Abby Lafferty's Poem "David"

During the final day of Contemporary Approaches to Mental Health students viewed a video entitled 'David's Story: In his own words.' In response to this Abby wrote the following poem.

DAVID

I watched you from the other side

Nurtured you until you could fly

Day after day I watched you grow

Piece by piece a new feather arose

It was magical, beautiful, like nothing I’d ever seen before

Like a sunrise after a storm

A kiss after the sting of a thorn

And you were the one that kept me strong

Maybe when we die we all become birds I thought

As I felt my heart miss a beat

As I watched them tear into his battered beak

Don’t worry I’ll help you eat

I rolled up the bread piece by piece

Day after day a perfect streak

Now he was strong and I watched him leave.

Now back to my side

I doubt I’ll ever be able to fly

There’s no genuine hand reaching to me

There goes another sigh.

I'm lonely in here,

Can you die of loneliness?

I think I might,

Because there’s nothing in sight

This future, my future seems anything but bright.

There was a time I believed I could move mountains,

Clap my hands and the clouds would stop raining

There was a time where I felt so low I could have stopped breathing

and would not have cared you know

I’d take a handful of whatever washed down with some lager

And go into a sleep that id wish would be forever

There was a time where I was happy I was in love and she was on my side

I felt giddy, excited and hopeful again

And now I'm back in here on the other side

They’re spouting words at me,

I think it’s called recovery

Something about a journey

I can’t remember it all seems so empty

I wonder if anyone would nurture me

Take me under their wing,

Piece by piece Step by step

Maybe I could sort this thing I think they call bi-polar disorder

Higher than high, lower than low

I prefer to call it feeling shit, and that’s all I think you need to know

Maybe recovery should be reality

Speak to me when I ask them tae 

Just now I feel

I am only existing

And couldn’t be further from truly living

This fairy tale ending

they like to call my well-being

And I when I refuse just about everything,

And Bite the hand that’s trying to feed me

Please don’t give up on me

Even if I ask ye tae.

Ist Year, Ist Workshop

Third Years Final Day (Class of 2010) Advice to new Fresher Mental Health Nursing Students

Student Poster Presented at 2nd Scottish Mental Health Nursing Research Conference

We are delighted that GCU Mental Health students Lizzie Burns and Hazel Thomson represented students at the recent Mental Health Nursing Research Conference at Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen. Members of the Mental Health Nursing teaching team supported the students and attended the conference. The students presented their poster / paper  titled: Recovery Rollercoaster.