THE BLUE VEIL (book) by Leigh Turgeon

THE BLUE VEIL, by Leigh Turgeon, is an honest and emotive account of a young woman - Leigh - and her struggle with depression. Keeping her depression a secret, Leigh hides behind a facade which she has created for herself; the Blue Veil.

Leigh takes us on her journey, allowing us to look behind the veil.

She has posted a video about her project, THE BLUE VEIL:

Blurb to THE BLUE VEIL:

The Blue Veil causes a self-induced social isolation.                                                        -The Blue Veil, 2012, Leigh Turgeon

When I was younger and somewhat more carefree, if I went ‘off the grid’ for a bit it was usually because I had met a guy and was chillin’ with him for a bit. As the years wore on though, and my depression got so much worse, if I was unreachable by phone for a bit, there was a problem. I started avoiding all calls, all conversation and just stayed at home not speaking to anyone.

My girlfriend Amber was the first one of my friends to actually notice this. When a major relationship of mine went bad I literally didn’t speak to anyone for weeks. One day, Amber showed up at my door. At the time she lived in a city 5 hours away and had decided she had to come to town to get me out of my apartment and out of my pit of emotion.

As the years went by I started to recognise when I was doing it, over and over again. Frankly I’m surprised I still have the caring friends that I do! I would practically hibernate in the winter, and then feel like a vampire coming out into the sun come spring. I won’t know where I would’ve been if it hadn’t been for Amber that first time, when she actually pointed out that I had been isolating myself.  I hope everyone has friends as observant as Amber…perhaps from this people may start to take notice?

THE BLUE VEIL can be purchased using the following links.

Kindle:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Blue-Veil-ebook/dp/B007733C8K

Kobo:
http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/The-Blue-Veil/book-XRoN7buNKkWXmRbVgqma7g/page1.html?s=S09sR_pmNkCf330NCg8gxA&r=1

And all other forms:
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/131171

Leigh has also created a crowd funding project for the release of THE BLUE VEIL.

http://www.indiegogo.com/TheBlueVeilTour?a=881595 
“I did this so I can print the book and take it on tour, while organizing speaking engagements .... to spread depression awareness.” - Leigh Turgeon

Happy New Year from FYM

Well, here at Free Your Mind we hope you all had a good holiday!

The Free Your Mind campaign has lots of plans for the year ahead. We will be heavily concentrating on continuing to establish ourselves in the community of Croydon, as well as continuing to bring you updates on this blog.

Recently, we had a small article about Free Your Mind published in the festive edition of the Hear Us Croydon mental health user group's newsletter. Thank you to Hear Us for that.

Until 2011,

Happy New Year! 

Nicola Edwards of FYM

What is the Free Your Mind Campaign About?

Free Your Mind is a campaign founded by me, Nicola Edwards. The aim of the campaign is to combat stigma towards mental illness through the use of art, music, film and culture. I came up with the idea for the campaign after suffering discrimination towards my mental illness for many years. And it was during a stay on a psychiatric ward, after suffering abuse at the hands of the staff, that felt something more needed to be done.

I am in my twenties and was first diagnosed with a mental illness when I was fourteen. However, I experienced ill-mental health before that point. My diagnosis currently stands at "Borderline Personality Disorder, with Schizoaffective Disorder."

I would like to share with you some of my poetry.

The poetry I have to offer you is all written by me ans was written whilst I was in hospital. At the time I was very angry as I felt I was being treated unfairly by the staff.


Crazy

Don't call me crazy
for I'm not mad,
these words mean nothing to me.

Cruel ignorance
displayed by fools
whose judgement means nothing to me.

'Psycho person'
'Mental freak'
'Crazy' means nothing to me.

Who are you to judge
my mental state?
Your opinions mean nothing to me.

You might hear me scream.
You might see me cry.
Tears mean nothing to me.

Don't call me crazy,
for I don't judge you!
Your words mean nothing to me.


Anger

Burning red
my anger bubbles
inside my loins
stirring
a tirade of screaming.
So loud. I cannot hear
the calm I've
surrounded
myself with.
So angry
leaving me
almost deaf,
unable to breathe.
Surrounding me
with red noise,
red water,
red boiling blood;
cold to the skin
trickling
downwards.
Burning red
my anger boils.


My Mind

My mind is right
My mind may be wrong
My mind is frazzled
and my thoughts are long.

My mind is pretty messy
My mind is hard to tidy
My mind is described as crazy
and my thoughts are pretty hazy.

My mind is me
My mind cannot be changed
My mind breaks down
and my thoughts are rearranged.

My mind is trapped
My mind wants to be free
My mind engages my mouth
and my thoughts tend to flee.


Life according to me

Believe it you can
do whatever you want
and be anything you want to be.

Life can be a bitch,
so go on and grab it by the leash.



Obviously Different

I'm obviously different
from person A
and person B.

But don't get me wrong
it's not my mental disorder that makes me be;

because that is just a small fraction
of what makes my personality.

They locked me up because
my mind was going crazed,
apparently.

Upon one look
they said I'm obviously different
and threw away the key.


My campaign differs from the hugely successful Time to Change campaign, and other similar campaigns, in my approach to tackling the issue of discrimination towards mental illness. I am utilizing arts and culture to raise awareness.

 Find out about my experiences with mental illness here.

Related Free Your Mind Posts:

Talking about stigma towards mental illness

Discrimination

Fashion and Free Your Mind

Following Free Your Mind Campaign

What is Bipolar Disorder?

As with all diagnoses, bipolar disorder can mean different things for different people. Bipolar sufferers experience bouts of mania (when they feel on top of the world) and bouts of depression (when they feel that can no longer cope). But this can differ from person to person.

Sometimes bipolar is accompanied by psychosis (but not always!). This can manifest itself in a number of ways - paranoia, delusional thinking, and visual or auditory hallucinations. Therefore, in all likelihood it the psychosis sufferer whom is more afraid of their experience than anyone else should be.

Bipolar disorder and many other mental disorders are more common than you might think. If you have more than eight friends, I can garauntee you know at least two people with mental illnesses.

It's always important to remember that people are more than their mental illness - a person's disorder is not their personality. And; as people are all different, so differs the way in which bipolar manifest itself - some people experience more bouts of mania; whereas, others experience more bouts of manic depression.

If you suspect you have bipolar disorder, consult a doctor right away! As with all disorders, it can be difficult to manage. But, it can be managed!

What is Mental Illness?

What is Mental Illness?

What is mental illness? That's a tough one. It means different things to different people. And although it is difficult to understand, mental illness should not be feared.

We don't all need to be experts to understand someone diagnosed with a mental disorder. We can understand on a basic empathetic level, we all experience emotional problems at one time or another.


There are too many diagnoses to explain in this short blog entry. However, we only need to know one thing, having a mental illness does not makes someone abnormal If anyhting it makes them all the more interesting!

Just because someone has been diagnosed as being mentally ill doesnt mean they aren't an intelligent, kind and caring person. A person is not defned by thier mental illness.


Mental illness cannot be defined and therefore it is hard to understand. But if we open our minds and push out ignorance and fear, we can get to know the person, and their mental illness becomes nothing more than just one of the many facets of their personality.

Related Articles from Free Your Mind:

What is Bipolar Disorder?

Coping With a Mentally Ill Friend or Relative

"Talking About Stigma Towards Mental Illness"

What is the Free Your Mind Campaign About?