Rachael Newham
@rachaelnewham90.bsky.social
Theology of Mental Health Specialist and Author living with mental illness and writing on https://rachaelnewham90.substack.com/
I wrote this last year on Remembrance Day - and it feels even more relevant today. open.substack.com/pub/rachaeln...
November 11, 2025 at 1:52 PM
I wrote this last year on Remembrance Day - and it feels even more relevant today. open.substack.com/pub/rachaeln...
Great to chat with Esther Higham this morning on Combatting Seasonal Affective Disorder www.premier.plus/inspirationa...
Combatting Seasonal Affective Disorder with your faith - Inspirational Breakfast with Esther Higham - Premier Plus
Approximately 2 million people in the UK are affected by seasonal affective disorder, according to the NHS. Symptoms usually appear and disappear with changes in the weather, daylight hours, and tempe...
www.premier.plus
October 23, 2025 at 10:07 AM
Great to chat with Esther Higham this morning on Combatting Seasonal Affective Disorder www.premier.plus/inspirationa...
The Big Mental Health Report: How do we respond?
open.substack.com/pub/rachaeln...
open.substack.com/pub/rachaeln...
The Big Mental Health Report: How do we respond?
Last week, I wrote of the reality of mental illness and the state of mental health provision from my viewpoint as service user.
open.substack.com
October 17, 2025 at 4:13 PM
The Big Mental Health Report: How do we respond?
open.substack.com/pub/rachaeln...
open.substack.com/pub/rachaeln...
Reposted by Rachael Newham
Liquidambar leaf palette just now👇🏼. Pause for a moment if you’re feeling anxious-your brain’s likely to release dopamine due to a positive response to colour gradation, certain bright colours & looking at images our brains find appealing. A pause here will make your day slightly easier to tackle 🍁
October 16, 2025 at 7:24 AM
Liquidambar leaf palette just now👇🏼. Pause for a moment if you’re feeling anxious-your brain’s likely to release dopamine due to a positive response to colour gradation, certain bright colours & looking at images our brains find appealing. A pause here will make your day slightly easier to tackle 🍁
August 21, 2025 at 7:41 AM
Publication week is terrifying. Will people buy the book? Will people like the book? What if it flops + I never get to write another book? (Just a few of my thoughts!)
Then I remember the first line of the book description:
Slow down. Breathe deep. Remember you are beloved.
Then I remember the first line of the book description:
Slow down. Breathe deep. Remember you are beloved.
August 19, 2025 at 10:09 AM
Publication week is terrifying. Will people buy the book? Will people like the book? What if it flops + I never get to write another book? (Just a few of my thoughts!)
Then I remember the first line of the book description:
Slow down. Breathe deep. Remember you are beloved.
Then I remember the first line of the book description:
Slow down. Breathe deep. Remember you are beloved.
With all the noise about the Epstein files, it feels like we’ve forgotten that at the centre of this story is hundreds of abused women and girls.
July 24, 2025 at 7:09 PM
With all the noise about the Epstein files, it feels like we’ve forgotten that at the centre of this story is hundreds of abused women and girls.
Reposted by Rachael Newham
Anxiety and depression not serious mental health conditions worthy of disability benefits, @KemiBadenoch?
About 60-70% of people who die by suicide have a history of depression or related mood disorders.
#TakingThePIP
About 60-70% of people who die by suicide have a history of depression or related mood disorders.
#TakingThePIP
July 12, 2025 at 9:45 PM
Anxiety and depression not serious mental health conditions worthy of disability benefits, @KemiBadenoch?
About 60-70% of people who die by suicide have a history of depression or related mood disorders.
#TakingThePIP
About 60-70% of people who die by suicide have a history of depression or related mood disorders.
#TakingThePIP
The prospect of another heat wave makes me feel a little ill.
July 9, 2025 at 6:18 AM
The prospect of another heat wave makes me feel a little ill.
Reposted by Rachael Newham
Similarly, young people with mental health conditions applying for PIP. Did we lock up teenagers at a pivotal stage of their lives, keep them in a state of heightened anxiety, and legally remove almost all basic coping mechanisms? Might that have had some affect on their functionality now? Maybe?
July 7, 2025 at 12:09 PM
Similarly, young people with mental health conditions applying for PIP. Did we lock up teenagers at a pivotal stage of their lives, keep them in a state of heightened anxiety, and legally remove almost all basic coping mechanisms? Might that have had some affect on their functionality now? Maybe?
Reposted by Rachael Newham
It's maddening to me how much Covid is at the root of so many of today's crises and we just...don't talk about it?
Take the spike in children needing SEND provision. Did anything huge and traumatic happen recently that might have affected thousands of kids? No? Must be parents making it up
Take the spike in children needing SEND provision. Did anything huge and traumatic happen recently that might have affected thousands of kids? No? Must be parents making it up
July 7, 2025 at 12:08 PM
It's maddening to me how much Covid is at the root of so many of today's crises and we just...don't talk about it?
Take the spike in children needing SEND provision. Did anything huge and traumatic happen recently that might have affected thousands of kids? No? Must be parents making it up
Take the spike in children needing SEND provision. Did anything huge and traumatic happen recently that might have affected thousands of kids? No? Must be parents making it up
I wrote a piece on what the reaction to Rachel Reeves’ tears tells us about mental health awareness. t.co/sfTmXfeGvN
https://www.seenandunseen.com/rachel-reeves-tear-public-life-still-mocks-those-who-show-anything-positive
t.co
July 3, 2025 at 7:40 PM
I wrote a piece on what the reaction to Rachel Reeves’ tears tells us about mental health awareness. t.co/sfTmXfeGvN
Reposted by Rachael Newham
Got the feeling I am going to have to spend the rest of my life arguing mental disabilities are as legitimate as any other. Because they are.
#TakingThePIP
#TakingThePIP
July 1, 2025 at 3:24 PM
Got the feeling I am going to have to spend the rest of my life arguing mental disabilities are as legitimate as any other. Because they are.
#TakingThePIP
#TakingThePIP
Reposted by Rachael Newham
📢 Today we're urging MPs to vote against the Universal Credit & PIP Bill. 📢
The proposed cuts to benefits could have a profound and devastating impact on people's mental health, undermining their ability to live independently, and causing more people to reach crisis point. 🧵
The proposed cuts to benefits could have a profound and devastating impact on people's mental health, undermining their ability to live independently, and causing more people to reach crisis point. 🧵
July 1, 2025 at 11:52 AM
📢 Today we're urging MPs to vote against the Universal Credit & PIP Bill. 📢
The proposed cuts to benefits could have a profound and devastating impact on people's mental health, undermining their ability to live independently, and causing more people to reach crisis point. 🧵
The proposed cuts to benefits could have a profound and devastating impact on people's mental health, undermining their ability to live independently, and causing more people to reach crisis point. 🧵
Reposted by Rachael Newham
MPs: Over 1,500 of us, led by clinicians, are begging you—please vote against disability benefits cuts. The DWP already destroys lives. This Green Paper will unleash a tsunami of death, anguish, and irreversible harm. Don’t let this happen. #TakingThePIP tinyurl.com/2n3utkmp
Disability Benefits Cuts
Open Letter: Disability Benefits Cuts Are Creating a Public Health Emergency
Date: To Be Confirmed
To: Chancellor Rachel Reeves, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Liz Kendall, Prime Minister Si...
tinyurl.com
June 30, 2025 at 3:59 PM
MPs: Over 1,500 of us, led by clinicians, are begging you—please vote against disability benefits cuts. The DWP already destroys lives. This Green Paper will unleash a tsunami of death, anguish, and irreversible harm. Don’t let this happen. #TakingThePIP tinyurl.com/2n3utkmp
The Welfare Reform Bill - even with its amendment is cruel and fundamentally unjust. It must be rejected by parliament… I fear it won’t be. #WelfareReformBill
July 1, 2025 at 7:56 AM
The Welfare Reform Bill - even with its amendment is cruel and fundamentally unjust. It must be rejected by parliament… I fear it won’t be. #WelfareReformBill
Delayed engineering works are exactly what my anxiety needs for my second tube journey in 3 years…
June 27, 2025 at 6:38 AM
Delayed engineering works are exactly what my anxiety needs for my second tube journey in 3 years…
Seeing my books in real life bookshops will never get old. It’s one of the greatest privileges of my life.
June 14, 2025 at 8:48 PM
Seeing my books in real life bookshops will never get old. It’s one of the greatest privileges of my life.
The hardest thing about chronic illness is how much it costs to do the thing you feel you were made for.
June 14, 2025 at 8:45 PM
The hardest thing about chronic illness is how much it costs to do the thing you feel you were made for.
Tomorrow I’m getting on a train for the first time in three and a half years to go into London - because talking about mental health is too important to let my mental illness stop me this time. #MentalIllness
June 9, 2025 at 9:26 PM
Tomorrow I’m getting on a train for the first time in three and a half years to go into London - because talking about mental health is too important to let my mental illness stop me this time. #MentalIllness
It still amazes me that seven years after publication - the message of 'Learning to Breathe' - that we need not just awareness but understanding of mental illness is still so relevant. www.amazon.co.uk/Learning-Bre... #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek
Learning to Breathe: My Journey With Mental Illness: Amazon.co.uk: Newham, Rachael: 9780274691951: Books
Buy Learning to Breathe: My Journey With Mental Illness New by Newham, Rachael (ISBN: 9780274691951) from Amazon's Book Store. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.
www.amazon.co.uk
May 14, 2025 at 10:34 AM
It still amazes me that seven years after publication - the message of 'Learning to Breathe' - that we need not just awareness but understanding of mental illness is still so relevant. www.amazon.co.uk/Learning-Bre... #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek
My latest substack is on why the stigma against mental health issues is a justice issue - and some ideas on what we can do. rachaelnewham90.substack.com/p/stigma-is-... #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek
Stigma is a Justice Issue
Here's Six Ways to Confront it this Mental Health Awareness Week
rachaelnewham90.substack.com
May 14, 2025 at 10:25 AM
My latest substack is on why the stigma against mental health issues is a justice issue - and some ideas on what we can do. rachaelnewham90.substack.com/p/stigma-is-... #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek
Reposted by Rachael Newham
Mental health problems are rising, with a million people waiting for support. At the same time, NHS funding for mental health has declined.
But a mentally healthier future is still possible.
Will you help us fight for it?
Please donate today: www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/support-us/d...
But a mentally healthier future is still possible.
Will you help us fight for it?
Please donate today: www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/support-us/d...
April 30, 2025 at 12:24 PM
Mental health problems are rising, with a million people waiting for support. At the same time, NHS funding for mental health has declined.
But a mentally healthier future is still possible.
Will you help us fight for it?
Please donate today: www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/support-us/d...
But a mentally healthier future is still possible.
Will you help us fight for it?
Please donate today: www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/support-us/d...
Spot on by @maitlis.bsky.social - and equally true when suicide is the result of mental illness. Often sympathy and empathy are only offered to the suicidal when they’ve lost their lives - before that they’re just ‘attention seeking’.
"People asked me if I thought Giuffre ‘was in fact a fantasist’. Someone who’d made her story up. All that changed this weekend.
A dead victim was somehow a believable victim.
And it made me feel 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘶𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘺."
✍️ @maitlis.bsky.social
articles.globalplayer.com/7giK6UH1ESfe...
A dead victim was somehow a believable victim.
And it made me feel 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘶𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘺."
✍️ @maitlis.bsky.social
articles.globalplayer.com/7giK6UH1ESfe...
Virginia Giuffre: 'A dead victim is a believable victim - we have to believe women while they’re alive'
On Saturday morning, I woke just before 4am. Jolted awake by the radio playing softly beside me that reported the death - by suicide - of Virginia Giuffre, at the age of 41.
articles.globalplayer.com
April 28, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Spot on by @maitlis.bsky.social - and equally true when suicide is the result of mental illness. Often sympathy and empathy are only offered to the suicidal when they’ve lost their lives - before that they’re just ‘attention seeking’.