Claire

Hi, I'm Claire. I am 30 years old and have a diagnosis of Schizoaffective Disorder. I work as a full-time Support, Time and Recovery Worker in an early intervention in psychosis team.

I am also studying for a degree in psychology with the Open University. In my spare time I enjoy time with my fiancé, writing poetry, reading, looking after my pets, walking and listening to music. I don't like to let my mental health problems hold me back although sometimes this is difficult.

I use my personal experience of psychosis at work to help others and this is very effective. I got into my job because I wanted to help others who are going through psychosis to reclaim their lives from this often devastating illness. I am still a service-user myself and have recently had to take some time out from work because my own illness flared up. I am feeling better now and have learnt from this experience, that I need to pay attention to my own early warning signs and act a little quicker.

Posts by Claire

On the good times and the bad times...

06 July 2010 | Posted by Claire | 2 comments

Topics: Someone who has experienced mental illness, Medication and therapies

The experience of life is coloured by good times and bad times. It helps paint the picture that we live in. There are bright colours that highlight some areas and darker tones that draw us inward. For those of us who live with a mental health problem those colours may be more or less vivid or dark but they are still part of our own unique painting.

On nearly losing something special...

17 June 2010 | Posted by Claire | 2 comments

Topics: Someone who has experienced mental illness, Medication and therapies, Physical health

Earlier this year I came close to losing something special. Something that is at times a blessing and at others more of a curse. Allow me to explain...

Acceptance and Recovery

15 March 2010 | Posted by Claire | 0 comments

Topics: Someone who has experienced mental illness, Medication and therapies, Recovery

So much has been written on the subject of recovery- but what is recovery actually all about? I can't necessarily speak for anyone else as recovery is such a deeply subjective process, however, I can speak about my own perceptions of what recovery is all about and for me the concept of acceptance is a huge part of that.

Claire's blog: Christmas Time

23 December 2009 | Posted by Claire | 1 comment

Topics: Someone who has experienced mental illness, Family and friends, Stigma and discrimination

Well here it is-Christmas is nearly upon us! For some of us it is a welcome time of year where we can spend that extra bit of time with our families and friends and indulge ourselves with good food and drink. For others it is a difficult time-particularly those of us with any mental health problem.

Stop the world - I want to get off...

01 October 2009 | Posted by Claire | 4 comments

Topics: Someone who has experienced mental illness, Family and friends, Health professionals

I wish I could write and say that everything is hunky dory, A-Ok and all that but I can't. I am currently experiencing a relapse of my schizoaffective disorder and as relapses go, it's probably the worst that I have had to date.

Blog number two

16 July 2009 | Posted by Claire | 1 comment

Topics: Someone who has experienced mental illness, Medication and therapies, Work and money, Recovery

I'm not really sure where to start! So much has happened in the past month or so that it is difficult to know where to begin! I guess the best way to describe it would be by likening the last month to a roller coaster-and we're not talking the local fairground here-it's more like the Big One!

My first blog

11 June 2009 | Posted by Claire | 3 comments

Topics: Someone who has experienced mental illness, Health professionals, Work and money, Recovery

I am glad to finally be feeling better after a few pretty horrible weeks. I have been off work for 5 weeks and although it may sound strange - I am really looking forward to going back to work.