11 years ago, I was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder. I have accomplished many things in this time, I was almost married in 2016, I have worked for 9 years in the field of mental health/Alcohol & Drugs, I have written and published a memoir in 2020, I have spoken at Parliament for mental health week, spoken at conferences including being a lived experience Keynote speaker for the WAAMH conference in 2016, I have spoken several times on the radio, and did a podcast with Heidi from 92.9 back in 2017. I have also featured in a couple of news paper articles for the West Australian. So, you might say, I am incredibly lucky. Although I still have my bad days and my bad moments…basically you could say I am far from perfect. But I always try my best and I always pat myself on the back for giving everything a good go. I have been ruthless in my mission to achieve and maintain an amazingly blessed, and happy life. I am very proud of myself, and I know the amazing people in my life are proud of me too. I recently opened up to my colleagues and boss at work, about my past experiences and in particular, spoke to them about my book, which really is the amalgamation of all of my hard work. They responded with awe, compassion and kindness, and I feel like I really have reached a new level of respect within the organisation. There is also now talks of promoting my book to staff and service users within Palmerston, which I am thrilled about, to say the least.
I have had a few off days recently, and whilst this can upset me, I know that it is only temporary, and I know that the life I am living is still so blessed, and I have so much to be thankful for, every day. I want to tell anyone reading this, that I am moving forward in my quest to be transparent and authentic about who I am and what I have experienced, and still experience to this day. For my sake, and also for the sake of reducing mental health stigma in society.
So, if you have a problem with who I am, and what I have been through…
“if you judge me as I am, then watch me as I go”. Because I don’t have time for people who judge or criticize me. I have worked really hard on accepting the things I cannot change, within myself and my life circumstances, and I have worked extraordinarily hard to get to where I am today. I have so many amazing friends/family/colleagues/people in my life who love me despite my shortcomings. And if you are one of those people, I thankyou so much from the bottom of my heart. I love you all immensely. If you are not one of those people, then simply watch me as I walk away. No skin off my nose, and blessings to you.
Love Kate x
PS. There is a reason that the first sentence of this blog reveals my biggest secret, it is because I no longer feel the need to keep it hidden. xx
Kate's Niche 