Author Archives: purplepersuasion

About purplepersuasion

40 something service user, activist, writer and mother living with bipolar disorder. Proud winner of the Mark Hanson Prize for Digital Media at the Mind Media Awards #VMGMindAwards

The colour of madness

It’s been a very long time since I’ve blogged and this will probably be short as I’m typing it out on my phone at the bus stop. An hour ago I finished my first session of therapy in five years, … Continue reading

Posted in Bipolar, Mental health, Mental health services, Mood disorder, NHS services, Psychological therapies, Recovery, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The colour of madness

Find me at Mad Covid!

Hi! I know it looks like I’m not really writing anything at the moment, but I promise I have been blogging from time to time. It’s just that I’m contributing to a project called Mad Covid at the moment. Set … Continue reading

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Isolation, anxiety and ableism

So although the UK isn’t technically on lockdown the way a number of other European countries are, most people are beginning to find out what it’s like to spend a lot of time at home. The over-70s and people with … Continue reading

Posted in Anxiety, Bipolar, CBT, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Mental health, NHS services, Politics and current affairs, Self-management, Social media | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Isolation, anxiety and ableism

Crisis? What crisis?

I’ve thought about blogging so often in recent weeks, with several abortive attempts. I considered writing about the therapeutic benefits of having a companion animal – if you don’t follow me on social media, I now have a cat! She’s … Continue reading

Posted in Bipolar, Crisis care, Depression, Hypomania, Medication, Mental health, Mental health services, Mood disorder, NHS services, Psychiatry, Self-management, Suicidal thought, Suicide, Treatment planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Crisis? What crisis?

Scream if you want to go higher

It is often said that people with severe mental health problems exhibit poor compliance with drug regimens. I loathe that word, compliance. The only time I ever felt really annoyed at my CMHT consultant in London was when he said … Continue reading

Posted in Bipolar, Drugs, Hypomania, Mania, Medication, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Scream if you want to go higher

Have you tried mindfulness?

I was sitting at my dining table with Tom and two members of the Crisis Team. They were there because I was experiencing overwhelming intrusive thoughts of running away and killing myself. My mind was totally out of control; I … Continue reading

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Running up that hill

Trigger warning: this post contains descriptions of suicidal thoughts, including methods. Please don’t read on if you are feeling at all vulnerable. I want to run. I am desperate to run. When I wrote my last post my idea was … Continue reading

Posted in Bipolar, Crisis care, GP, Mental health, Mental health services, Mood disorder, Suicidal thought, Suicide, Treatment planning, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Running up that hill

Hospital at home

Trigger warning: suicidal thoughts and planning A depressing side effect of being a seasoned blogger with a fluctuating condition is that the archive makes it very clear that I go around and around, having better times, then having groundhog day … Continue reading

Posted in Bipolar, Crisis care, GP, Hospital, Inpatient care, Mental health, Mental health services, Mixed mood, Mood disorder, NHS services, Rapid cycling, Suicidal thought, Suicide, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Hospital at home

On having a “carer”

By now I am a veteran at completing application/review forms for Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and Personal Independence Payment (PIP). ESA is for people who are too sick to work, while PIP is to cover extra expenses associated with … Continue reading

Posted in Anxiety, Bipolar, Crisis care, Depression, Employment and benefits, GP, Medication, Mental health, Mental health services, Mood disorder, NHS services, Rapid cycling, Suicidal thought, Treatment planning, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on On having a “carer”

These are not the little things: unsanitary conditions on mental health wards

Today I got angry after reading a tweet. Just a regular day then, you might think, except this one made me so angry I have had to blog for the first time in months. I was reading a thread about … Continue reading

Posted in Hospital, Inpatient care, Mental health, Mental health services, NHS services, Psychiatry, Social media, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on These are not the little things: unsanitary conditions on mental health wards