My name is Ashley Brownlee. I have been living in the Klein Karoo for over a decade now, and have found a great deal of peace amongst the big horizons and in the arms of the Milky Way. There was a time though, and it’s a difficult time to talk about, when life was not so filled with any kind of future. I hope that my story will inspire you to choose life. I contracted [...]
Why do we have a fear of discussing topics that should not be swept aside? Is it because we are scared someone will think we have ‘that disease’? Or....are we are not sufficiently informed, (not even a little bit) and don’t want to be perceived to be ignorant? Whatever your reason, it is in your family, friends, associates and colleagues best interest to talk about these ‘unmentionable’ matters as it can enlighten and prevent incorrect [...]
Sho, when it comes to Taboo Topics, Living with HIV/Aids is one of those that has actually been taboo as opposed to simply rarely spoken about. While it doesn't carry the same kind of shame and weight as it used to in the early days when a lot of misinformation was around, it is still something we rarely hear about, which is why i thought it was important to address it. Statistics South Africa had [...]
My friend Claudia bravely shares some of her journey with Bipolar2: 15 is far too young to decide to stand on a railway track and end it all. But if you felt like the world is around you is a dark vortex of despair, hate and no hope death seems like a really good option. Or at least that is what it felt like to me. 3 other attempts followed in the next 20 years. [...]
i am so grateful to my friend Geraldine Walsh, who recently joined the @AFrikkinHashtag Hashtagging team on Twittter for sharing such a vulnerable story about her time as a new mom as well as letting me link this to her post on post-natal depression. Make sure that you sign up to follow her blog after reading this: Today is B’s birthday. Instead of it being a lovely family day with nice surprises for [...]
i am so super grateful for another brave person sharing a story that deals with mental illness as i imagine this has to be something that makes you feel cut off from society at large, because there is often stigma attached and just lack of information for those on the outside as it were. Especially with a word like schizophrenia that so many of us had heavily incorrect perceptions of when growing up. So thank [...]
This post is from a good friend of mine who asked to remain anonymous. It is such a powerful glimpse into the behind-the-scenes struggles of someone struggling with mental illness and really gave me a lot to think about: there are lots of reasons why people get tattoos. I have two tattoos. They are a part of me. They express deep pain and have indescribable meaning to me. I love it when people ask me [...]
i met Ross online as a Hashtag Game player of note and pretty soon he joined my crew of UnNamed Ones [Sh!] which is basically code for people who have co-hosted a game of @AFrikkinHashtag [which happens every Wed on the Twitterer]. i can't even remember how it came up, but i invited Ross to share some glimpses into his life as someone who has lived with someone he loves who has mental health issues [...]
It has been a while since i have added a new Taboo Topic so just a quick reminder: The idea behind TT was not so much topics that are taboo in and of themselves as much as it was about highlighting stories and shared experiences from a range of topics that tend not to be spoken about much. So some of them may be more taboo than others, but some are simply things we should be [...]
When we moved to South Africa seven years ago, being an American family and transplanting ourselves into the middle of a new country, new culture, and living in a township community, we knew there would be many challenges ahead. There is so much we have learned while living in South Africa, and our lives and hearts have grown in so many ways on the journey. We never could have imagined that our greatest challenge in [...]
