Welcome to Kandid Chronicles!

Well, you wanted an about me page, but let’s start with why I started this blog.

I actually began Kandid Chronicles back in 2017. I was 29 and I’d moved out of my parents house, finally, after spending several years building up a career in marketing once leaving University.

I spent a few months renting a room from one of my best friends, but I soon realised it wasn’t the right time. I suffer from general anxiety disorder, and the job I had at the time was causing me real mental health issues. After just a few short months, I moved back in with my parents. It would be another two years before I moved out again.

I dipped in and out of the blog over the next few years, sharing thoughts and ideas. I still had this urge to write, but my anxieties held me back from doing anything purposefully. The dream was there, but the understanding of what I wanted my blog to be wasn’t.

My health, both mentally and physically, was a rollercoaster over the next few years. Yes, I had anxiety and I had a few months off work because of it. But a few years later I discovered I had psoriasis, a skin condition where the skin heals too quickly and ends up flaking off. I spent hours researching it, after the GP offered no solutions other than stating ‘there is no cure’. I refused to believe that. I’m a firm believer there’s always a solution – you just have to find it. Keep your mind open, speak to people, understand the real reasons your health isn’t right, and you’ll find your own cure.

I am now gluten and dairy free, and the psoriasis is pretty much under control because of that. I don’t take steroids, I don’t have UV treatments. I simply use moisturiser and keep my anxieties down, whilst eating as healthy as I can. I know too much sugar in my diet sparks it off, as well as stress, so I try to keep both under control.

But the real reason I came back to the blog was because of an event in late September 2020.

In March of that year, the world was shut down. Covid-19 had swept across the globe and there were worldwide lockdowns. Fear and uncertainty were abundant. No one was sure what was going to happen. Governments did what they could. Health Services were put under extreme pressures, with new hospitals being built to cover the rush of those who would become sick. Cities were deserted, social media was rife with videos of people wondering what to do with all this time on their hands (if they were single), or how to keep their children learning and entertained. I delved into online courses and fitness videos, but unfortunately my fears built up and up until I had a breakdown.

I won’t go into the details of how the breakdown came about, but certainly I can say it took me months to get back to myself. I still have triggers to this day, and I suspect there’ll always be things that will trigger unpleasant thoughts and emotions. It’s about managing that in the meantime.

But that’s where my blog came in. I started writing again. In the midst of my breakdown, I turned to words – my power, my strength, my way of being. Writing poetry, writing about my thoughts and ideas, sharing books. The words bloomed and I created a space to share the tools that worked for me.

That’s what this blog is for. It is a creative space, yes, but also a space to share tips and ideas and tools to help you through your own mental health journey.

I’m focusing on anxiety to start with, and I suspect there will be stories to come about my breakdown and how I got through it. How I took it one day at a time and focused on knowing that one day it would be better. Some day in the future, I would look back and think – yes, I got through that. And I did. I’m a different person because of it.

So, welcome to this creative safe space. If you want books, poetry, stories, and ways to help your own mental health journey (and your physical health journey too!), you’ve come to the right place. I hope something here inspires your journey, and I implore you – share your thoughts, emotions, and stories too. It’s what being human is all about.

Kate @ Kandid Chronicles