Description

By Jimmy Gilmour

ISBN: 9781847477453
Published: 2009
Pages: 117
Key Themes: bi-polar manic depression, autobiography, nervous breakdown, alcohol, bravery, recovery

Description

This is who I thought I would be. I knew I would be able to write a small book after my second breakdown, but I am not very good at wording things, but I have tried my best. These false beliefs went on until my fifth breakdown. I am not a nutter and I am not mad I just wanted to share my experiences with people that have had similar experiences in life.

By writing this book I thought I would find out where the King of Scotland really came from and put an end to all these false beliefs. I have been through a long and painful journey having Bi-Polar Disorder, then being wrongly diagnosed more than once then being back to Bi-Polar Disorder again.

I have had five nervous breakdowns since 1995 and lost my family and friends, it took me two years after my breakdown to regain my confidence again and get my life back together. After drinking heavily in the past and suicide attempts and over spending money. I never thought I would get married again and have a new family and friends.

I hope the experiences that I have shared with you will be helpful to fellow service users, professionals and people out in the community. To help with the stigma of mental health.

I want people to understand more about mental health problems.

About the Author

Born on the 21 of October 1961,in a place called Kilwinning in Scotland. Two years later my parents wanted a fresh start in England to a place called Thringstone on the Scottish estate, in a two bedroom flat. In 1971 my parents separated, a few years later I left school with no qualifications and got a job working for British coal at Snibston Colliery. In 1985 I got married and three years later we had a daughter, in 1993 I took redundancy I was out of work for a year then I started drinking heavy in 1994 a got a job with a local firm I started to feel unwell and in January1995 I was taken into Carlton Hayes Hospital with my first nervous breakdown at the age of thirty three, My marriage lasted nearly ten years then we separated since then I have had another four breakdowns in that time in and out my Bi-polar episodes I have done eleven years voluntary work I first started with the Befriending Scheme for seven years and then went onto The Peoples Forum and that is were I started for Leicestershire partnership trust, so now I go onto the wards every two weeks and listen and try and help other service users. Then I put in for peer advocacy worker for lamp and got the job then went on a course for seven weeks then on the twenty eighth of February 2008 I got my certificate of achievement for successfully completing the peer advocacy training course my life could not get any better I feel like I am putting something back and helping people who have been in the same situation as me. Now I am on the wards at the Bradgate unit twice a week for two hours it will be a journey for me.