Past, present and future - From rock bottom to mental health nurse

Reflecting on it, coming out seems like a very unnecessary action which demonstrates that stigma surrounding homosexuality is still very much alive and well. Why should you have to announce who you are? Coming out also reinforces the misconception that your sexuality is a choice you make. I really do hope there will come a time when people do not feel the need to come out, when a gay marriage is just a marriage and homophobia is non-existent.    Coming out was an incredibly long, painful, frightening and confusing process for me. I have never really spoken or written down what I experienced growing up or my coming out story, so I thought it was about time.   Despite there being many signs, I did not fully acknowledge that I was a lesbian until about the age of 17. I had realised I was different but was not sure what it was I was feeling. As is the norm in an all-girls school, much of the conversation revolved around boys. I can remember feeling very confused as to what th...

I aim to write candidly in all my blogs, and this is no different. I have written an honest account of what I have experienced and how I have felt as a student mental health nurse with lived experience of mental illness.    My own experience of mental illness is what inspired me to want to be a mental health nurse. I remember receiving mixed responses when telling people that I had a place at university to study mental health nursing. Some people were thrilled for me and told me I had the right qualities to be a mental health nurse and that my lived experience would be an asset to me. Others were happy for me but were understandably concerned as to whether I was ready. At the time I had not long been discharged from hospital. This made me question myself on whether it was too soon, however I felt very motivated and figured it could potentially be of huge benefit to my recovery.    When I moved to Manchester to begin my nursing degree, I had this strange belief that m...

I remember the day I chose to become a mental health nurse like it was yesterday. That moment will remain memorable and poignant because it was also the day that I decided to fight anorexia with all my might. I distinctly remember sitting in the lounge of the eating disorders ward I was a patient on and observing a nurse supporting a patient who was terribly upset. I could see the distress level in the patient’s face gradually falling the more the nurse spoke and listened. At that point I thought to myself, I want to do what you are doing, I think I could really help people. Considering I had spent the previous months feeling as though I would be better off dead, this was progress. I had started believing in a future for me where I could fulfil my potential. The nurse in question was simply listening, showing care and empathy and providing reassurance, but those were the skills needed at that time. The patient proceeded to thank the nurse for her support and she appeared a lot less dis...