My Lived Experience

In this blog post I’d like to share with you some of my mental health lived experience.

I haven’t had an easy ride when it comes to mental health. I have a diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder Type I, and a secondary diagnosis of OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder). Over the years I have struggled with insomnia, depression, anxiety and plenty more besides.

Why am I telling you this? I have been through a lot and it informs my work, giving me authenticity as a coach, because many of the experiences my clients are going through I have lived through myself in some shape or form. I will be able to relate to a lot of your experiences, which makes for far more productive and fulfilling sessions together.

Bipolar Disorder, historically referred to as Manic Depression, is no walk in the park. I have been sectioned three times under the Mental Health Act and have had spells in almost a dozen different hospitals, very often locked wards. Does this make me dangerous or unfit to practice as a coach? Absolutely not. While those periods were incredibly dark, they have inspired me to perform the work that I do. So I will always be upfront with you; I have been on the receiving end of plenty of hardship, but this enables me to be all the better as a coach, because I’m coming from a very real place.

I would never diminish or compare your experiences directly with mine because every situation is unique, but living through what I have lived through allows me to resonate strongly with the clients in my sessions.

OCD is something that I contend with every day. The disorder is so much more than being clean and tidy and keeping everything in order. Thoughts can be tremendously powerful and debilitating, while rituals can be extremely trapping and embarrassing. Over the years I have learned various strategies to cope and, as I often will, I’m going to bring it back to The SCALES Model as the ideal way to combat tough times and stay ‘in tune’.

There is a difference between giving someone advice as a coach and having the empathy to acknowledge that you have been through similar experiences. I take a very genuine and sincere approach when it comes to my coaching practice. No two people are the same, but healing accelerates when we are able to share deep experiences and find some common ground to cope.

Going through intense mental health struggles is extraordinarily difficult and testing. But it is possible emerge stronger on the other side, and this is what we will strive for in our work together.