AMJ Blog
I have been writing a blog for some time. I use it to share my experiences and views on mental health – I had a breakdown in 2014/15 and live with depression and anxiety – and work life balance. I am passionate about working on my wellbeing and helping others to achieve and maintain the right work life balance and wellbeing approaches for them. My blog – along with my Twitter feed – comes with one health warning – if you read it you may have to hear about some of my other passions – my family, golf, Liverpool FC, communications, the Boston Red Sox, politics and the West Wing.
![The seven year itch: the anniversary of my hospitalisation and the start of my breakdown](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62178cf19f3c6a6858677c02/1645711501875-ZZR69L35BMZAQDNI3M0A/image-asset.png)
The seven year itch: the anniversary of my hospitalisation and the start of my breakdown
![School holidays are full of great times but also a helping hand for depression](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62178cf19f3c6a6858677c02/1645711501454-MZ3GJL8MY9A3JOAEZ8H2/image-asset.jpeg)
School holidays are full of great times but also a helping hand for depression
![Spare a thought for our leaders - it's a very, very lonely business being them and tough on their mental health](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62178cf19f3c6a6858677c02/1645711499469-VVQ2BD1BWICQSRNMI3EA/image-asset.png)
Spare a thought for our leaders - it's a very, very lonely business being them and tough on their mental health
![Being kind also means respecting that I'm not ready to ditch my mask or go to the match](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62178cf19f3c6a6858677c02/1645711499364-6Y7IG3BPUG7D7GXCFDZ5/image-asset.png)
Being kind also means respecting that I'm not ready to ditch my mask or go to the match
![Feeling below par isn't good for my golf, or anything else.](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62178cf19f3c6a6858677c02/1645711498870-KMW4D3LNFYSHS9DRSK95/image-asset.png)
Feeling below par isn't good for my golf, or anything else.
![Honesty is the best policy - easier said than done](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62178cf19f3c6a6858677c02/1645711498670-DAQ9R2R3DL85ZKHULT07/image-asset.png)
Honesty is the best policy - easier said than done
![What message should we take from Christian Eriksen's collapse? Maybe not the one you think.](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62178cf19f3c6a6858677c02/1645711498467-8FOLNZB1P3BLCAVHU90W/image-asset.jpeg)
What message should we take from Christian Eriksen's collapse? Maybe not the one you think.
![First year of my psychotherapist training: I've survived!](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62178cf19f3c6a6858677c02/1645711497655-NE42XSAE0QQ70HSNA8A2/image-asset.png)
First year of my psychotherapist training: I've survived!
![Mental health awareness week: raising awareness is critical but only as a stepping stone to raising us all up](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62178cf19f3c6a6858677c02/1645711497454-43G7R4G86Z1QOXO4YGLL/image-asset.png)
Mental health awareness week: raising awareness is critical but only as a stepping stone to raising us all up
![I'm still that little boy, wanting to be heard](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62178cf19f3c6a6858677c02/1645711496998-XIU7HJDFFEWCECZ7W4NI/image-asset.jpeg)
I'm still that little boy, wanting to be heard
![It's too easy to apologise for feeling down, especially during COVID](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62178cf19f3c6a6858677c02/1645711495954-EUOWONF3AO9LTFYUO73L/image-asset.png)
It's too easy to apologise for feeling down, especially during COVID
![I am now in the eye of the storm: what it's like to be in a depressive episode](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62178cf19f3c6a6858677c02/1645711494467-JQY6UQRIESAYJ9FNR2BX/image-asset.jpeg)
I am now in the eye of the storm: what it's like to be in a depressive episode
![Wellbeing at work box ticking is easy to spot](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62178cf19f3c6a6858677c02/1645711494067-OMOJGJCPDYDI5WFOP559/image-asset.png)
Wellbeing at work box ticking is easy to spot
![Mental health COVID aftershocks will be with us for years](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62178cf19f3c6a6858677c02/1645711493856-PWUP847AAZD6ZVJULWN8/image-asset.png)
Mental health COVID aftershocks will be with us for years
![Work can damage your health - that's not a mystery.](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62178cf19f3c6a6858677c02/1645711493273-5P1YTAGI79O3CN4GUV9T/image-asset.png)
Work can damage your health - that's not a mystery.
![Training to become a psychotherapist: no pain, no gain](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62178cf19f3c6a6858677c02/1645711492858-2Y72HJ2IL0AV3LY7Q018/image-asset.png)
Training to become a psychotherapist: no pain, no gain
![Unpopular view of the year: 2020 hasn't been a bad year for me and my mental health](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62178cf19f3c6a6858677c02/1645711492692-R4B3AV7J8USR834E93CR/image-asset.png)
Unpopular view of the year: 2020 hasn't been a bad year for me and my mental health
![Talking about your own mental health is a man's job](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62178cf19f3c6a6858677c02/1645711492471-T8YNDN35ZNLPJX3CJFXZ/image-asset.png)
Talking about your own mental health is a man's job
![My mental health weather forecast for the coming week: unsettled.](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62178cf19f3c6a6858677c02/1645711491071-EN7B1XU4V2921H5GBJKP/image-asset.jpeg)
My mental health weather forecast for the coming week: unsettled.
![World Mental Health Day 2020](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62178cf19f3c6a6858677c02/1645711490189-UT4V1A3I0B74B00QZO8C/image-asset.png)