Mind The Gap

Every year in a person's life is important, but some are more defining and memorable than others. For me, one of these years was 2007. I have taken a long time to get my head around the events of 2007, and writing about it has been somewhat thereapeutic for me. I know that it may prove to be a difficult read for some of my family and friends, however I feel that I should still share my story. It is painful to revisit some events in our pasts, but by doing so we accept them and how they have helped shape us into the people we become. In early 2007, I was living away from home. I had left university early and was working two jobs, in a call centre and a nightclub. I had disposable income, loads of friends and a busy social life. I was going out most nights that I wasn’t working and spending my hard earned cash on partying. Looking back I realise that although I had a great circle of friends, I never felt like I really fit in anywhere. My university friends were studying and I ...

I was watching a news article the other day about how mental health issues are becoming more prominent in young people at university. The upheaval of moving away from home combined with the pressure of performing well academically were blamed, along with other factors. This news story really resonated with me as my time away at university was when I started to recognise that I had a mental health problem. I look back on the three years I was away from home with fondness. I made some great friends and had a wonderful time, as well as finding my independence. However, there is a black shadow which tarnishes my memories of this period, which was due to living with an undiagnosed mental health problem. According to the news story, 1 in 3 students suffer from mental health issues, and 1 in 10 admit to thinking about harming themselves in some way. At the University of Bristol, there have been four student suicides since September, which has led to them carrying out a review of thei...

For most of my life I have never really cared much about what I look like. Yes, I want to be slim and beautiful, but I have never invested much effort into making this happen. I have always worn what I feel comfortable in, done my hair and make up for a special occasion, and not paid much attention to what is 'trendy'. Over the last six months or so I have been questioning how what I look like can affect how I feel about myself. Now, I know you must be thinking, how self-centered, or self-involved does someone have to be to constantly be thinking about what they look like. I am not talking about big, significant changes, but rather little tweaks which can boost my confidence. I have always been an advocate of people (not just women) putting time and effort into looking perfect every day and applaud those who do; it is just not for me. Recently I have been making small changes to how I appear, not for the benefit of others, but to explore how this can affect my mood ...