A few weeks ago I saved an article about Instagram from the Guardian’s website – Instagram is supposed to be friendly. So why is it making people so miserable? It struck a chord because I was feeling uncomfortably aware of the disconnect between how my life looked on my Instagram account and how it really felt….
Author: Clare Foster
Understanding mental health problems – booklet launch
Last week Oaklan and I went on an adventure to London for the launch of the latest version of Mind’s flagship booklet ‘Understanding mental health problems’. I wrote this when I was pregnant and it was great to see it finally published. It’s the first title to be published in the new full colour format –…
Thoughts on mental health and parenting a newborn
Oaklan came on the 5th October. He’s almost eleven weeks now and things are slowly starting to feel a little easier. I’m still pretty tired – and I’m writing this with him feeding on my lap – so please excuse any typos, half-formed ideas or clumsy phrasing. I wanted to get down some thoughts about…
BMA Patient Information Awards for Mind and Miscarriage Association work
I’m really chuffed to be able to share that both Mind and the Miscarriage Association received awards at the British Medical Association Patient Information Awards 2017 for information and that I researched and wrote. The awards aim to ‘encourage excellence in the production and dissemination of accessible, well-designed and clinically balanced patient information’. They look for…
Published in The Recovery Letters
Last year, James Withney of The Recovery Letters emailed to see if I would be interested in contributing a letter to the published anthology. The Recovery Letters are addressed to people experiencing depression. They share experiences and give friendship and hope for recovery. I’ve always believed in letters and writing as a way through difficult…
Understanding eating problems – updated Mind resource
I don’t usually blog about individual Mind booklets and online resources I write or update (you can see the list here). But my most recently completed product is pretty close to my heart. It’s called Understanding eating problems. Changes and updates I’ve tried to emphasise that you can find eating problems incredibly difficult to live…
Miscarriage Association learning resources ‘Highly Commended’ in EVCOM Awards
Highly commended I’m really pleased that the films I helped research and develop as part of the Miscarriage Association’s new learning resources for health professionals have just received a ‘Highly Commended’ in the Drama category of the EVCOM awards. These resources have been well received by health professionals too – they were given a 5* review in The…
Mental health in early pregnancy – the first trimester
Disrupting the balance I’m pretty good at managing my mental health. I know what helps, what doesn’t and how to recognise when I need to take better care of myself or ask for extra support. But early pregnancy disrupted this balance. I’m nearly 17 weeks now and finally ready to write about the first trimester….
Antidepressants (Sertraline) and pregnancy
Pregnant and taking Sertraline I’m 17 weeks pregnant and still taking the SSRI antidepressant Sertraline. I thought I was pretty firm in that decision. An attempt to stop taking it last year ended badly. But we had to try, if only to help us work out where we sat in the endless risk/benefit balancing act. But…
Eating problems and early pregnancy
Recovering from eating problems Over the last year, I’ve been facing up to eating problems that have dogged me my entire life. This became particularly important as we tried (and for a long time failed) to conceive. It was really hard going but I got my cycle back and my hormones balanced – by the…
Depression and anxiety in the first trimester
A toxic mix I had some very low periods and dark thoughts during the first trimester of pregnancy. The myth of pregnancy as a calm, exciting and enjoyable time is still pervasive – but there were times when I felt unable to take pleasure in anything, distant from Al and scared I wouldn’t be able…
Community development and management support for Contact a Family
Contact a Family got in touch late last year. They were looking for help setting up their new community, developing guidelines, establishing processes and training new moderators. Over the last few months I have been working closely with them and we’re almost ready for launch. Scoping I spent some time on scoping work –…
Thinking of recruiting volunteer moderators for your online support community?
More and more charities are setting up online support communities – a space online for people who use their services to come together and share information, offer support and help each other to feel less alone. It’s almost expected now – if you don’t have a space like this, you may find people use your…
5 star review for Miscarriage Association training materials in RCOG’s journal (TOG)
Learning materials for health professionals I was really chuffed to hear that the Miscarriage Association learning materials for health professionals were given a 5* review in the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists’ journal The Obstetrician & Gynaecologist (TOG). I did a lot of work on these resources and it’s brilliant to get such positive…