Life in Cookieland Blog
Health | Mental Health | Adventure | Rants
Such is the stigma of mental illness
Did I really have a breakdown? Noooooo, I just decided to stop functioning for a…
Feeling like a nuisance around other people
One thing I've learned during the recovery from my nervous breakdown is that it all…
Sunrise over The Quiraing, Isle of Skye
The name Quiraing comes from the Old Norse phrase Kví Rand, which means Round Fold.
No, it’s not perimenopause!
Your nerves are raw and you’re aware that you’re hypersensitive at the best of times…
The idea: walking the scottish highlands
It was 5am when I sat bolt upright in bed, prodded Dave’s cheek and declared,…
Not all that glitters is gold
After a couple of hours and a couple of gins, my companion decided that I…
My breakdown; my best friend
My breakdown is being a tough-talking best friend; it's not trying to hurt me in…
The lure of Glen Coe in winter
The Scottish Highlands. It’s the only place on Earth that pulls me like a magnet…
Just how awkward is this going to be?
Yep, people tend to avoid talking about mental breakdowns. It’s all they can do to…
Feeling fragile after a mental breakdown
Being fragile is part of being human, a moment of relative dysfunction in an otherwise…
Cookie The Slapdash Adventurer
I've always wanted to be an epic adventurer. Imagine my disappointment, then, to find out…
Tristan da Cunha, the remotest inhabited island
It took me five years to find a ship bound for the remotest inhabited island…
Photos from the Scottish Highlands
These photographs of the south-western Highlands were taken on my way to a regular winter…
The mesmerising beauty of Antarctic Icebergs
Nothing could have prepared us for the variety of icebergs that we were to see…
The symptoms of a nervous breakdown
It takes a long time to spiral all the way down to rock bottom. And…
Winter wildlife on the Antarctic Peninsula
Most newborn life had already headed north for the winter so only a few of…
Beginner’s guide to different types of fasting
Fasting refers to the practice of going without food for a period of time. How…
A strange(r) connection
Whilst trespassing on farmland (training to walk 1000 miles solo round Iceland) I had an…
You’re offended – well, so bloody what?
How fabulous it is to have grown up in a time where people could enjoy…
Mind over matter
My world fell apart when I had my breakdown but I remember seeing it as…
No kids? What’s wrong with you?
I don't want children, which makes me a selfish, child-hating woman, who's no idea what…
I hate hot weather, don’t I?
Anyone who knows me knows that for over half a century I've cheered as winter’s…
Pop-up? Pop off!
Don’t get me wrong, I know it’s marketing, I know it’s a 'keep their attention'…
I’m a woman and I hate shopping!
I read an article this morning about how women are programmed to love shopping, as…
