In this episode, I speak with Sonja Cowling, a junior doctor working in psychiatry with lived experience of mental ill health.

Welcome to the walk a mile in my shoes podcast – a podcast where I want you, my loyal listener, to enter into the world of my guests, try on their footwear for size, and immerse yourself into their lives for a time.

I’m your host, Chris Young, and in this episode, I have the privilege of speaking to Sonja Cowling, a psychiatrist who has a lived experience of mental ill health. We talk about a load of stuff, from the lack of mental health services, to the weird juxtaposition of coercion and care, to her thoughts on trauma and the personality disorder label.

I follow her on Twitter, and I’ve got to say, I rather like the cut of her jib. The tweet that, for me, sums her up best is when she said, ‘I want to become a person that builds things. I want to move from complaining and pointing out flaws to suggesting new ideas, working to start positive things and taking steps to make them happen’

My conversation with her started to fill me with hope that, some day, we could all work together to dig mental health services out of the hole it finds itself in. Before I get all Martin Luther King on you, you can find Sonja on twitter @sonjacowling, she’s well worth a follow.

On that very topic – if you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please give it a like and, if you want to hear more, subscribe – there are 22 more for you to dive into. Go on, it’ll give me a warm fuzzy feeling inside.  If twitter’s your thing, you can find me @walkamileuk, if it’s not, then I’ll stick up links to our rather lovely Facebook group in the blurb.

In the next episode, I’ve got some interesting…yeah, I know, you’ll be the judge of that…updates on my status as the mental diabetic…keep your eyes…er…ears peeled.

Until the next time, I’ve been Chris Young and you’ve been rather lovely,

Walk a mile