About ME

Nice to Meet you

Hi, and thanks for dropping by.

 

I started this blog as a way of helping me deal with a few of life’s problems. First, my mental health battles, or the war with the Black Dog as I like to call it. It’s a war where I don’t win every battle, but I will win in the end! My hope is that by recounting what helps win battles, and what doesn’t, I’ll help someone with their own challenges. Secondly, I want to highlight some of my hobbies and how they help me get through life. Or, alternatively, show how having compromised mental health can make them hard to follow.

So, something about me.

 

I, at the time of writing this, am a middle-aged man, married, with two teenage daughters, living in the wilds of Lincolnshire in the U.K. Oh, and I cannot forget the two dogs and a cat with more ‘cattitude’ than my wife and kids combined!

What I find funny in a weird way is that one of my furry companions is a black German Shepherd (You’ll hear everything about him at some stage!). When I talk about fighting the Black Dog, it is not him – usually!

Now, why write about mental health?

 

Well, that’s an easy question to answer – I am an old hand at the mental health lark.

 

I ‘ve battled with my demons since I was a child. It’s cost me a career in the police, friends, money, family, relationships – there really is not a single aspect of my life that it has not affected. My physical health has also been harmed, and I have been at the brink of suicide on three occasions- saved by a very observant wife. I have had the men in white coats visit so often we are on first name terms. And I have tried nearly every prescribed head drug and read many, many books on how to be sane. As a result, I am well versed all things mental health related. In fact, the last assessment I had with a shrink had me telling her why she was asking certain questions and reminding her of the ones she had missed out!

Anyway, I hope that by sharing my journey through life and what I have learnt, as well as discussing the field of mental health in general, I may be able to help you in some little way.

 

So, please explore.

 

Finally, if anything I write about affects you negatively in any way, please reach out to someone. If my words have a positive effect, then please share.

 

If I help one person, or save one life, then my time doing this has not been wasted.

 

I wish you well.

 

Steve