Hey everyone. How are you all today? I hope you’re all in good mental health. So, today I’m going to ramble on about a few things: today in England we are in a third lockdown, and l’m wondering how you’re coping through this and, equally, if your country is in a lockdown or not? I’d love to hear from you.

This is the last blogpost you’ll see on here, so I want to to say thank you to the 107 of you that have followed me on my journey. I’ve now created my own website, and from now on my blog posts and podcasts will all be in one place: livingmentalhealth.com. Please come and join me there.

When I’ve been asked by professionals, friends and family, ‘How are you doing in this lockdown?’, I’ve said, ‘I’m lucky, I have a dog and a partner, so consequently I have someone to talk to and I’m not on my own.’ If I was on my own, I think I’d struggle a hell of lot more. I also think that my mental health would have got to a point where I might have had to go in to care, in something along the lines of supported living; I really do. I would have withdrawn from everyone and everything, so thankfully my caring partner has kept me on track.

I also haven’t had much help from my psychiatrist. In fact, my last call with him was just three minutes and ten seconds long. At our next appointment I’m getting discharged, which means I can look for some more help from other places; I’ll also no longer have a stressful week leading up to one phone call. I’m also currently waiting to see if I can get on a year-long therapy session, which I’ll blog about if I do.

In other news, for the people that like the Burgh Castle blogs, the Restoration Trust are now in the process of applying to a Community Fund to be able to continue the project – hopefully in person, once the Covid-19 restrictions have been relaxed. Keep your fingers crossed for us so that we get the money; if we do, I can write some more blogs about Burgh Castle and let you all know what we’re getting up to. The Burgh Castle Almanac has had such a positive impact on everyone involved.

I’m also still involved with Access Community Trust, where I’m a mentor in the Community Circles project. That has given me back some self-worth back and confidence, which I’m enjoying very much. I’m also involved in Waveney LEAF – the Lived Experience Advisory Forum – and I think with the people involved, and Beth Stephens leading us, we are starting to make an impact in the local area, I really do. You can find out more about LEAF here: https://www.accessct.org/waveneyleaf/

As you can see, I’ve been involved in a few things that have kept me going after the Christmas break. Happily, they’ve all made positive changes in me during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Thanks for reading this, and see you all next time on the website. I wish you all good mental health.