Dear all,

A few days ago I published an article starkly criticising the mental health system in the UK. While I believe my reflections were honest and in a sense justified, they were not expressed in a loving way. I apologise. I have taken the article down.

A couple of weeks ago, I made the difficult decision to come off medication entirely, fully believing that God was supportive of this decision. However, my mental health deteriorated, and over the weekend I suffered one of the worst mental health crises of my life, and ended up being taken in an ambulance to A&E. The mental anguish that I experienced is hard to put into words, but it made me acutely aware of the benefits of medication and the need for me personally to take it.

As I have discussed with people in my support network, medication can be effective at treating symptoms, though it is never a cure. I believe the cure for most mental health problems is loving relationships, and as someone kindly reminded me, time. I am back taking medication again and hope to do so for the foreseeable future, especially while family relationships are very difficult. I do have some amazing people in my support network for which I am extremely thankful.

Thank you to those of you who continue to read my articles, whether you choose to interact or not. I really appreciate it.

Have a blessed day!

Steven x