Personal stories, blogs & forum

Rethink Blogs

Rethink's blogs section is where you can read and add comments to online diaries of people affected by mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

You can also read real life stories from those who have experienced mental illness, and their families and carers.

Do you want to write a blog for Rethink? Please read Rethink's blog writing guidelines (link opens in new window). 

Photo credit: Hannah Swithinbank

Our online mental health discussion forum is called RethinkTalk and has its own life outside this website. It's got over 4,500 members - why not join them?

Visit RethinkTalk (opens in new window)

Here you can...

• talk to people with similar experiences to you
• read about the issues that are affecting people right now
• participate in webchats with well-known figures or campaigners and advisers from Rethink

And, of course, it's free to register to take part in the conversation.

"I have just watched Julian Hendy’s documentary, 'Why Did You Kill My Dad?' I have now stopped crying, I have read some articles about this on the internet and it has all left me feeling incredibly sad, sick, frustrated, worried and angry." Laura, 03 March 2010.

• Read "'Why did you kill my dad?' My own response" in full.

"I spent around 4 months in a psychiatric hospital, mainly on a locked ward and was told that I had a drug induced psychosis. What followed was eleven years of addiction problems and numerous stays in hospital."

• Read Paul's Story about cannabis use and mental illness in full

about any aspect of mental illness, including caring, getting the right benefits and dealing with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or other severe mental illness. Our advice and information service phoneline is open from 10am to 1pm on weekdays (except holidays).

Here we will list some blogs and online stories that you may also find interesting. Please note, although we try to ensure the content of these sources is suitable, Rethink cannot endorse or take responsibility for the views or content published by website owners.