jumper dweller

Good evening folks! I hope you're all well. I wanted to write today about something that I've been thinking a lot about recently: body positivity relating to scars.  It's no secret that I used to self-harm. Unfortunately, to most people I know, it's glaringly obvious, or at least used to be. I've covered a lot of my scars with tattoos (a very cathartic practice, might I add), making the 'ugly' into 'beautiful', but the texture of the skin and many of the scars on my legs remain noticeable. I don't really mind all that much about the scars in winter, but boy, oh boy, as soon as the sun hits my skin, the scars which lack melanin (the pigment that creates tan) become even more obvious, resulting in my feeling self-conscious and uncomfortable.  In a last-ditch attempt to feel good in my own skin, I'm writing this post to persuade myself (something I seem to do a lot) and any of you lot who have bothersome scars, that we are beautifu...

A pic from a lovely evening dog walk!   Good evening folks! I am absolutely desperate to cut my hair. I've been scouting round hairdressers in town that can cut my hair, right here, right now. Thankfully none have been able to placate my whiny need of a drastic cut, and I'm going to work on making small changes that will, hopefully, end in me avoiding cutting my hair. Because my hair is not the problem. It is instead a need for change, a shift, a new start, which comes whenever I feel things are sliding out of control. So here are a few tips to get you (and me) started with making small changes, that we won't regret, and small being the operative word. Me, with all the tattoos! Change Up Your Room It's well known, or at least I know it well: the space around you can really influence how you feel in yourself and a change, whether that be a lick of paint or some new furniture, can feel like a mini-fresh-start. And that is exactly what we're ...

Currently, I am not well physically. Nausea, headache, feeling faint and dizzy: you name it, I'm experiencing it. But still, despite all these unpleasant symptoms, I cannot seem to let myself rest. Writing this blog post is my way of remaining productive, active and alert in spite of a bug/infection/whatever that dictates that I take-it-easy, as my father always calls it. I cannot take it easy, I want to be superhuman.  But, in this post, I wanted to (attempt to) convince myself that looking after yourself, ill or not, is the primary responsibility of being human. We are the caretakers of our own bodies, no one can do it for us, and it is essential for a happy and healthy existence.  It's almost a trend these days, 'self-care', and believe me, it's a movement I can get behind. Bubble baths, wonderful! Scented candles, bloody hell they smell good! But self-care is far more than that, as the self-care trend is beginning to recognise now also. It's act...

Hi folks, another more serious post here (I promise there'll be a fun one very soon), as it's just come to my attention that it's mental health awareness week and that's a topic that deserves to be covered. This post might a little off-the-cuff as I've not planned or really thought it out, but here we go. Are you ready?  Schizophrenia. Most people hear that word and shudder. They might think of serial killers (admittedly, some do have the illness), violent outbursts, mental asylums, or just utterly unmanageable people. You might even be thinking (if you have no awareness of what schizophrenia is) that a person with the illness might have multiple personalities. This is not the case and I am living proof.  Without a doubt, the media's portrayal of schizophrenia, and indeed any psychotic illness, has highlighted the parts of the illness that the public most fear. Yes, sometimes unwell individuals might lash out, hurting medical specialists, family, ...

Hi folks, a bit of a serious one today, and I wanted to make a quick disclaimer: I can only speak for myself and share my own feelings in this post. I do not claim to, and simply cannot, speak for anyone but me. The title is slightly misleading in many ways, I am not obsessed with thinness and my current difficulties are not entirely centred around weight, but thinness is a relevant concept in the underlying issue, or more specifically the desire to disappear. So please, folks, don't pick apart this purely-opinion-based post. Again, I speak only for my experience. Anyway, on to the post. Some Context I am currently dealing with  a bout of disordered eating. I'm effectively a tight-rope walker. On one side of the rope lies 'don't eat that' and 'no, not that either', while on the other lies 'you're a human Louise, you've got to eat'. This is usually how a relapse begins. At the moment, I'm just about keeping my balance and man...