Description

By Kerri Jones

ISBN: 978-1-84991-266-2
Published: 2010
Pages: 41
Key Themes: depression, anxiety, stigma, self injury

Description

An honest account of what it is like to live with a mental illness and self-injury. The author takes you on a journey through her life, discussing both her highs and lows throughout her life. The story offers some light, within that dark hole many people can find themselves in, showing that it is possible to survive and live with a mental illness and self-injury.

About the Author

Aged 18, she was diagnosed with severe depression and anxiety. She started medication and was referred to the Community Mental Health team. Just weeks after the diagnosis, Kerri attempted to take her own life, twice in less than a week. She was admitted to a Psychiatric Ward, where she spent 4 months of her life.
Now 23, Kerri is working towards tackling stigma and discrimination of self-injury by training mental health professionals using her own life experiences. She is the co-founder of “No Secrets” a self-injury support group in her local area, and she’s passionate about educating people around mental health.

Book Extract

Self-injury has been something that has affected me for a long part of my life. It only became clear to me when I was 19 years old and studying at University. What led those following years was hell.
I want to tell my story through self-harm and mental illness to help people understand it better. I want to raise awareness and help tackle stigma. I want people to know I’m a human being; not some “psycho” or somebody who is a danger to the public.
This is one of the biggest things I’ve ever done in my life and I hope I can help at least one person through their time of distress. Hopefully others can also read on and improve their knowledge of self-injury and mental illness.
I used to always think “Snap out of it!” whenever somebody felt depressed. I never would have thought it would happen to me. And trust me, if we could simply snap out of it, or pull ourselves together, depression would not exist. I’ve learned through my own experience that when somebody is depressed, they cannot function properly and even the smallest of tasks become difficult. Getting out of bed in a morning really is a test and the day ahead is dreaded. Around one in four people will at some point in their lives be affected by mental illness. Whether it’s you or somebody you know, the more you understand the better. Understanding your illness can help aid your recovery. We, as a society, need to accept that mental illness does affect people and it can affect anyone.