look back to see if there is an archaeology to it: those times at school I was sent out of class to walk…
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An ordinary London street with an extraordinary resident
and it’s not me… The final part of the story of a psychotic episode for World Mental Health Day
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Bon ton roulet – Let the good times roll
Sleeper – Part four. I cross Orange Street, skirt Leicester Square and make my way to the church I’ve known for years, but never visited. It nestles amongst the Chinese grocers and cafes in Lisle Street, its neighbour the Prince Charles cinema. A frieze of the Virgin Mary over the doorway welcomes the faithful and…
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Price and value
Sleeper – Part three. I take a deep breath and dive in. Cradling the bag in the crook of my left arm, logo facing outwards, and sweeping my right in a wide arc I call out like a fairground barker “Ladies and gentlemen, can you help me? I have a problem only you can solve.”…
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A Red Letter day
Sleeper – Part two. En route I make sure I speak to those who will notice, remember, and bear witness, so I focus not on the late-night revellers, still fuzzy-headed on their way home, but on the workers: four dayglo-clad street sweepers on the corner of Neal Street. I call in at the all-night kebab…