大象传媒

The poem was supplied by the charity Mind who work with Jenna.

In Jenna's words:

鈥淏eing given a diagnosis has actually been beneficial to me and helped me with my self-awareness, which has had a big impact on aiding me to regulate my moods. When you have Borderline Personality Disorder learning to better regulate your mood is an essential part of becoming more stable. Also my diagnosis helped me to know my rights and stand up for myself. A lot of people speak negatively about the impact of receiving a diagnosis but I have managed to turn it into a helpful experience, which I can combine with my creative side to help me cope better."

鈥淏oth poetry and writing helps me to normalise my experiences. Reading my work back to myself reminds me I am human and I can take back control over my emotions by channelling them creatively in order to produce something, which I am proud of. It is that sense of pride and accomplishment, after all which I get from completing a poem or piece of writing. This builds up my self-esteem up, as I've seen something through to the end and transitioned a negative into a positive, like with my poem Glitter, which I wrote about my frustrations about the fact that my anxiety can affect any area of my life (from being in a waiting room full of people to my own bedroom) . As soon as I had finished writing it, I felt slightly calmer and proud I hadn't become self-destructive. Writing, is a slow but effective emotional release, which I can use to help manage my mental health.鈥�

Show less