22 Dec 2021
Story Time: Christmas Memories
10 Oct 2021
Childhood Obsessions: Lego
Especially for those who had/have a similar attachment to the little plastic brick
Everyone by now will surely be familiar with the little Lego brick known all across the world. First created in Denmark, 1932, the Lego company first started making a series of wooden toys, and it wasn't until 1942 in which the company began making the first plastic bricks along with other plastic modules and models, At the time of writing there is an average of 80 bricks per person on Earth. Lego (Danish for "play well") has entered the hearts of many people from young to old and today I will be writing about how it has played a role in my life.
As I have written before, I was a major fan of Thomas The Tank Engine growing up from my earliest days. I had most of the characters and destinations so one day on holiday in 2009 when we walked into a Smyth's toy shop there was nothing really there that I fancied picking up. My dad suggested having a look around as the store was just massive. While walking around I came across an aisle full of all kinds of Lego sets. My eyes then became fixed on a Lego SpongeBob SquarePants set of the Krusty Krab and this became my first ever Lego purchase.
By the time Christmas came, I had a handful of sets, enough to build a little town with plenty of Minifigures and vehicles. For Christmas of the same year, I also got a small little camera so I was mad taking photos and videos of anything and everything, including my Lego. Soon I got the hang of making short movies of Lego, be it a short story or film shot of my collection.
Christmas 2009 |
Stop Animation
As I grew up I began watching YouTube videos of other people's Lego shorts and skits which included film and an interesting method called Stop Animation. Stop Animation is a series of shots taken of a prop or setting where you slightly move the inanimate object frame by frame in order to give the illusion of movement. I was fascinated with the concept and would watch them for hours on end.
Many years went by with many more purchases from the smallest of cars to a massive Hogwarts Castle. As time progressed the quality of the Stop Animations advanced as well into more thrilling effects. I had always wanted to make my own sort of video content so I began writing scripts and plots for a Lego series I would post on YouTube. I dipped in and out of the hobby for a few years till March of this year when I created an Instagram page to post my first proper Stop Animation test.
Quirky Productions
24 Apr 2021
Mental Health Journey {Republished}
Especially for those who experience low positive mental health be it a long or short time
This is a blog I have done before however technical difficulties with the previous posts have led me to take them down. However, it has also given me the opportunity to reedit and collab them together. May 2021 marks the second Mental Health Awareness Month during the Covid 19 Pandemic so there is no question that many people's mental health would have deteriorated over the last year or so.
I will be discussing my journey with my mental health issues in the three different stages of my life they happened in. I will also be writing this in Timeline format to make it easier to follow. (Just a heads up this blog is a bit longer than my past blogs) Also, this blog is divided into the different stages of when these events happened (Early Childhood, Early Teens, Late Teens)
The point of this Blog is to show the many people struggling with their Mental Health that you are not alone and you can get through whatever stands in your way.
2000-2006 (Early childhood)
August 2007
April 2009
2009-2011
April 2011
Summer 2011
Late 2012
January 2013
March 2013
*Side Note*
August 2013 (Early Teens)
When I was to turn thirteen in August I started going to C.A.M.H.S which is the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. So once I turned thirteen I finished up with the play Therapist and started with C.A.M.H.SApril 2014
It was so extreme that after a few days of intense worrying it lead to my first ever Panic Attack. I felt like I was in a roasting box getting tighter and tighter, I was balling crying and would have preferred at the time to be dead than have to go through what I was going through. I didn't know what was happening and I thought I was dying as is the same with most people when they get their first panic attack.
The anxiety came back worse than ever and 2 weeks after the Panic Attack C.A.M.H.S decided to put me on medication to manage it. The combination of the medication and school as a distraction helped me through the rest of the school year but was only a temporary patch on the tire.
Summer 2014
The summer was an emotional rollercoaster as the OCD was the worst it had ever been. I was doing more OCD rituals than ever and I avoided doing things in case they might send me to hell, a big one would have been eating or drinking. Around August I began to slightly improve mentally and slowly began to relax more as I started 2nd Year.February - May 2015
After smooth sailing for a few months, and getting back to eating and drinking properly, my OCD came back once again. For the next few months, the OCD ruled my life once again making them the longest months of my life (at the time as it felt like I was a puppet attached to stringsSome OCD rituals included:
Eye Routines
Blinking routines
Avoid using my laptop
Not talking about how I felt
Avoiding drinking (unless made to)
Since I wasn't eating or drinking my system wasn't functioning properly and I was losing body strength. One day, in particular, I was volunteering at a run handing out water to the passing runners with my friend. At one point he walked up to the shop and by the time he came back 10 minutes I had collapsed, had a finger pulse oximeter on my figure, and was wrapped in a first aid blanket.
This was a huge wake-up call and I slowly began to start eating and drinking properly again. A few weeks later my OCD got so intense I once again got to the stage where I said "Enough was enough"
June - July 2015
At this point, I gained back control of my life, however, occasionally I would still look for signs. One day I wanted to learn first aid along with a bit of filming, and shortly after I had a strange dream. This "sign" is what I call Dream 1. The dream was simply a God-like man appearing and that was it, but I took this as a sign not to learn first aid or film.January 2016
A few months went by and my mum signed me up for a first aid program as something to do outside of the Junior Cert as she knew I had an interest in it earlier on. She didn't know about any of my "signs" or OCD thoughts at the time, only I did, so when she signed me up I said to myself " Well if I'm doing first aid I might as well learn some filming as well". This helped me to see the dream as a good thing which made me feel at ease.June 2017 (Late Teens)
November 2017
One day in November I remember thinking to myself about that Dream 1 and started to think about what if it wasn't a good sign. This little thought grew into worry and then into a panic, panic about thinking of hell again and it took over the world ending worry.A few nights later, after the thought was on my mind for a few days, I had another dream. This was Dream 2. This time I saw someone suffering and immediately took this as a bad sign so I stopped learning film.
December 2017
A few weeks went by and I got very low, I then began to wonder what else could the "dreams" tell me not to do, then it struck me, the rowing. I couldn't bear the thought of losing the rowing as it had become the main interest in my life. I don't know why but this time I was looking for a dream sign and thought nothing would come of it.However, then came Dream 3. I dreamt of people I thought I recognised being tortured, I woke up the next morning sweating, on the bridge of a panic attack, and felt sick to my stomach.
*Side Note*
January 2018
Around this time my mum knew something was up after I completely avoided the Rowing Christmas party and she asked me what was up. I eventually told her everything that happened with the OCD rituals, the dreams, and the worry. This was a big step as finally, I began to open up more to recover once and for all.February 2018
Shortly after I went to see a CBT specialist For the next few months. This helped in realising what OCD is and the factors and reasoning behind my experience with it.Summer 2018
As 5th year came to a close I was now off for the summer and almost immediately after I began to have strange dreams where random things happened and something hellish appeared. I would then avoid everything that appeared in the dream which could have been anything and expanded over time.This lasted for a few weeks so I decided to go to a recommended counselor. I finished up with the CBT specialist after 17 sessions and stuck with the counseling. Towards the end of the summer, I began to become more of my former self mostly thanks to challenging myself.
October - December 2018
After moving to the adult mental health services when I turned 18, they began working on my autism assessment which was finished in December and I found out I was on the spectrum. I was also told that OCD can be quite common with people on the spectrum, which explained many of my past behaviors. I also finished up with the counseling and began with an O.T in the Adult Mental Health services in January 2019.February 2019
One night out in February led to me coming out of the closet to one of my closest friends which was something I had suppressed about since the age of 13. It's one thing to come out when a little drunk, but coming to terms with my sexuality was the most sobering thought of all.Conclusion
I could say that this was the end of my Mental Health Journey, however, one's Mental Journey is never over and is something different for everyone (Especially in today's climate) but for me however, and my experience with OCD today, I simply look at it as a quote from Pinocchio, "I've got no strings on me!"If you or someone you know are struggling with something there are some helpline contacts below
{Speak up, there's always a set of ears somewhere ready to hear you out}
Pieta House
Website: https://www.pieta.ie/
Number: 1800 247 247
Samaritans
Website: https://www.samaritans.org/ireland/samaritans-ireland/
Number: 116 123
OR CALL 999 IN CASE OF EMERGENCY