I deliberated a fair bit when deciding on the content of my first blog post. Originally I was going to go along the lines of reflecting on what has been a very eventful year in The Life of Lorna, but I decided that I’ve spent far too much ruminating over that on other platforms. Besides, launching this blog was supposed to be fresh start – a new beginning. What better time to write my first blog post with the new year looming?
My artwork above probably best encapsulates the journey I’ve been on this year in a way that words can’t fully. Some of you may have been directed here from my previous anonymous blog – The One Day Seeker – where you can get a bit more of a sense of my background and where I’ve been. But, for now, let me say that I’m writing this blog from a place in which I’m rising out of a mental health crisis and attempting to rebuild my life again in the face of an onset of chronic illness – PoTS.
With my anonymity now lifted, I instead decided to begin this new venture sharing a bit about me and my hopes for this blog…
- My name is Lorna. Or at least that’s what most people know me as these days – I like my full name, it’s just a bit long-winded.
- I’m 27 years old. Most people think I look a lot younger. My parentals’ next door neighbours thought I was only 14, despite the fact that they have previously seen me driving… They’re in their 80s. I suppose everyone must look child-like compared to them! I don’t act my age the majority of the time.
- I refer to my mum and stepdad as ‘parentals’ as obviously one of them is not my parent biologically. I thought it had quite a nice ring to it? I coined the term from the PG – Parental Guidance certificate on films – the concept sort of fits…
- I did embarrassingly well academically – 11 A*s and 2 A’s at GCSE, 4 A’s at A level and 2 A’s at AS level. I also have a BA in Theology and Religious Studies and an MA in Religion, Politics and Conflict Resolution. More importantly, I developed a love for learning that seems to be ceaseless. I have never taken my education for granted. I was the first person in my family to go to university. What most people don’t know though is that I was actually the first female in my family to simply finish secondary school – a number of my extended family are not able to read or write.
- I have fur-babies! I have two very beautiful, loving and fluffy mini lop bunnies who I named Hope and Saoirse (Irish for ‘freedom’). I named them after the values I aspire to have in my life. They will be 5 years old this coming spring. They are very special to me as they have seen me through two hospital admissions for my mental health. They are my world.
- I am diagnosed with DID, CPTSD, a history of Anorexia Nervosa, and have suffered repeated severe depressive episodes. However, these are just the names given to describe the difficulties I have faced and continue to navigate in my life. My mental health difficulties and past experiences have shaped me, but I will never let them define me or my future.
- I don’t always appear to function as a single person. I have Dissociative Identity Disorder. I am made up of a system of seven different parts of me, formed out of traumatic experiences I endured throughout my childhood. The part writing this blog is the main host adult part of me, who most people know as Lorna. I will have input from other parts of course though. I am proud to be diagnosed with DID and am incredibly grateful to every part of me as they helped me to survive and have made me the person I am today. That’s not to say that life with DID doesn’t have it’s difficulties and challenges. It certainly makes life interesting!
- I’m a black belt in karate! (This comes as a surprise to most people!). I practised karate for 13 years. I competed nationally and internationally at the top level. Alongside my brother, I coached a national squad of amazing, very talented young people to achieve success on karate competition circuits. For various reasons, I am no longer as involved in the sport, but it was incredible experience to have, filled with so memories I will take with me.
- I have many obsessions. My most unusual one is probably flooding! I can’t explain why, but I just love seeing a flooded landscape – I think it’s the destructive element of it and witnessing the power of natural forces.
- I have an extra long bone on my right wrist that sticks out when I pull my hand back. I call it my ‘ganglion’. It’s a great party trick and used the intrigue some of the children I worked with as a Learning Support Assistant.
- I love clothes way too much! Once I banned myself from buying any new clothes for an entire year as my wardrobe situation was in overflow! I succeeded, as I often do when I set my mind to something. I’m definitely not an expensive shopper though – I haven’t got the means to be! Most of the time I’m dressed head to toe in Primarni, though allegedly I have a bit of a knack for finding pieces that no one else can.
- I will always be just that little bit quirky, but I embrace it! It would be an awfully boring old world if we were all the same.
M Y H O P E S F O R T H I S B L O G . . .
Something I have learnt this year is that I have always felt happiest and most fulfilled in my life when drawing upon my own experiences to help others. Just through writing this blog post, I have been put back in touch with a sense of purpose that has been sadly lacking in my life of late. My main intention for this blog is to continue to share advice and/or reflections relating to topics around mental health, based upon my own experiences and happenings in The Life of Lorna, in the hope that it may help others who may be facing similar difficulties and also raise awareness. I am brimming with ideas for blog posts, which will hopefully come to fruition throughout this coming year.
Whatever may have brought you to this blog, I hope that you will find my content interesting and helpful in some way. Thank you for taking the time to read my first blog post, which I optimistically anticipate to be the first of many.
And thank you for joining me on my journey.
Lorna ♥
The Life of Lorna 