Ash Ford-McAllister

  They Come In Waves Heads together, slush-puppy ice-waves Blending With childhood-memory candyfloss, Sending Stereotypes of "the boy one" and "the girl one" Saves Of cognitive shortcuts whose codes May not reflect reality; Because Whether fairground floss or dreamscape sea, They are both, in several ways,  "The girl one." A babe and her hun, Holding quiche, Taking the chiller-cabinet background to The watermelon They've been eyeing since they first walked in. Tie-dye jeans tied to Genes that have you tied  Between shafts of assumption And expectation. Your truth will out. I reach up, open the door Look back to see you follow me; Relieved, and a little more relaxed Than you were before. We both reached this point Where the roads converged. We each pushed past barriers, Cut back thorns, Ignored warning signs To take the road less travelled - I hope we get to talk together About the difference that it made. 'They Come In Waves' was developed fro

  Depression isn't "just feeling a bit rubbish."  Depression isn't "suicidal thoughts and extreme emotional pain." Depression will be different for  everyone, but it's also different as individuals progress through it. Because depression is  something you progress through. It won't always be the way it starts out, and I feel that's an important thing to discuss as mental health is increasingly centred in Western society, and conversations become more open, and more commonplace. I have depression. For me, if we were to use a mental health version of the pain scale, which might look something like: 1. Everything's great! I'm really positive and motivated, with plenty of energy! I'm actively enjoying existing hobbies, and exploring new ones. I'm focused on how good things are going to be in the future, and I have pleasant memories of the past. 2. I'm feeling positive and motivated, and enjoying my current hobbies. I have things I