PhD Mum

"You see us as you want to see us—in the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions. But what we found out is that each one of us is a brain...and an athlete...and a basket case...a princess...and a criminal. Does that answer your question?" (The Breakfast Club) When I was 16 I was doing my A-levels. One of the courses I chose was sociology (I chose this course because it was not forced on me at GCSE, by way of protest and rebellion). This course had such an impact on me in ways I am only really starting to understand now. During the course, I was repeatedly told that people from broken homes and/or from working class families were destined to be criminals, to create a broken home themselves in the future, and/or become mentally ill. Being someone from a recently broken home and very much working class, I felt that the world was setting the bar for me. That it was telling me I didn’t deserve and shouldn’t expect anything more. And I think this idea was ...

Before I go on, please know that this is a lighthearted piece . There are many women who struggle daily with mental health conditions every day and there are great services available to offer support (God bless the NHS). Please do not take any offence to what I write, and please if you think you might, stop reading. After completing my undergraduate degree, I took a few years off from academia. I then returned to complete my MSc. During this course, I had to complete a piece of original research. I decided to study schizotypal traits in religious people (as you do). Which simply means that even in a undiagnosed population (your average Joe), there are traits or behaviours that could be considered a psychiatric illness. I was lucky enough to be supervised by Professor Richard Bentall during my MSc. His book, Madness Explained , is a very good read. Similarly to the book by Jon Ronson on Psychopaths , they make you question the psychological testing method and how exactly someone i...