(Char) Emily Writes

  For as long as I can remember, I've struggled with insomnia. Unfortunately, I've always had doctors who didn't take it seriously enough. "No TV before bed," "Have you tried having a bedtime routine?" "Have you tried reading before sleeping?" "What about lavender?" Although these things helped me to relax, I still had trouble getting off to sleep and staying there. I don't think they understood that I had an actual medical problem that wouldn't just go away by spraying some lavender on my pillow.   Doctors have always been reluctant to give me sleeping pills. Which, I guess I can understand why they wouldn't want to give them to a minor. It wasn't until I was over 18 and was seeing a different GP in Bristol that I actually started receiving sleeping pills.    When I was in college, at the age of 16 to 19, I tried different over-the-counter sleeping pills. None of them worked, of course. In fact, one just gave me a cra...

Lately I've been in quite the mental health slump which means I haven't been doing much that doesn't involve laying on the sofa eating junk food. It also means I haven't been doing much reading as I don't have the motivation or levels of concentration to actually commit to sitting down and reading a book. When your mental health is bad, the most simple things in life become hard work. However, I have just started re-reading a book which I'm sure will be met with a lot of judgement. I'm re-reading Twilight... and I'm really enjoying it. I haven't read Twilight since I was a teenager and I thought my opinion of it would have changed as I've grown up. Instead, I'm enjoying it just as much. It's a comfort for me, like my favourite soft blanket or a nice mug of hot chocolate on a cold winter's day. This made me realise what power a book can have over you and your mental health. Back in January (which feels like a million years ag...