An Introduction

Hi, I'm Jen.

I've blogged in the past at different stages of life and I've been resisting rejoining the blogosphere for a little while now. However, I've found I need a little bit of space to get things out of me. I thought long and hard about why I might want to blog rather than just write a diary and I came down to two things that made me decide to go bloggy.

First, I might keep it up a bit better than a diary. I have never been good at keeping up a diary, I have in the past been quite good at keeping up blogging.

Second, some of the stuff, some of the time, I might like second opinions on. I know I might not get them, and I might not like the opinions if I do get them but we shall see! I'm at a time in life where, with two small children, I basically don't get to finish a conversation ever. And I've realised that, among other things, this is starting to cause me some problems.

So that is why a blog.

And now, why anything at all? Well. Since my daughter was born in September 2011, I have struggled with mood swings and generally not being the person I'd like to be that often. It was never quite post natal depression and so it was never quite dealt with. In late December 2012, side effects from some medication pushed me fully into an anxiety and depression cycle. I stopped the medication. After about six weeks, I could tell the side effects were clear but I had not returned to myself. It felt as if a switch had been flipped. I ignored it for a month or so, after all, I was so much better, it would probably go away if swept under the carpet. Not so. Over the past three or four weeks, I have realised I am going to have to Do Something About It. This blog is the start of that something. Somewhere I am going to try to be spectacularly honest about what is going on in my head. Somewhere that perhaps others will want to help me challenge myself and see if I can break this cycle. Somewhere that might give me the courage to do some of the things that might help.

So there you have it. That is what this blog is all about. For now.