I’m not a writer or a poet. I have no talent in that respect. I am an artist, but not with words. There is no beauty in the way I write – just pure honesty. The initial reason I started The Manic Years was due to a therapy assignment where I could express my own encounters with day to day struggles.
About the Author
My name is Megan and I am based in the North West of the U.K. I am a mother, a mountain lover and a writer. I am a creative soul and all things brain & psychology have always been an interest of mine. Before I started the blog, I graduated with a BSc in Biological and Biomedical Psychology. I have a professional background in clinical and academic research and 2022 will see me embarking on my journey as a Counsellor and Psychotherapist in training. In other words, I’m going to be very tired in the evenings!
How the Manic Years was born.
After ten years of battling with my mood states (or seasons), and a long road of identity crisis I finally got diagnosed in my twenties as having Bipolar Disorder type 2.
I wanted to share these short (and sometimes rather embarrassing!) encounters of my emotional turbulence, as I am developing the understanding that honesty is a valuable tool which can be used to reach out and help people to open up about their own sufferings.
This blog is a mixture of my personal journey of striving towards recovery and other peoples contributions, with an aim to aid breaking down the stigma that has a hold over mental heath and hopefully reach out to others who are struggling with similar issues. In recent times, especially as my recovery and healing journey has progressed, I have been getting more intimate with my personal development, which has had the blog exploring topics such as self-worth, co-dependency, confidence and personal relationships.
******
Sharing Stories – a collection of stories about mental health.
In 2016, many of you offered to share your own experiences with mental heath struggles. This lead to the feature Sharing Stories, a collection of tales from the public on a wide variety of conditions and disorders. The stories have had great feedback, with each story reaching out to people on a personal level and helping provide relatable content to those who are suffering. You can find the collection of stories by our brave warriors here.
******
The Conversations – open discussions about mental health experiences.
The Conversations is a new feature which began in May, 2017, where I had the pleasure of meeting individuals across the UK, to have a casual and open conversations over coffee about their experiences and struggles. The conversations were audio recorded, and later transcribed for publication on the site, which portray the raw realism of mental health. You can read The Conversations here, and keep an eye out for more to follow.
*****
Megan
Warning – ***some posts may trigger***
Contact
For media enquiries or to contribute a story/interview;
Email ~ themanicyears@gmail.com
Follow the blog on Twitter! ~ https://twitter.com/TheManicYears
Show some love on Instagram! ~ https://instagram.com/TheManicYears
THE MANIC YEARS 