How fashion helps with my mental illness
Photo by Johnny Holden Living with a mental illness for two decades has not dampened ERICA CROMPTON’S desire to dress well. Here she explains how fashion helps her with managing her psychotic illness and staying comfy… Fashion boosts my self-esteem, helps me create an identity outside my diagnosis and I take great solace in my […]
Hopezine winter 2022 out now!
Welcome, winter Hopezine, 2022! As the nights draw in, we offer you some different thoughts on medications for mental illness. I’ve included a few different perspectives for you to decide for yourself though there’s no shame or judgement whichever course you decide to take. Your mind, your choice. For the cover you’ll see our Accessibility […]
A Poem By Mud About Psych Ward Meds
she sucks on her menthol e-cigarette it tastes like the outside desperation in a tube. she turns her head from side to side staring blankly all around her taking nothing in but nicotine. a step forward, she’s at the counter name? turn the page a little paper cup, with little paper pills, plastic gulp of […]
Why I choose to take medication for my mental illness
I’ve made the artwork opposite to show how my brain might look when I’m unwell with psychosis. I call these collages the ‘brain surgery series’ as to make them I take a scalpel to pictures of people in magazines! Since 1999 I’ve taken different measures of antipsychotic medication to treat psychosis or the brain explosions […]
Soothing as the midnight stars
As the nights draw in once more, I’ve taken to stargazing after being dazzled by the perseid meteor shower last August and September. Don’t fret if you missed those shooting stars as there’s more ahead on 21st October and 22nd October: the Orionid Meteor shower or the Taurid meteor shower, also know as the ‘Halloween […]
“What soothes you?” asks Hopezine summer 2022
This pretty edition of summer 2022 Hopezine has been brought to you by students studying A-level photography at Stafford College. Its’ been inspired by Project Soothe, a citizen science project that urges participants to photograph what soothes them and to share this with others. Leah Greenaway-Lewis has been guest editor of this issue and shared […]
Stanley Clare’s setting sun is beautiful
One thing I find very soothing is watching the sun set. I’m very lucky as Ilive in a dark sky part of the country so there is no noticeable lightpollution to obscure the sun. One of the biggest draws for me to watchingthe sun set is that it is different every time, depending on the […]
Erica Crompton’s wild ponies on Dartmoor
On a recent trip to Devon my boyfriend Paul drove us to Dartmoor tosee if we could spot some of the wild ponies. We were in luck! Here’s apicture of the most gorgeous wild ponies and their foals that wediscovered there. Whether it’s my own cats or wild ponies, I find animalsincredibly soothing because there […]
Hopezine’s Editor, Erica Crompton, goes fishing
I’ve found fishing to be a very soothing and calming activity. It helps me toconcentrate on the tranquil waters. Whether I’m sea fishing or fishing in alake, being near water and nature is always good for my mental health.I only tried fishing recently, on a trip with my boyfriend, but instantly lovedit!. We spent a […]
Pause for a moment says Olivia Walters
Something that soothes me is stopping for a moment. To take a break andnot allow things to move at a rushed pace all the time is one of the mostsoothing things you can do. Life can move very fast and feel uncontrollablea lot of the time, so whenever I feel like this, I take a […]