Overcoming Mental Illness

The basics…

I’m 29 years old and currently reside in Melbourne, Australia. I’m originally from England, grew up in Wales and consider myself to be Scottish.  Although I have no claim as a Scot whatsoever, this is what I believe, so this is who I am. 

Email Me

Or check out my communities and say hi at:
¦ Facebook ¦ MySpace ¦ Buzz ¦ StumbleUpon ¦ BlogCatalog ¦

The more complicated stuff…

I have suffered from depression, self harm and social anxiety disorder for the last fourteen years. It all originallly started when I was at school, this is where the social anxiety kicked in, and this developed into self harm and then depression over the following several years. Since then I have been working hard on overcoming all of these conditions so that I can live the life I would like to live.

In February 2007 I was diagnosed with a form of leukemia called chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and due to several other events all occuring at the same time, suffered a nervous breakdown. In November 2007 I was diagnosed as having Bipolar Type I.

Thus, as it stands; I’m a terminally ill, severly depressed, self-harming, frequently suicidal, really messed up guy - so the chances of me living the life I would like to live have been somewhat hampered, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to give up!

I have a lot to offer this world, and people need to see me for who I am and what I’m capable of, instead of letting the “labels” and society forming their judgements.

You can find a more detailed history of my mental illnesses here

My interests…

Photography, Creative Writing, Mental Health Awareness, Depression, Scotland, Movies, Reading, Art, Backpacking, Camping, Pubs, Dancing, Cycling, Blogging, Music, Opinions, Snooker, Trivia Nights, Tofu, Sexuality, Other People, Sharing Stories, The Power of Words, Self-Exploration, Desires, Passion

You can find out more about specific interests by taking a look at the blog post series “I am more than my depression”:

• #1 - Faerie Art: A look at my favourite genre of art.

• #2 - Photography: A look at one of my hobbies.

• #3 - Scotland: A look at my favourite and pseudo-home country.

Some other stuff…

- I somewhat irrationally believe in the inherent goodness of humanty even though most people are arrogant selfish twats - in my more obscure moments believe trees should be made of cheese, there is nothing in life quite as satisfying as a nibble of camembert - I believe I was a wombat in a former life, because I’m built like a tank, can run at 40km/h and seem to spend most of my life sleeping after tunnel exploration - tofu is the food of the goddesses - jacket potatoes the food of the gods - and when tofu, jacket potatoes and cheese are combined heaven on earth is created - sexuality is a blessing - bread, nurses, vibrators, spanking, whipped cream, bananas, leather or all the above - explore, discover, experiment and orgasm no matter what anyone thinks, if it gets ya moist, go for it - Buffy anonys me - Tara adores me (I wish) - Xander wants to be me! - I want to be the Doctor, and not just because my hobby is playing with my sonic screwdriver - Pianos are cool - Guitars kiss ass - but the musical instrument kingdom is ruled by the mighty Recorder - Faeries exist - Dragons fly over the Himalayas - Pixies frolic in your teabags - Gwyllion will always be sitting on that mountainside - and Nessie is the best synchronised swimmer in all the Highlands - Melbournians stink (plesantly)- Port Fairians wink - Adelaidians kink, trust me, they’re perversely twisted, got the scars to prove it - I scream for Ice-Cream - I scream for Wet-Dreams - I scream for Ice-Wet-Cream-Dreams - Scotland is the finest country in all the world and far and away make the best sheep, tweed and whisky (that’s without an ‘e’ people, and that’s exactly how one should spend a night out on the town :) - …oh yes, I’m an arrogant selfish twat, whatcha gonna do? -

My favourite stuff…

Movies:
Box of Moonlight, Fight Club, Young Adam, Local Hero, Hot Fuzz, It’s a Wonderful Life, In the Bleak Midwinter, Dazed and Confused, The Land Before Time, Pirates of the Caribbean, Slacker, Clerks, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Secretary, William Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet, The Science of Sleep, Amelie, A Very Long Engagement, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Gregory’s Girl, Belle de Jour, Shaun of the Dead, Talk to Her

Check out some of my favorite scenes here…

Music:
Runrig, Serena Ryder, Colin Hay, My Friend the Chocolate Cake, Murray Gold, Scissor Sisters, Jacks Mannequin, Lemon Jelly, Flamin’ Lips, Kate Miller Heidke, Evanescence, Ember Swift, Paul Mounsey, Martyn Bennet, Meatloaf, The Whitlams, Something for Kate, The Waterboys, Snow Patrol, Something Corporate, Tartan Amoebas, Bernadette Peters, Arman Van Helden, Delerium, Nick Cave, Queen, The Polyphonic Spree, The Fratellis, Scouting for Girls, 

Check out some kick ass music videos here…

Books:
Quest for a Kelpie, The Stornoway Way, Memory and Dream, Northern Lights: A Poet’s Sources, The Hotel New Hampshire, Praise, Sleeping Beauty Trilogy, Tapping the Dream Tree, Salamander, Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, The Road to Mingulay, Veronika Decides to Die, Moonheart, Dreams Underfoot, Greenvoe, Alice in Wonderland, Besides the Ocean of Time, Bleeding London, Le Morte D’Arthur, His Dark Material’s Trilogy, Frankenstein, Matilda, Beautiful Losers, Skinny Legs and All,

TV Shows:
Dr Who, Highlander, 24, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Rescue Me, Wonderfalls, Freaks & Geeks, Scrubs, Takin’ Over the Asylum, Due South, Spaced, Black Books, Angel, Life on Mars

Check out some wonderful moments from TV here…

If you would like to interview Addy you can do so!
I’ll answer any question put to me, and all interviews will be posted!

Interview #1: “Addy and Blogging” : By Euripids - March 17 2008
Interview #2: “Depression and Living” : By Alexander M Zoltai - June 7 2008
Interview #3: “Mental Health, Cancer and Art” : By Isabella Mori - June 13 2008