Suicide: I’ve Lost A Man I Loved To Depression

Suicide: I’ve Lost A Man I Loved To Depression

By Emma Radway-Bright Comment Closed
A man I loved as a dear friend has died by suicide. He was suffering with depression. He suffered alone. Didn’t reach out to his friends. To the many who knew and loved him, it’s come as a complete shock. This Man I Loved... ... was called Laurence Brown. I loved him because he was so full of life and generous of spirit. He spent his life working as a coach; helping and motivating people. He brought people from the depths of despair and cheered them on until they felt better about themselves. He made it his life’s mission to give of himself. Depression seems to have taken a hold. It crept up silently. And took him. I first met him nearly 15 years ago. If you met him, you’d never forget him. He wore the brightest clothes you could imagine. A big toothy smile. He had a way of leaving you feeling inspired and feeling good about yourself. Charisma and warmth just emanated...
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Domestic abuse: Women and girls never need to suffer alone

Domestic abuse: Women and girls never need to suffer alone

By Emma Radway-Bright Comment Closed
Domestic abuse affects a lot of women. As a friend, I have been aware that some of my friends have endured domestic abuse. As teenaged girls and as women. In relationships and when they were single and ‘fair game’. As a colleague, I’ve seen the bruises, heard the whispered phone calls. Seen the fear and anxiety in their eyes. As an acquaintance, I’ve seen the tears of women who have suffered unspeakable episodes of violence. Beaten. Spat on. Told they are worthless. Trapped. The things is, I never said anything. We smiled, chit-chatted about our work, the weather, activities. But I just didn’t have the tools to ask. To listen. Staying silent in the awkwardness of talking When I was a teenager and young woman, I didn’t know how to have difficult conversations with other girls. They hinted about their experiences of abuse and violence at home; of witnessing their mothers being hit. We just didn’t have the language to talk about it properly. I...
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Is Emotional Resilience about ‘bouncing back’?

Is Emotional Resilience about ‘bouncing back’?

By Emma Radway-Bright Comment Closed
Emotional resilience is generally understood to be your ability to adapt to ‘bad’ things that happen like trauma, stress and crisis. You are emotionally resilient if you can ‘roll with the punches’ and keep going without lasting difficulties. You’re thought to be less resilient if you have a harder time dealing with stress; and major or minor life changes. Develop Resilience So, it looks like we’d all like to be as resilient as possible and there are some good resources and steps that instruct on how you might become more resilient. Most commonly, the advice is to make some lifestyle changes; look after your physical health; be kind to yourself and use your support network. All leading to improved well-being and self-esteem. Research has identified some key characteristics of resilience. ‘Resilient Individuals Use Positive Emotions to Bounce Back From Negative Emotional Experiences’ … for the scientific among us! (Me!) Both people with high- and low-resilience were equally frustrated in response to the most important problem they...
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A new way of looking at mental health

A new way of looking at mental health

By Emma Radway-Bright Comment Closed
Mental health and wellness continue to emerge as a new way of looking at things. A new way of looking after yourself. There’s the ‘mind, body and soul’ movement, but mostly ‘mind’ isn't taken to mean talking therapy or counselling. It is more seen as stilling the mind, meditating and mindfulness. Talk to someone While I’m all for meditation and contemplation, I also strongly believe that talking to someone – a professional – also goes a long way to rebalancing and invigorating your mental health. I’m not saying you can’t talk to friends and family and feel better. It’s just that, for some of us, friends and family may not be as objective, non-judgemental and helpful as we might want. For others, there just aren’t any trusted friends and family to talk to. Even if there are, there’s always value in seeking help from someone who is trained in talking therapy. There are a range of therapy ‘types’ that you hear about with weird...
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