“You can’t always get what you want. But if you try sometimes, you just might find – you get what you need.” Mick Jagger knows what he’s talking about. When I was told my job was being made redundant and I had a month left as a Sunday newspaper reporter, I was devastated. It had been […]
Trying to accept that your brain doesn’t work properly without drugs isn’t easy. “Jumping for the happy pills”, someone called it, when at 21 and in the midst of a mental breakdown, I was prescribed antidepressants for the first time. I was devastated. “These are bad”, I thought, “they’re addictive, I’ll build up a tolerance and end up […]
Being raped was different to anything I’d ever read or previously understood about rape. I didn’t feel dirty afterwards. I didn’t spend hours in a hot bath scrubbing every inch of my rape-ridden body. When it was happening, I didn’t scream or push his disgusting, grunting body off of me, then run away. Instead, I […]
There’s no feeling like being able to fit into your favourite dress again after two years. It’s that same feeling you get when someone asks, “Have you lost weight?” and you can say, “yes!” Or when, having suffered from depression, you stop and realise you haven’t felt depressed in months. That’s a big deal. There […]
I might not be the best at running or deadlifts, but I know how to spew. I wish I lived in a bungalow and could pee standing up. Every inch of my body aches. I feel as though someone has rolled me around on a bed of concrete before beating me all over with a […]
This post is based on research into gambling addiction that I carried out for a previous article. I have spoken to a wide range of people affected by gambling addiction – from compulsive gamblers themselves to their friends and family. *The names attributed to all quotes in this article have been changed to protect identity. John […]
I felt a Funeral, in my Brain, And Mourners to and fro Kept treading – treading – till it seemed That Sense was breaking through – And when they all were seated, A Service, like a Drum – Kept beating – beating – till I thought My Mind was going numb – And then I […]
NEVER before have I had anyone answer my phone call with a serenade. But then, never before have I called comedy legend Ken Dodd OBE. “Aimee!” he remarks, before crooning, “Once in love with Aimee, always in love with Aimee!” – a song he assures me is from a musical “before my time,” called Where’s […]
People who carry knives could now face up to four years in prison. A “zero tolerance” crackdown on knife crime is being implemented across Scotland. New guidelines set by The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) mean anyone caught carrying a knife will face prosecution in front of a sheriff and a jury, increasing […]
Fall for pretty strangers 
I’m not crazy…it’s my thyroid
Today does not mark a new year and a new me. But it is a new day, and another step in a long, emotional journey to better health and happiness. In June 2015, I was diagnosed with an overactive thyroid caused by an autoimmune disease called Graves’ Disease. I didn’t know what a thyroid was, never mind where it was or what it did. […]