“If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking.”
Haruki Murakami
Haruki Murakami
We like stories. In particular, we like the stories told by people about their experiences. A genuine interest in another's experience will help us understand one another better.
Telling stories engages our minds in many ways because they are dramatic, they get our whole brain working. When it comes to the issues around mental health, who better to hear stories from than those who have been there and return with something to tell? We like stories where we learn about the author, and from the author. |
Illustration by Martina Vanda
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Photograph by I, Merce Divad.
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Sharing stories is a key feature in friendships too. A story enables us to become more intimate both with other minds and with our own.
Relating to stories, and telling our own stories, can be empowering as we learn from one another and begin to share moments of experience and struggles, and begin to hope for a future together. Storytelling helps us move forward with a shared humanity. |
All kinds of stories exist about friendship and mental health, and we aim to curate such works here to give a voice to the connections between friendship and mental health. They can help us understand more about what recovery and friendship means for individuals and for us all. It may be your story, it may be your friends'; it might be something already written, or not yet published. It may be told in different ways - poems, illustrations, music, or a full-blown novel.
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"A book is the only place in which you can examine a fragile thought without breaking it, or explore an explosive idea without fear it will go off in your face. It is one of the few havens remaining where a man's mind can get both provocation and privacy."
Edward Morgan
Edward Morgan
We are very pleased that people have made some valuable contributions specifically for this web resource and we are very grateful for these. While many of these involve reading, we hope to also curate some videos and podcasts for you. If you would like to share your story of friendship and mental health, please get in touch.
In the meantime, you can read contributions by clicking on the links below.
In the meantime, you can read contributions by clicking on the links below.
A journey of recovery is an individual and unique process, and each person must decide for themselves what will work for them. The stories presented here aim to inspire hope and show that recovery can and does happen, and to explore the how friendships impact on this journey. We do not advocate any of these experiences as the ‘right’ way, so please carefully consider any decisions you make about your own recovery and your friendships, and consult with someone you trust if you feel unsure.