39. Part 3 Crown of emotions ‘The ‘crown’ of the tree is made up of the branches and leaves. In deciduous trees (those that lose their leaves), there can be hundreds of thousands of leaves. The Royal Forestry Society estimates that a mature oak tree will produce and shed around 250,000 leaves each year.’ BranchesContinue reading “…the tree: in five parts (3)”
Tag Archives: Mental health
…the herb garden
34.After he is gone the loss empties you of feeling, so you stand in the herb garden every night to smoke one cigarette. He was taken away before anything began so you aren’t mourning the loss of what you had, you are mourning what can never be. Except, of course, that’s not entirely true. HeContinue reading “…the herb garden”
…case studies
17.— In 1997 Janis Schonfeld, a Californian interior designer, volunteered for an antidepressant drug trial. She had suffered with clinical depression for many years and was desperate for a cure. She took the drug for eight weeks and felt significant improvement, although she did suffer with nausea, the side-effect of the drug. The EEG recordingsContinue reading “…case studies”
…things you’ve inherited
15.— Acceptance of people as they are. Your mother lives her life this way, her face young with the kindness she shows others. She runs a social club for the elderly, organising quizzes and lunches, speakers and performers. She is in her seventies herself, and can also be feisty. This is another trait you’ve inherited.Continue reading “…things you’ve inherited”
…sewing for self-isolation
11.You have been wearing the same clothes for most of your life, but now they lie torn and tattered across the floor, no longer recognisable as clothes at all. These were the clothes of a mother and a teacher, clothes to keep warm in a draughty cottage, clothes of a certain kind of friend, aContinue reading “…sewing for self-isolation”
…being lost
3. It’s early afternoon and you ask yourself, why do you feel compelled to write about this? Why would anyone want to read about the negative forcefields of your body? You walk along the river, sit in a cafe and reread Hilary Mantel’s memoir, Giving Up the Ghost, and there you find a chiming struggle.Continue reading “…being lost”
Living Amongst The People
I’ve been waiting to watch Silver Linings Playbook for a while now, and not just because it stars Bradley Cooper, honest. This is a mainstream, successful Hollywood film that deals with the subject of mental illness. It’s unusual, to say the least, to have a fetching male lead as well as the lovely Jennifer LawrenceContinue reading “Living Amongst The People”
Sally Gander 