Am I Still Ill?

Hi Peeps.

Lesson 1: Be creative

Lesson 2: Don’t fight the wrong people

Lesson 3: Wise up and access your bullshit-detector…we all have one!

Lesson 4: Form strong, close and affectionate bonds with your comrades-in-arms

Lesson 5: Be on your guard for wolves in sheeps’ clothing

Lesson 6: Be open-minded

Enough lessons. The only reason I’m using this shorthand is because I’m knackered, in an internet caff cos my ‘puter is on strike, and all talked-out for today after an intense coffee session with a close friend and fellow local service user activist.

Personal relationships are not a side issue and are not petty. Work locally, think globally, but go one further. Recognise that particularly for those of us with mental health problems our ability to recover and work productively depends primarily on the quality of our personal relationships.

Never underestimate the value or significance of that seemingly innocuous coffee-and-chat.

Fine to be on a mission. Not fine to have a Messiah complex.

I can’t do this without you my fellow service users and readers. Without you I am a burnt out case, washed up on the litter-strewn beach of life.

Don’t do that to me! Be there. We need each other. Lotsa love, Zoe xxx