A Conversation with My Mental illness

Happy National Poetry Day friends! To celebrate, we've got an inspiring poem by Nikita Gill titled 'A Conversation with My Mental Illness.' If you read it and want to share your thoughts, you can comment your answers to the below questions on our Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Tumblr accounts. We'd love to hear from you!

  • What do you think is the main thing being said in this poem?

  • How does the poem make you feel? Why?

  • Are there any lines or words which you specially like?

A Conversation with My Mental Illness

Every sleepless night I am interrogated
by the darkness that lives inside of me.

It says to me:
'You are pointless.'

I respond:
'No one in this world is pointless.'

It scowls at me:
'You are a terrible person.'

I admit:
'I am a good person who did terrible things.'

It rages at me:
'No one needs you.'

I countered:
'There are people who have adored me.'

It seethes at me:
'And what of those who hated you?'

I sigh:
'Being unforgiving of others is a sign of insecurity.'

It finally explodes:
'I will make sure you always doubt yourself!'

And every night
I gather my courage
as my armour and say:
'And whenever you do,
I will look at the vastness
of the every changing style
the presence of a moon
that helps the sea
the same sunset that has been going
around the earth
for billions of years
and remind myself
that the same universe that made them
and gave them such purpose
also made me.
And nothing you say to me
will ever convince me otherwise
because that is a fact
I will never question about my journey.'

Taken from the book Wild Embers by Nikita Gill, p14.

ALUMINA

Alumina is a free, online 7 week course for young people struggling with self-harm. Each course has up to 8 young people, all accessing the sessions from their own phones, tablets or laptops across the UK. The courses take place on different evenings of the week and are run by friendly, trained counsellors and volunteer youth workers. You don’t need an adult to refer you or sign you up, and no-one will see or hear you during the sessions – you’ll just join in via the chatbox. We want to help you to find your next steps towards recovery, wherever you are on your journey.

Find out more