Date 4th April 2025 It's odd how much this website has helped me over the last 3 years. Nobody really sees it but me and a select group of trusted friends but it's nice to have a space where I can process, think and be free to explore my thoughts in an area that I carved out and created for myself. It's just nice to feel free from the constraints I often feel are imposed to being online. My parents always say to stay professional and polite online and not be too honest. Which

MASC Report. Written 2022. Executive Summary Background It can be argued that involvement in the arts can help reduce anxiety and burnout levels in hospital staff through providing them safe spaces to play, relax and tell their stories. In a 2019 report on the role of arts to improve wellbeing Daisy Fancourt and Saoirse Finn noted that involvement in the arts can improve wellbeing for participants, stating that Arts engagement can enhance multidimensional subjective well-bein

BA Essay. Written 2021. The arts can play a critical role in improving how people with mental health issues are seen and understood by their communities but also more importantly, how they are understanding and looking after themselves. With Social Prescribed art based projects on the rise in the UK and Drama Therapy being recognised as a creative, expressive way to help people living with all kinds of mental health issues, The Arts have an incredible ability to adapt and con

Date: 29th March, 2025. Ok, so you're gonna need to bear with me a touch on this. But I'm currently on a slight neurodivergent hyper focus on Apple TV+'s tv show Severance. More specifically, the fact that Britt Lower (Helly R for those who have watched it), has made me genuinely question my sexuality in a way NOBODY else has ever EVER made me question things. For the longest time, I thought I was Aromantic, Asexual. But in the last month, I've been pondering whether this is

Date: 24th Jan 2023 I was going back through old blog posts and realised I'd unpacked my relationship with Luna countless times but I've never done that for Jack and my key moments of realising he made me feel just as safe as Luna. And he's just as much a part of my healing journey as Luna was (and is), so quite why I never thought to unpack this, I have no idea. Maybe it's because Luna is female identifying and therefore, aligned much closer with the trauma around tutors tha

Date: 22nd Jan 2024 CW for this post, as the title suggests this post talks about self harm and suicidality, nothing graphic mentioned but look after yourself should you read this :) I’m aware this is not a super fun topic to be discussing. But as an aspect of my mental health journey and one that I have touched upon in other posts and in podcast episodes, I kinda wanted to unpack it a bit as I’ve realised years on, it’s more complicated than I initially thought. I don’t bu

Date: 29th Dec 2023 Hullo, I did this around this time last year and actually really loved the idea of making this a yearly segment on my safe, cozy corner of the interweb. Last year I wrote down and reflected on 8 things I learned about (or did) in 2022 that I felt proud of and this year I'm going to do that, alongside a bit of an exciting life update (cos why not?). So, without further ado, here's the 8 things from 2023 I am proud of myself for doing/learning (in whatever f

Date: 19th October 2023 Two days ago I officially handed in my MASc thesis! That sentence still sounds weird to both say and write. Like where has the time gone? I have spent so much time on this blog raving about how incredible my teaching team at UCL have been and honestly, how could I not? Between Jack and Luna, I pretty much had everything I needed in my life (and then some because of my awesome group of friends). This last year has been immeasurably life changing and I s

Date: 29th Sept 2023 I think this is the first time I have maybe ever sat down and actively thought about my future and my plans for said future. I'd never bothered before because I always thought I had no future worth fighting for but times have changed. I'm actually excited to be thinking about what I do want to do in the next 5 years and instead of doing what I normally do on here and ramble about the past (whether that is recent past or distant), I thought I would turn th

Extended MASc Essay. Originally was just the first part. The latter parts were added at a later date when I extended the essay for fun in my spare time during my masters. Written 2023 Content Warning for the following essay: discussions of rape, mental health, suicide, suicide attempts, self harm, death by restraint method. No graphic details discussed. The media’s obsession with unrealistic and dangerous representations of mental health and neurodiversity; something needs to

BA essay. Written 2019. In the following essay I will be looking at how applied theatre can enhance acceptance within a community. Society is generally not very accepting of anyone who isn’t neurotypical. So, in this essay I will be looking at the following issues; lack of acceptance, personal safety and lack of support and identity for those who are atypical. I will also be looking at how we can possibly create a safer community for the vulnerable people in our society and h

BA Essay. Written 2020. Why respect for the spectator is crucial to the success and safety of participatory performance. Respecting the spectator in participatory theatre is critical. Respect forms the basis of every interaction within a theatrical setting, even when something appears disrespectful, there is normally some form of respect for the audience and their experience of the show or event, underpinning this choice. With applied theatre and social theatre on the rise

Date 20th June 2023 Ok, I want to explore a newfound point of interest for me that relates to my wellbeing and mental health recovery process. It also helps me to deal with trauma related things by providing not only an emotional outlet but also a sensory grounding technique. Just in case anyone doesn't know lets do a super quick recap of me and my mental health. I’m self diagnosed as autistic and currently awaiting an NHS diagnosis - and have been for the last 2.5 years. I

Date: 10th June 2023 Dear Jack, when I came up with your fake name, I named you after someone in my family who has been by my side since I was a little girl. Someone who made me feel safe (and still does). Your name represents a wholesome person, someone who is kind, honest, down to earth and has a uniquely calming aura. And that name seemed perfect, because when I think of you, those words and feelings immediately spring to mind. Plus Jack and Luna sound like some kind of aw

Date: 7th June 2023 Dear Luna, if I had all the bravery in the world, here are the things I would want you to know. Some I will send to you, others you may just have to find out if you ever stumble across this website (or I get brave and tell you about it and the fake name I created for you). It's 9 months down the line from when I met you and I still cannot believe I am lucky enough to have called you a tutor, let alone have the possibility of calling you a friend and truste

Date 26th May 2023 There's not many times I truly stop and appreciate just how far I have come since 2017. And honestly if you had told me back then I would be where I am today, I would have likely laughed. I never thought it would be possible for me to have a sturdy group of reliable friends, who like me for who I am. But yet, 6 years on, here I am. I have so many incredible friends in my life. Friends who make me laugh till my sides hurt. Friends who have caught me when my

Date: 13th March 2023 I am the hardest person to please when it comes to anything I do. I'm never good enough for myself. If I ask for help, I didn't do it soon enough. If I get a grade back for an assessment it could have been higher, I could have done better. If I make something, there's always some fault with the end result. I've spent my entire life having to fight for praise, feeling inadequate, like the black sheep of my family. I found a sense of accomplishment acting

MASC essay. Written 2023. Assessment was to write a chapter for an academic book (hence the reference to this being a "chapter") Within this chapter I explore the potential of Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST) and museum object handling interventions to improve the overall wellbeing of people living with dementia. In part one, I discuss CST and the varying ways it can be used to aid people living with dementias’ cognition. In part two, I investigate object handling and how

Date: 31st Dec 2022. Dear reader, as 2022 draws to a close, I want to take some time to reflect on the things I have done this year that I am proud of. From small things, to huge life lessons, there are 8 things/moments that stand out for me and I want to take time to unpick them in a way posting on Twitter won't easily allow. So, here are my 8 moments/things I am proud of from 2022: 1. I'm proud I graduated from The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama with a 1st class d

Date: 8th Dec 2022 Hello my dearest reader, asking for help is super hard for me at the best of times. There's so many reasons behind this, specially when tutors are involved and I wanted to take the time to reflect on some ways I have started to combat my triggers and fears around asking for help with my two lecturers on the MASc course I am currently on. I've mentioned them both in other blogs before, they're incredibly lovely humans who are also tutors and who also terrify