Last week I was given the story box which is a segment on our local radio station where the holder of the story box talks live on the radio the next morning at 6.45am. Although I have no difficulty talking in public I wondered what I could talk about. I had given radio interviews before and thought I had nothing new to say. I wondered if bipolar is the only interesting thing about me. I do have a book and gift shop but a few people had already spoken about having a bookshop.

I like communicating about mental health as often as I can but I worried I had nothing new to say. Even though being open and honest about mental illness is a passion of mine but it is not who I am or is it?

Do I only want to be known as the woman who has bipolar and owns a book and gift shop? I decided not to speak much about my own personal experience but to explain about how I use my lived experience (I like that I no longer have an illness but now have a lived experience!) to give information to community groups.

When the phone call ended I thought of many witty, clever things I should have added. However I even managed to talk about Moodscope.

Now it is your turn. I have given you the story box. What will you talk about in 5 mins? What questions would you like to be asked? What would you like the listeners to know about you. You can focus on any part of your life, anytime past and present and even future. You have our undivided attention.

If you find it hard to decide what to talk about, like I did, please let me know what is going through your head about what has been important in your life.

Over to you, tell me what is important in your life - what would be in your story box?

Leah

A Moodscope member.