Meet Megan.
Megan is a very talented collage and print artist who has worked with The Body Shop, The V&A, and Fortnum and Mason. She also runs printmaking workshops at beautiful locations and online.
She generously shares her process and experience of mental health via her Instagram printcessmeg and substack
.I was introduced to Megan’s work a couple of months ago by a friend (thanks Katie), and have been avidly following along ever since. I’ve just bought one of her prints which now sits pride of place in my sitting room as a constant reminder that all I can do is all I can do and that is enough.
What is your experience of mental illness?
I think my mental health is something I have always had a hard time navigating. I have always thought in an incredibly black and white way, and in turn this has meant I am either fine, or not. I still find it hard to recognise how I am feeling.
I was diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 26. I think growing up I always felt different and often struggled, but I did not know how to voice it. When you internalise so much for so long, it will always find a way to come out and I feel like this late diagnosis has contributed to my anxiety and depression.
I think I make things a lot harder for myself than they often need to be. If something feels too easy it feels wrong somehow. This is a dangerous expectation to put on myself.
I push and push myself, I think because of an inner voice telling me I need to prove myself to the outside world. This has meant I do not always know my own limitations. When overwhelmed, I then feel like I must sit still but in being still I perpetuate things I sometimes feel scared of, like leaving the house.
When I am anxious, I become paranoid and feel like I am losing control, and it is hard to know how to ask for help.
I find that help comes not just by what people say, but knowing that they can hold space for me without judgement.
I think people have this fear of saying the wrong thing but in saying nothing, it allows a silence to convince someone of an answer or a scenario that is not true.
I am still figuring so much out every day. It is exhausting.
What is your experience of getting better?
I am trying to practice gratitude, even in times where I am more balanced mentally.
I am currently on medication and in the past have tried many different types. Taking medication is something I want to revisit, as sometimes I worry I don’t know who I am without it. Medication has also impacted other things, like my weight and sleep, which are both factors that contribute to my overall wellbeing.
I am an artist so have always used my art to process things.
I sea swim most weeks and that has been pivotal to helping me switch off.
I am learning that I am enough as I am.
I try to look internally, rather than for external validation.
I am writing things down for the first time in my life, things I have actively avoided.
It is a step by step, day by day process.
How do you maintain your mental health?
I am still learning how to maintain my mental health. I think I get stuck in feeling stuck and almost hyper fixate on fixing myself. As a human being it is not that simple as being fixed.
I am learning that routines aren’t a ‘prison’, they can be there to create a safety net for when I feel overwhelmed.
I have people around me who hold space for me.
I think having people in your life who do not judge you is a powerful thing.
I am still working out what ‘calm’ looks like for me.
Thank you Meg.
Feel able to share your story?
Sharing personal experiences of mental health helps normalise conversations about the previously stigmatised subject. This in turn helps people to talk more about their own mental health and ask for help when they need it.
Want to know a little more about how you could share your story with The Mind Matters community? You can do so here.