Read on Twitter
Hi - please read this thread 
if you are struggling with your mental health. #mentalhealth
I am posting in the hope that it might help someone else. Plus you'll get to see what happened to this canvass as a pay off
:
if you are struggling with your mental health. #mentalhealthI am posting in the hope that it might help someone else. Plus you'll get to see what happened to this canvass as a pay off
:
1. I don't really talk about my mental health on Twitter, tbh I have only recently started to talk about it at all. Over the past 6 months I've had a severe depression that, in addition to COVID restrictions, has left me feeling quite isolated.
#MentalHealthAwareness
#MentalHealthAwareness
2. The depression, which I have had on and off since being a teenager, has affected my ability to concentrate & previous joys such as reading & watching films have been unattainable for several months. I've not been able to work & was, at one point, suicidal.
3. I now have support from mental health services & a counsellor. I've stopped drinking alcohol as it wasn't my friend leading to destructive behaviours in terms of my relationship with food & exercise. I'm now, with the support of my GP, 130 days sober & intend to stay that way.
4. I found solace in Twitter & particularly in friends who share my appreciation of @AlisonMoyet. I was referred via my GP to an Art Therapist funded by the NHS, due to a discussion about my previous love for drawing and painting. I had no idea such a thing existed.
#ArtTherapy
#ArtTherapy
5. The therapist has called me weekly & I have gradually been encouraged to be creative again, being mindful & using it to limit negative thinking. We've discussed my approach to creativity (seeking perfection often leaves me procrastinating), & how to deal with barriers.
6. We've discussed how to walk away if the project is not going well, a realisation that if it does go irretrievably wrong there are more materials to start again & most importantly that it should be an organic process & the problem solving is mindfulness in seeking solutions.
7. When I haven't been able to sleep (which is a major issue), rather than staring into the darkness I've got out of bed & gone to work on my canvass, rather than watching TV or using my phone. This support has been a revelation to me improving my concentration significantly.
8. I would encourage anyone feeling like I have felt to speak to your GP or their Social Prescribing function to see if there are similar local services for any interests that have gone by the wayside & may aid your recovery. I suspect I have dropped lucky but it's worth asking.
9. My motivation to get out of bed & do something has resulted in a completed piece the first in a couple of years - using used postage stamps & paint. Alison Moyet fans will recognise it I hope. Thank you to you for reading & being a Twitter Mate 
#mentalhealth
#mentalhealth
