Disrupted Dispositions

It’s been a while since I’ve done a personal post, but was just so overjoyed to be a part of the Disrupted Disposition exhibition in Leeds over the weekend. It was an exhibition on mental health an chronic illness and since a lot of my writing centers around anxiety, depression and recovery, Kendra Howard the curator reached out to me to be a part of it.

There were lots of interesting pieces, a multimedia piece on PTSD, one on hip dysplasia that used sheets and projects to describe the feeling of being stuck in bed, and fighting with your body. One of my favourite pieces was a multimedia piece by the curator Kendra Howard, that used three screens as the backdrop to a conversation with her mother about M.E. (Fibromyalgia) which my mother has and to be honest, I still do not know a lot about. Not only was it education and inspiring but it also had my favourite line where Kendra talked about ‘growing into her illness’ which I absolutely loved.

I love that line because I think every time we come up against a challenge with mental health or chronic illness we may feel exhausted afterwards, but each time we find small ways to deal with and help to manage them. We learn that insanity is trying the same thing and expecting different results and we try so many things, and no two battles look the same, but in the end we always gain some strength and courage from that experiences.

It really was such a great time, had so many great and real conversations and wish this could be a weekly thing! If you are nearby Leeds, I suggest you check it out, it is only on for 2 more days at Kestrel House, but so good! If you want to get a hold of my book you can find it here.