Overcoming Mental Illness

So this is my new home.

As I don’t actually have any place I can call home in the “real world” it’s nice to have a place to call a home in cyberspace, especially with an address that I can call my “own”.

My decision to move to my own domain has been a long time coming, it’s something I’ve wanted to do since I started writing this blog back on blogspot so many moons, mood swings and lifetimes ago I can barely recall who I was back then. My move to wordpress was, in essence, a way to try out their software whilst I pondered and tweaked with the whole “is it possible/feasible/worth it” debate.

Eventually I decided, as it was something I desired, it was worth it. So often in life we never get what we want, no matter how much work we put in to realise our dreams.

Hopefully the move will prove undramatic, but as I have become accustomed to dramatics in life I’m sure there will be some hiccups along the way.

For those who have followed me over from my wordpress.com blog, all the posts found on that site are here and complete so you can re-read and study to your hearts content. new posts will, mood dependant as always, fly either thick and fast powered by uncontrollable mania - or trickle along slower than a snail trying to escape his arch rival the slug (who is intent on stealing his home) - hopefully the former :)

For those of you who are finding me for the very first time. Don’t be too scared! :) Granted I have my obscure moments, but peak beneath the surface and the labels and you’ll find a surprisingly interesting guy. The best thing to do is have a wander and see what you find.

I recommend a trip to the INDEX where you’ll find answers to the most commonly asked questions. Perhaps then a visit to the UNDERSTANDING MENTAL ILLNESS page where you can read more about the various forms of mental illness which exist in the world, as well as lengthy passages about my own experience of dealing with these illnesses which I have had thrust upon me.

To keep you up to date you can subscribe to my RSS FEED or by EMAIL; and for those of you who decide to subscribe by email you will be in the running to win a wonderful prize every two weeks, just for subscribing! So hop to it.

If you’d like to know more about me you can have a wee gander here, and please let me know a little about yourselves, it’s always good to meet new people.

I look forward to settling into my new home and getting to know you all better :)

One of my pet peeves about suffering from bipolar/depression is the constant judgement I receive for being a depressing man. I do not view myself as a depressing man, nor do I view myself as depressed. To say I am “depressed” or “depressing” is labelling me with the illness I suffer from. It would be like labelling someone with cancer as “cancerous” or simply “cancered”. My illness does not define me, nor should it label who I am or my personality, but on so many occasions and by so many people (who could be described as ignorant) it does.

Depression is my illness, not my personality! Just as cancer is something someone has, bipolar/depression are things I have, and not am. (i.e. I have bipolar, I am not bipolar.)

Whilst writing a blog on mental illness it is difficult sometimes for people to get to know the real me, as often I am merely writing about how these illnesses have and are affecting me. In this first post of a planned series I hope to start showing people who I really am by exploring some of the idiosyncrasies and passions which make my blood bubble and my mind explode with pseudo-orgasmic delight.

Photography

I’ve been interested in photography for as long as I can remember. Now I’ve never considered myself to be a great photographer, but I will admit to thinking that some of the photos I’ve taken are great. I’ll not actually say which ones (that you’ll have to work out for yourself) but I do like my work enough to be incredibly proud of the images I’ve taken.

I’ve gone through so many cameras in my life, far too many to actually remember them all. I went through all sorts of dodgy 35mm and disposable ones when I was but a mere babe, even a couple of APS (remember those) when I was a teen. Of course as the bug continued to bite I graduated to a wonderful beast of an Olympus OM2 which took me through my photography course and then a glorious Minolta Dynax 5 which I was obsessed with for years and was the artifact which hurt me the most when I lost it last year.

If I had to choose a particular field of photography I’m most obsessed with, it would be people. With is a bit of a misnomer really as this is the field I have dabbled in the least - an unfortunate side effect of social anxiety. When I say people I mean portraiture, body abstract and nude; I take so much pleasure photographing the beauty and wonder of the human figure it really does make me explode with pseudo-orgasmic delight, or in the cases when I have dabbled in this field, pre-orgasmic delight ;)

[I can't show you those though!]

So instead here’s a small selection of my work:

And some work from photographers whom I admire greatly (some you’ll know, others you may not) and is a mix of all sorts of genres; landscape, portraits, candid, humorous, arcitechture, nude and abstract:

If you fancied checking out more of my photos I have a blog called Stray Thoughts Photography which is added to every now and then showcasing over a decades worth of photos - good and bad (!) Hopefully one day I will resume taking photographs; one of the most relaxing and inspiring past-times I know, and one which I’ve missed greatly.  

Other posts in this series are:
Faerie Art

Okay, so let’s try and start this (awesome?) New Year afresh shall we, optimistic new horizons and all that.

I’m not being nosy I just thought it’d be fun (fun for me as I get to know who my readers are, and fun for you as you get to think about yourselves a bit) to do a wee survey.

So “copy and paste” it into the comments field, fill it out, and let us all know a bit more about yourselves :-) And hey, if there’s something you’re not comfortable in sharing, just skip it and worry not.

The Survey:

Your…
Name: 
Nickname:
Current Location:
Eyes:
Hair:
Zodiac:
Lefty or Righty:
Description of yourself in one word: 

Mental Health…
Do you suffer from any mental health problem:

Favourites…
Song:
Singer:
Group:
Movie:
TV Show:
Actor:
Actress:
Food:
Alcoholic Beverage:
Non-Alcoholic Beverage:

Do you…
Have siblings:
Sing in the Shower:
Randomly burst into song whether in the shower or not:
Have any tattoos:
Have any piercings:
Have any special skills/talents:

Completely Random and Silly…
Massager or Massagee:
Downer or Downee:
Spanker or Spankee:
Tickler or Ticklee:

This blog…
What topic would you like me to write about on this blog:
If you could ask me anything, what would you ask?:

Looking forward to seeing everyone’s responses :-)