Breaking the silence

Post natal depression in mums of twins, triplets and more

 

Twins can be a gorgeous blessing but bring extra demands for the parents.

 "I DIDN'T want to get out of bed, I felt I'd let everyone down and just kept crying all the time," says Miranda.

How familiar does that sound? I know I've been there. Thankfully I'm better now but please, if you are suffering, do something about it. It's not your fault, you haven't let anyone down.

Miranda, mum to three-year-old twins Natasha and Bryony, adds: "The pregnancy had been terrible so after that, I thought I'd cope with anything. But the first seven months of my girls' lives were the worst I could imagine.

She got better: Remembering psychosis

THE following account was posted anonymously at the women's writing community Judith's Room, where Linda is a moderator. With the writer's permission, we are including it here.

 

“I love you Mum.”

 

She can hear the words but can't make sense of them. 

 

"I don't know if he is twisted or plain bad," she says.

 

She’s talking about my dad.

 

I can hear the words but I can’t make sense of them.

 

The stuff she’s saying is so distressing, so intense and so desperately sad.

The Positive Voices and Images Project, commissioned by Warwickshire User Forum and Warwickshire County Arts

[Lyn]

Speaking out on bipolar in a book that's gone down a storm

THE following article was written for the women's community Judith's Room. It's an inspirational story. 

I AM crazy.

There, I said it.

This is the opening line in my book. Now, I know it's not politically correct to use the term crazy when referring to someone with a mental illness, but I wear the label like a badge of honor.

I feel I've earned it. The first commandment in writing is: Write what you know. Well, I know crazy. My kind of crazy is known as bipolar disorder.

I was diagnosed fifteen years ago. Within that time, I've experienced relentless cycles of severe mood swings and psychotic episodes. I've been committed to a psych ward more times than I can count. I've been treated by various doctors and have been on countless medication regimens.

Mental illness is not a sign of weakness - audio interview

CLICK here to hear a quick interview about why I felt I wanted to talk about depression. You can also see some of the lovely comments people have left. (Scroll down to see them all.)

I'm not over-enamoured by the picture itself (well, would you be?) but am delighted to have helped spread the message that recovering from depression is possible - and illness is not your fault. [Linda] 

Welcome to the Breaking the silence blog

Hello!

This is a blog from Lyn Jenkins and Linda Jones.

Lyn is a documentary artist and regional co-ordinator with Mind and Linda is a journalist.

Both are involved with a mental health project in the Midlands and this will be their blog to chart progress, discuss issues and highlight articles and resources they hope may be of interest.

Thanks for reading. 

Subscribe if you like by clicking on the Feedburner button to the left.

Depression: My story and how journalists should speak up if they are feeling down

THE following piece appeared in Press Gazette.

As someone who is fully recovered, I hope my experience and the advice offered here by freelance journalist colleagues, the NUJ and charities, may help others suffering the effects of a mental illness.

I'd welcome any comments at the end of the post, especially from others with similar experiences. Again, I hope this could help show those going through a tough time that they are not alone.

AS I sat on my bed at 3am, sobbing and contemplating throwing myself through the window, I knew I had to seek medical help. Despite thinking everyone would be better off without me, part of me was still rational enough to know I didn’t want to feel like this.