We had the lovely chance of talking to the inspiring lady behind www.mydiscombobulatedbrain.com - breaking down mental health stigma and discussing real life stories surround wellbeing.
Hi lovely! Tell us your name, and a little bit about yourself.
I am a 34, though I thought I was 33 this year and was wrong, my mum broke the news to me two days after my birthday. My hair is colourful and never does what it is told. I am a mumble of two squidges and one cat and a wife to basically my third and oldest child aka my husband. I lost my best friend at 18 to suicide and then I suffered with peri and post natal depression.
What inspired the name ‘My Discombobulated Brain’ for your blog?
Discombobulated is Stone Cold Steve Austin (the wrestlers) favourite word and when I was 13 years old he was my all time favourite hero! He says that his brain is Discombobulated from too many mental chairs to the head where as mine is because of a chemical imbalance in my brain.
What motivated you to start your blog, and when did it start?
I started speaking for the National Centre of Mental Health in Cardiff and it led to other projects such as an Ignite talk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHUWLvT1Osk and speaking at Cardiff university and they started asking for a ‘name’ this was it, THE name.
Your posts are so inspiring in raising awareness about mental health, tell us your favourite post and why!
Thank you! My favourite one is; “Telling someone with mental health to snap out of it is like telling a deaf person to listen harder” All our ‘stories’, ‘quotes’, everything, is from real people so that was said to me by a person that we know! I love all our real stories and for me Alex Moss’ story is my ‘favourite’ if you can have one. I got to know Alex after someone forwarded me her blog. I then emailed her and she said to me she lived really close to me. We met for a coffee, I met her mum and now they are family. They are a huge part of my support system, whether they know it or not.
What keeps you going through hard times?
My kids, cheese fest or what! They are amazing. Also getting the emails and the comments that say that by being me I am helping them. Actually I will tell you a comical story. I have a really good friend, we have known each other for years. I envy her in so many ways and the other day she told me she was proud to be my friend, gosh I am tearing up right now just writing it, and proud of everything that I am doing. We have known each other so long that that isn't something that we would tend to say to each other which is why it really made such an impace.
Do you have a favourite quote/saying that keeps you going?
Not really, does that make me a bad person! I have been thinking about this and my friend made me jumper for when I talk that says, “Don’t believe everything you think.” This does make me smile.
Tell us a little bit about your hashtag #sicknotsad. What does it mean to you and the blog?
The hashtag was something that I was passionate about. I fully believe that mental illness’ are not a emotion and an illness. This is what does my head in, you know what I am talking about the age old sayings of ‘snap out of it’ you know what if it was a bloody (sorry mum) emotion I would but it isn't I have an illness. That black and white to me.
Helplines for mental health are super important, do you have any that you recommend personally?
We put together a little help card which contains helplines and we are currently gorilla marketing them by leaving them in pub toilets and service stations to share out the contact list, esp boys loos I mean men you don’t talk!
Where can we find your blog and know more about what you do?
www.mydiscombobulatedbrain.com
Twitter: @discombobbrain
Instagram: discombobbrain