Tag: Mental health

My Writing, PhD, Workshop

A spring update

Caroline Butterwick

It’s a while since I’ve posted on here! I’ve had a very busy few months with writing. I’ve had more articles commissioned and published so far in 2022, including for the Guardian, Psychologies, and Happiful.

I’m really excited that throughout 2022 I’m writing a column for the Wellcome Collection. It’s a series of six essays called ‘Writing Myself’, where I explore how writing can be a powerful way of considering and sharing my experience of disability. The first two columns have been published, and I’ve just submitted the third to my editor ready to be published next month. It’s been a joy to work on this ongoing project, especially with such a great organisation and a really lovely editor.

Photo shows Caroline, a blonde woman in her late 20s, sitting next to a screen which is displaying a powerpoint with the title 'So, you want to be a freelance journalist?'

Back in March I loved giving a talk at the States of Independence literary festival at De Montfort University, where I shared my experience as a freelance journalist. I talked through the process of researching markets, coming up with ideas, how to pitch, and then what to do once you’ve landed a commission. I found it a great opportunity to think about my own work and journey through the sometimes challenging world of freelancing. It was a fantastic session with great discussion, and I hope those who came along learnt more about what it’s like to write for newspapers and magazines.

I have lots of projects on the go at the moment – and of course my PhD is my main focus, and is going well. I hope to try to stay more on top of keeping this blog updated as I go forward to share more of what I’m up to!

My Writing, Travel

Lots of articles!

Caroline Butterwick

It’s been great over the past few weeks to see several of my articles published!

I had a first for me – three articles in the same issue of a magazine. My articles on zines, talking positively about your achievements, and using creative activities to plot your life are all in the September issue of the always wonderful Happiful magazine. They are also all available to read on the Happiful website.

Photo shows an open magazine on an article about zines

I loved writing this piece on using gratitude lists for wellbeing, for Stylist magazine. I interviewed two writing for wellbeing practitioners to share their insights on how we can all use this creative activity to reflect on the positives in our lives.

I used the Hitched website loads when planning my own wedding a couple of years ago, so I was thrilled to write an article for them on how to organise an accessible wedding. From getting the lighting right to physical venue access and catering for everyone, there’s lots that can be done to make it an inclusive day for all. The best thing about writing this was thinking back to my wedding day and remembering all the excitement of wedding plan (me? Nostalgic for my wedding?). One of my best friends is getting married this autumn and she very kindly read through a draft of this article to see how the advice resonated with her as a bride-to-be. And I’m very excited for her wedding!

Photo shows a man in a suit and a woman in a wedding dress standing together on a carousel

National Geographic Traveller UK is one of my favourite magazines, and one I’ve dreamed of writing for for a long time. It’s perfect for travel inspiration and imagining trips to beautiful places. I have an article in the current issue in their ‘Stay at Home’ section – and the best thing is it’s about my adopted home of North Staffordshire. It was a joy to write about Trentham Gardens, The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, The Roaches walk in the Peak District, and other wonderful places we have here.  

Photo shows the front cover of National Geographic Traveller magazine

So yep – a bumper crop of articles! I always get excited to see my work published, so I’m really happy to have so many to share from the past few weeks!

My Writing, PhD

Sunshine, writing, and reading

Caroline Butterwick

It’s the kind of weather this week where I don’t know whether to be celebrating the sunshine or desperately hoping for it to cool down!

I’ve had two more articles published in the past couple of weeks. The first is on mental health support at work, and is available to read on the Stylist website. I interviewed two experts for advice on what our rights are at work if we have a mental health condition, and the article covers everything from deciding to disclose to your boss to what reasonable adjustments you can get and what to do if you face discrimination.

Having a mental health condition myself, I know that navigating this at work can be a challenge. It was a really interesting piece to research, and I hope that this article helps others get the support they need and deserve.

Photo shows the front cover of Oh magazine, with an illustration of a bird and a vibrant summer garden, with a pink and orange sky in the background.

The other piece is a feature in the always lovely Oh magazine. It’s on the disability arts movement, and how art can be used to explore and celebrate our lives and challenge ideas about what it means to be disabled.

I was lucky enough to speak to two talented artists, Anahita Harding and Nina Thomas, for the article to share their insights. I also reflected on my own experience of writing about disability – how writing allows me to, quite literally, take authorship of my experiences. I love how the feature is illustrated in the magazine with photos of Anahita and Nina and their artwork.

Photo shows an open magazine showing an article. The article is called Every Body. There is a photo in the magazine of a woman in a wheelchair sticking the wheelchair symbol onto a wall.

I’ve also been focusing on getting more reading done for my PhD this week. I’m currently reading The Wounded Storyteller by Arthur Frank, on life writing and illness. I’m only a couple of chapters in, but already I have pages and pages of notes on his work.

Focusing on anything for too long is hard in this heat, but I’m glad to have been making progress and having exciting projects to work on.  

My Writing

Reclaiming my story

Caroline Butterwick

I’ve not been as good as I’d like at keeping my blog updated recently! It’s been a busy time with lots of writing and PhD work.

Today I’ve had an article published by the Wellcome Collection. It’s called Reclaiming My Story and is available to read here.

The article is about how I’ve used my lived experience of mental ill health as part of the service user movement. I talk about how I share my story to help improve mental health services, and also how this helps me make sense of my experiences and feel a sense of taking ownership of what I’ve been through.

It’s a little nerve-wracking having something so personal published. But I feel it’s an important piece, and I hope it helps highlight mental health, and is helpful to others reading who may have been through similar.

My Writing

Use Your Voice article for PosAbility magazine

Caroline Butterwick

I’m really happy to have an article, “Use Your Voice”, published in the current issue of the always wonderful PosAbility magazine. It’s also available to read on the PosAbility website here.

Photo shows the front cover of a magazine

The feature is about how disabled people can use our experiences of living with disability, whether campaigning for policy changes or blogging about what it’s like to live with our conditions. I talk about my role as a member of mental health social work charity Think Ahead’s Service User and Carer Reference Group, where those of us with lived experience of mental ill health are involved in the recruitment and training of future mental health social workers. I’ve been a member of SUCRG for around two years, and it’s really rewarding to be able to share my experiences to help improve services. I always enjoy our meetings and getting involved in teaching activities with Think Ahead. I also talk about how I started a group for disabled students when I was an undergraduate, and how we campaigned for change on campus and made sure disabled student voices were heard at the university.

Photo shows part of the page of a magazine article, called "use your voice", with some of the text visible and an illustration of a person using a megaphone.

As well as talking about my own experience, the article gives examples of how disabled people can find opportunities to get into a variety of lived experience work. We all have something valuable to offer by sharing our stories, and I hope that this article inspires others to get involved.

My Writing

Coming to terms with a long term condition

Caroline Butterwick

I have an article in the November issue of the always wonderful Happiful magazine, and also available to read on their website. My piece has ideas on how to come to terms with a long term health condition or disability, drawing on my own experience of living with a visual impairment and mental ill health.

The feature includes suggestions such as connecting with other disabled people, how to talk to your loved ones about your condition, and using creative activities to help you work through your thoughts.

Disability has always been part of my life, and sometimes it has been hard for me to make sense of my feelings about it. I hope this article helps others, whether dealing with a new diagnosis or having experienced an impairment their whole life.

I always love writing for Happiful magazine, and I’ve enjoyed reading through the November issue, which has some great features on topics like understanding our surge capacity and signs of anxiety. I recommend taking a look at their website or picking up a copy of the print magazine for some wonderful articles exploring all aspects of mental health and wellbeing.

My Writing, PhD

Starting my PhD

Caroline Butterwick

I’m excited to have, since last week, become a PhD student!

My PhD is in Creative Writing and is on memoir as counter narrative: using creative nonfiction to explore visual impairment and mental illness and challenge dominant models of disability. It’s wonderfully being funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council / Midlands4Cities – I’m very grateful for their support.

I’m studying at De Montfort University in Leicester, commuting from Staffordshire once I’m able to do face-to-face learning again – until then, it’s Skype / Teams, which so far is working well. It’s a little daunting of course starting something so big, but I’m looking forward to seeing the journey this PhD takes me on.

I’m feeling very lucky and still slightly bewildered to have this opportunity to research and write about something I’m so passionate about.

My Writing

Creative ways to stay in touch

Caroline Butterwick

The lovely Happiful have published my article “Creative ways to stay in touch” today – take a read here. It’s also in the June issue of the magazine.

I’ve always loved connecting with people creatively, and now more than ever, when we find ourselves separated from so many we care about, it’s a great way to reach out.

postcards
When writing the piece, I thought especially about how I’ve stayed in touch with a close friend who now lives in a different country. She’s a visual artist, and naturally we’re both drawn to creative ways to connect – though we do still embrace WhatsApp and Skype. I love it when a postcard from her lands on my doormat, or when I spend time handwriting her a card.

One of the ways I explore is through crafting handmade zines – something I’ve written about on this blog before. There are also suggestions for putting together a playlist, sending a gift box or penning a poem.

How do you like to stay in touch with people? What’s helping you right now?

My Writing

Accessible wedding feature for PosAbility magazine

Caroline Butterwick

It certainly brightened my morning when the new issue of PosAbility magazine came through the post. I always enjoy reading this disability lifestyle magazine, but it was especially nice to see my feature ‘The Perfect Day’ about planning an inclusive wedding gracing its pages.

Posability 2
Disability is my main area of focus as a writer, from writing for the Guardian about disabled student support to features on accessible travel. I’m also pretty wedding obsessed – Gary and I got married in July last year, and I was one of those brides who loved when people asked me about what I was doing for table decorations or the first dance or cake flavours.

 
Accessibility was a key part of my wedding planning, with me and several guests being disabled, and I realised that through the process of organising an accessible wedding I’d picked up lots of tips that could be useful for others.

posability 10
I really enjoyed writing this feature – not least because it was an excuse to talk weddings! I hope it helps others who may be thinking ahead to their own big day or that of someone they know to help make it an inclusive and enjoyable experience for all.

My Writing

In The Moment article on embracing my disabled identity

Caroline Butterwick

I have a feature in the new issue of the gorgeous In The Moment magazine that’s out today. The article is about accepting – and celebrating – my identity as a disabled person.

ITM magazine

I’ve always been partially sighted. My impairment is something I tried to ignore growing up, certainly until my late teens, but now I see it as an integral part of my identity. From going on to work in disability roles in higher education and the charity sector through to my freelance writing where disability is one of my key focuses and areas of interest, embracing my identity as a visually impaired person has shaped my life so much, and for the better. I’ve also made some wonderful friends through being involved in disability groups.

ITM 1

Still, writing this feature for In The Moment was challenging. It’s one of the more personal articles I’ve had published, and it made me really think about my journey and the things that have influenced it. It can be hard to pinpoint what has shaped me, but I enjoyed reflecting on and exploring this while writing the article.

If you’ve read my blog before, you’ll know that disability is one of the main areas I write about. Being disabled impacts on all areas of my life, and I enjoy sharing my experiences through my writing, especially when disabled voices are so often underrepresented.

ITM 2

I hope, sometimes, that others may read my work and see part of their reality reflected in my words. I hope, too, that people who don’t have lived experience of disability feel it gives them an insight into a perspective they’re unfamiliar with.

I’m excited to share that I have other features about disability, including one I’m currently working on, coming up in other magazines this year, and hopefully many after that.