About Us
Introduction
Hi, my name is Jonny. I am a writer living in Derbyshire in the UK, and I am the founder of the Mental Health Survivors Club. I am bipolar.
During the last 26 years I have been through many periods of chronic depression and delusional mania. I have spent my fair share of time in psychiatric units, and I have talked and listened to many people with mental disorders.
Each person who suffers from a mental illness experiences it in their own unique way. Even when people have the same diagnosis, what they go through daily, can vary tremendously. At the same time, however, there is so much about mental illness that is common to us all.
There is something very therapeutic about talking to someone who has had similar experiences to your own. Being with or talking to someone who has thoughts and feelings like those you are having, is comforting somehow.
Over the years I have gained some insights into what mental illness does to the mind. As a writer it is my mission to put into words, as accurately as I can, what it feels like to go through depression and delusional mania.
By articulating what goes on in my mind when I am chronically depressed, or manic and delusional, I hope that people out there, who are experiencing similar thoughts and feelings, recognise something of themselves in my words, and that by sharing our stories and experiences, we create a sense of community and belonging.
I would like the Mental Health Survivors Club to be a place where people can come for advice and to find useful information. A place where they feel supported and encouraged.
My road to recovery has been a long one. It has left me with the conviction that I can guide people to and on their road to recovery.
I know that, for some people, I can make the journey shorter and less traumatic than it might otherwise have been. I believe that I can prevent people from making many of the mistakes that I have made.
What I have learned, from struggling with bipolar for 26 years, is some of the things that work in recovery and some of things that definitely do not.
Overcoming your mental illness is an immense challenge but learning how to treat and manage your mental health problems can be incredibly rewarding.
What I have learned, more than anything, from my bipolar disorder, is that mental illness either controls you or you control it. It is that simple. Preventing your mental illness from controlling you, however, is a daily battle. It is an exhausting grind. It takes determination and perseverance.
Sometimes I like to think of fighting my mental illness as being like Winston Churchill fighting Adolf Hitler and the Nazis during the Second World War.
Churchill knew to the very core of his being, before so many other politicians, that he had to fight against and defeat Hitler and the Nazis, at all costs. Those costs were high. Millions of lives lost in the fog of war.
Churchill suffered from periods of deep depression. He knew how to fight dark forces because he had been fighting dark forces in his mind for most of his life. He knew that he, and everybody who fought with him, needed to stop those dark, destructive, negative, forces, and that if they did not stop them, the dark forces would not cease to overwhelm everything around them.
The purpose of the Mental Health Survivors Club is to increase understanding of mental illness and to inspire people to take that first step on the road to recovery or, if they are already on that road, to stay the course, and see it through to the end.
My name is Jonny. I am a writer living in Derbyshire in the UK and I am the founder of the Mental Health Survivors Club. I am bipolar.
During the last 26 years I have been through many periods of chronic depression and delusional mania. I have spent my fair share of time in various psychiatric units, and I have talked and listened to many people with mental disorders.
Each person who suffers from a mental illness experiences it in their own unique way. Even when people have the same diagnosis what they go through daily can vary tremendously.
At the same time however, there is so much about mental illness that is common to all of us. There is something very therapeutic about talking to someone who has had similar experiences to your own. Being with or talking to someone who has thoughts and feelings like your own is comforting somehow. At least that has been my experience.
Over the years I have gained insights into what mental illness does to the mind. As a writer my mission is to put into words as accurately as I can what it feels like to go through depression and delusional mania.
By articulating what goes on in my mind when I am chronically depressed or manic and delusional I hope that there are people out there who will recognise something of themselves in my words and that by sharing our stories and experiences with each other we create a sense of community and belonging.
One million people globally kill themselves every year. That is one person every fourteen seconds.Thirty per cent of people with untreated bipolar commit suicide.Between 10% and 14% of the general population have suicidal thinking throughout their lifetime and suicide is the second biggest cause of death worldwide among 15–19-year-olds.
More people die by suicide each year than by murder and war combined. The biggest tragedy is that many of these people’s conditions can be treated and one of the biggest reasons that they do not get treated is stigma. Shame about being ill.Ridiculous, but lethal.
The motivation for authoring the articles in this blog is to sharesome fitting stories. If I can convey just one tenth of the thrill and terror that I experienced during my psychotic episodes, then the reader is in for one hell of a ride.
The aim of this blog is to give the reader an insight into the mind of someone who is mentally ill and, by doing so,contribute to a betterunderstanding of mental illness which is the best way, the only way, to reduce the stigma surrounding it.
Churchill used to say: “Never, ever, ever give up.” That is the only way. Not giving up. To move forwards until, instead of being mentally ill, you are mentally well.
Wherever you are, whoever you are, and whatever situation you are in right now, there is a way out.
There is a place for you on the road to recovery. You will need guidance and direction to prevent you from getting lost, but only you can summon the strength needed to keep going until the very end.
The beautiful thing is that people with mental health problems often find strength in each other.
Mental Health Survivors Club helps people with mental health problems to navigate the road that leads to good mental health. Like many roads in this world, it is a dangerous place. You need to be careful. You need to know what to look out for. You need to be aware of what might happen if things go terribly wrong.
Those of us who have already travelled along the road, have stumbled, more than a few times, into the many pitfalls that line the route. We have also found some shortcuts, and developed certain tricks of the mind, that help to fight mental illness.
Whatever mental illness you are experiencing right now, welcome to the Mental Health Survivors Club. We are here to help.
Good luck on your journey. We are right behind you. You are not alone and never, ever, ever, give up.
The beautiful thing is that people with mental health problems often find strength in each other.
Mental Health Survivors Club helps people with mental health problems to navigate the road that leads to good mental health. Like many roads in this world, it is a dangerous place. You need to be careful. You need to know what to look out for. You need to be aware of what might happen if things go terribly wrong.
Those of us who have already travelled along the road, have stumbled, more than a few times, into the many pitfalls that line the route. We have also found some shortcuts, and developed certain tricks of the mind, that help to fight mental illness.
Whatever mental illness you are experiencing right now, welcome to the Mental Health Survivors Club. We are here to help.
Good luck on your journey. We are right behind you. You are not alone and never, ever, ever, give up.
The beautiful thing is that people with mental health problems often find strength in each other.
Mental Health Survivors Club helps people with mental health problems to navigate the road that leads to good mental health. Like many roads in this world, it is a dangerous place. You need to be careful. You need to know what to look out for. You need to be aware of what might happen if things go terribly wrong.
Those of us who have already travelled along the road, have stumbled, more than a few times, into the many pitfalls that line the route. We have also found some shortcuts, and developed certain tricks of the mind, that help to fight mental illness.
Whatever mental illness you are experiencing right now, welcome to the Mental Health Survivors Club. We are here to help.
Good luck on your journey. We are right behind you. You are not alone and never, ever, ever, give up.