Seren Bear Blog
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Seren Bear Blog
@serenbearblog.bsky.social
Hi frens! I'm Rhio, I'm 41, from Wales, have ADHD, MH and disabilities. I have a mental health blog on WordPress where I post a variety of things. I love video games, physics, art, jellycats and many more! https://serenbear.blog
The Festive Bake I Forgot, and the Life I Remembered

I meant to get a festive bake, but accidentally walked home in a full Cyberpunk flow state instead. Somehow, lowering my meal plan gave me back my legs, my mood, and the ability to enjoy rain again. I’m exhausted by living, but today I’m still…
The Festive Bake I Forgot, and the Life I Remembered
I meant to get a festive bake, but accidentally walked home in a full Cyberpunk flow state instead. Somehow, lowering my meal plan gave me back my legs, my mood, and the ability to enjoy rain again. I’m exhausted by living, but today I’m still glad I’m alive.
serenbear.blog
December 3, 2025 at 12:30 PM
My Flat Is Falling Apart But at Least I Have Starbucks

Between the mould, the leaks, and feeling like I’m swimming in lava in Minecraft, a random Black Friday coffee machine somehow became the hero of my week. It’s ridiculous, but every Starbucks pod feels like a tiny joy-bringer in a flat that’s…
My Flat Is Falling Apart But at Least I Have Starbucks
Between the mould, the leaks, and feeling like I’m swimming in lava in Minecraft, a random Black Friday coffee machine somehow became the hero of my week. It’s ridiculous, but every Starbucks pod feels like a tiny joy-bringer in a flat that’s currently held together by buckets and hope.
serenbear.blog
December 1, 2025 at 12:18 PM
When Recoveries Collide

Covid recovery and ED recovery have collided, exerting their own gravity and bending everything out of shape. Hunger isn’t honesty right now—just noise from a body out of calibration. I’m caught between forces, trying to tell whether I’m being pulled toward a brighter star…
When Recoveries Collide
Covid recovery and ED recovery have collided, exerting their own gravity and bending everything out of shape. Hunger isn’t honesty right now—just noise from a body out of calibration. I’m caught between forces, trying to tell whether I’m being pulled toward a brighter star or into something that feels like collapse.
serenbear.blog
November 27, 2025 at 2:44 PM
The Birthday Cake That Wasn’t A Lie – Turning 42

Turning 42 wasn’t perfect, but it was mine. Between cramps, cancelled plans, free Starbucks, Jellycat penguins, and Biscoff cake, I found glimmers I didn’t think I’d feel again. Even though the gold didn’t last all night, it existed - and that alone…
The Birthday Cake That Wasn’t A Lie – Turning 42
Turning 42 wasn’t perfect, but it was mine. Between cramps, cancelled plans, free Starbucks, Jellycat penguins, and Biscoff cake, I found glimmers I didn’t think I’d feel again. Even though the gold didn’t last all night, it existed - and that alone felt like a tiny miracle in the dark.
serenbear.blog
November 24, 2025 at 4:58 PM
Please take care reading my post, it contains brief mentions of The Passive Bad Thoughts™️, you know the ones. Theres also jokes, which youre allowed to laugh at.
Contra La Luna – You Are Number 28 in the Queue
After a night of The Bad Thoughts™️, I planned a calm day of blogging, coffee, and Greggs. Instead, I faced the NHS boss level. Between hold music, bureaucracy, and a mixed episode, I somehow survived - Festive Bake in hand, chaos intact, still hoping for Schrödinger’s tomorrow.
serenbear.blog
November 13, 2025 at 4:33 PM
Grief & Greggs – The Emotional Support Festive Bake.

For years, Christmas food ambushed me with grief. This time, buying a Festive Bake felt different. I still miss her fiercely, but the memories came with warmth, not only pain. I tasted pastry and remembered laughter, comfort, and love. Somehow,…
Grief & Greggs – The Emotional Support Festive Bake.
For years, Christmas food ambushed me with grief. This time, buying a Festive Bake felt different. I still miss her fiercely, but the memories came with warmth, not only pain. I tasted pastry and remembered laughter, comfort, and love. Somehow, joy returned - quietly, wrapped in white Greggs paper.
serenbear.blog
November 10, 2025 at 2:29 PM
Benign Lymph Nodes But Brain Still Unhinged.

I went for an ultrasound convinced my swollen lymph nodes were planning my demise, only to be told they’re just dramatic and like to stay enlarged for fun. I still haven’t felt the relief, but I did get kindness brownies, deep chats with my son, and a…
Benign Lymph Nodes But Brain Still Unhinged.
I went for an ultrasound convinced my swollen lymph nodes were planning my demise, only to be told they’re just dramatic and like to stay enlarged for fun. I still haven’t felt the relief, but I did get kindness brownies, deep chats with my son, and a strangely good day out of it.
serenbear.blog
November 7, 2025 at 1:04 PM
The Spirals in Time Before the Scan

Tomorrow I have a scan, so today I cleaned my kitchen and tried to quiet the chaos in my head. Time is slipping or stretching—I can’t tell. My mixed episode dials me up to 9000, but at least future-me will come home to a little order and one small mercy.
The Spirals in Time Before the Scan
Tomorrow I have a scan, so today I cleaned my kitchen and tried to quiet the chaos in my head. Time is slipping or stretching—I can’t tell. My mixed episode dials me up to 9000, but at least future-me will come home to a little order and one small mercy.
serenbear.blog
November 5, 2025 at 4:40 PM
The Sausage Roll of Healing – Bingeing, Bear Biscuits and the Black Dog.

I woke up hungover from a binge, full of regret, and went to buy a Greggs sausage roll. It didn’t heal me, but it was an act of not giving up. Recovery isn’t light breaking through clouds—it’s staying alive through entropy,…
The Sausage Roll of Healing – Bingeing, Bear Biscuits and the Black Dog.
I woke up hungover from a binge, full of regret, and went to buy a Greggs sausage roll. It didn’t heal me, but it was an act of not giving up. Recovery isn’t light breaking through clouds—it’s staying alive through entropy, bear biscuits, and the black dog’s chaos.
serenbear.blog
November 3, 2025 at 5:51 PM
Cleaning the Literal and Metaphorical Rubble To Get Back On Track (Fuelled by Burritos)

My windows are replaced but there’s rubble everywhere - literal dust, emotional debris, and the remains of a routine I’m rebuilding. Recovery isn’t about waiting for life to calm down; it’s cleaning as you go.…
Cleaning the Literal and Metaphorical Rubble To Get Back On Track (Fuelled by Burritos)
My windows are replaced but there’s rubble everywhere - literal dust, emotional debris, and the remains of a routine I’m rebuilding. Recovery isn’t about waiting for life to calm down; it’s cleaning as you go. Sometimes that means hoovering the dust. Sometimes it means making the burrito.
serenbear.blog
October 31, 2025 at 5:11 PM
What Are Windows? The Return of the Builders

When builders replaced my windows, they also stole my stars. Between the Adele-singing workmen, sealant fumes, and scaffolding, I lost my favourite place to breathe and think. I’d love to say it’s a metaphor for clarity - but really, it just stinks. At…
What Are Windows? The Return of the Builders
When builders replaced my windows, they also stole my stars. Between the Adele-singing workmen, sealant fumes, and scaffolding, I lost my favourite place to breathe and think. I’d love to say it’s a metaphor for clarity - but really, it just stinks. At least Minecraft windows still open.
serenbear.blog
October 28, 2025 at 2:20 PM
The Three Curveballs of Monday

Monday threw me three curveballs - Covid recovery, a bed bug letter, and surprise new windows - and somehow I’m still standing. I keep doing things I don’t know how I’m doing: eating through pain, cleaning through panic, surviving chaos on adrenaline and sarcasm.…
The Three Curveballs of Monday
Monday threw me three curveballs - Covid recovery, a bed bug letter, and surprise new windows - and somehow I’m still standing. I keep doing things I don’t know how I’m doing: eating through pain, cleaning through panic, surviving chaos on adrenaline and sarcasm. Three strikes, but I’m not out.
serenbear.blog
October 24, 2025 at 2:03 PM
Mostly Wordless Wednesday – The Minecraft House I REALLY Want To Escape To

It’s been over two weeks and I’m STILL trying to recover from Covid. The fatigue, headaches, pain, digestive chaos, and random coughing fits just won’t quit. And while I’m recovering from Covid, I’m also recovering from my…
Mostly Wordless Wednesday – The Minecraft House I REALLY Want To Escape To
It’s been over two weeks and I’m STILL trying to recover from Covid. The fatigue, headaches, pain, digestive chaos, and random coughing fits just won’t quit. And while I’m recovering from Covid, I’m also recovering from my eating disorder - and, apparently, from life itself, because this week came with even more stress piled on top. I’ve tried to write about it six different times today, but honestly, my brain isn’t cooperating.
serenbear.blog
October 22, 2025 at 12:20 PM
In the Trenches While Riddled With Covid

In the way life seems to hand me one battle after another, I’ve now become riddled with Covid while already in the trenches with my anorexia recovery. That’s unfortunately why I haven’t been posting here lately. Screenshot I’m on day 11 and still really…
In the Trenches While Riddled With Covid
In the way life seems to hand me one battle after another, I’ve now become riddled with Covid while already in the trenches with my anorexia recovery. That’s unfortunately why I haven’t been posting here lately. Screenshot I’m on day 11 and still really poorly - no voice, barely able to get out of bed. If it’s not the coughing, it’s the fatigue, made worse by the nightly coughing fits that keep me awake half the night.
serenbear.blog
October 13, 2025 at 8:49 PM
Collecting Psychiatrists Like Pokémon – and Arriving in Panic Station.

Well, given that four horses were obviously not enough to deal with in my last post, I’ve now been approached by a very anxious horse too. My anxiety has flared up pretty terribly, and it’s riding alongside its friend - the…
Collecting Psychiatrists Like Pokémon – and Arriving in Panic Station.
Well, given that four horses were obviously not enough to deal with in my last post, I’ve now been approached by a very anxious horse too. My anxiety has flared up pretty terribly, and it’s riding alongside its friend - the rider of the perimenopause hormone horse. Right now, I’m all horses and definitely no stable. And there was no greater indicator of that than what happened last night and today.
serenbear.blog
October 2, 2025 at 2:36 PM
Ahh a brown sugar pigeon milk shaken espresso. My favourite. Coo.
September 30, 2025 at 9:23 PM
The Four Horsemen of My ED’s Apocalypse

Recovery from an eating disorder isn’t just about food — it’s about facing the four horsemen that appear along the way. These conditions once tried to throw me off course, but this post is about learning to understand them, live with them, and maybe one day…
The Four Horsemen of My ED’s Apocalypse
Recovery from an eating disorder isn’t just about food — it’s about facing the four horsemen that appear along the way. These conditions once tried to throw me off course, but this post is about learning to understand them, live with them, and maybe one day guide where they go.
serenbear.blog
September 30, 2025 at 11:43 AM
BMI 20: Stuck Between the Life Raft and the Shore

I’ve reached BMI 20, the supposed recovery finish line. But it isn’t the shore - it’s a life raft. Safe, but stuck. My body feels calm, yet inside I’m still battling Clippy and fear. Not dying isn’t the same as living, and staying afloat isn’t…
BMI 20: Stuck Between the Life Raft and the Shore
I’ve reached BMI 20, the supposed recovery finish line. But it isn’t the shore - it’s a life raft. Safe, but stuck. My body feels calm, yet inside I’m still battling Clippy and fear. Not dying isn’t the same as living, and staying afloat isn’t moving forward.
serenbear.blog
September 24, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Lights in the Dark – Cardiff, Coffee, and Cute Fluffy Bears

A day in Cardiff with my son: blood tests, NHS rage, plushies, coffee, and the reminder that recovery — though exhausting — is worth it. We celebrated with bath bombs and bears, laughed at cathedral flats, and found light in the dark,…
Lights in the Dark – Cardiff, Coffee, and Cute Fluffy Bears
A day in Cardiff with my son: blood tests, NHS rage, plushies, coffee, and the reminder that recovery — though exhausting — is worth it. We celebrated with bath bombs and bears, laughed at cathedral flats, and found light in the dark, together.
serenbear.blog
September 22, 2025 at 11:58 AM
The Myth of Magical Healing Fat (and Other Protein Myths in Recovery, With Science)

Protein isn’t diet culture. It’s survival fuel. In recovery, fat gain matters — but lean mass matters too: bones, heart, muscle, even your brain. Fat doesn’t magically turn into lean mass. Only food, especially…
The Myth of Magical Healing Fat (and Other Protein Myths in Recovery, With Science)
Protein isn’t diet culture. It’s survival fuel. In recovery, fat gain matters — but lean mass matters too: bones, heart, muscle, even your brain. Fat doesn’t magically turn into lean mass. Only food, especially protein, rebuilds you. Recovery is bodybuilding, whether you like the sound of it or not.
serenbear.blog
September 14, 2025 at 1:23 PM
How I Kept Going This Week (Despite Greggs’ Ultimate Betrayal)

This week I tried to keep moving through depression, cluster headaches, and recovery — with help from my son, 300 biscuits, and a catastrophic betrayal by Greggs. Recovery isn’t neat. Sometimes it looks like emailing Tate & Lyle about…
How I Kept Going This Week (Despite Greggs’ Ultimate Betrayal)
This week I tried to keep moving through depression, cluster headaches, and recovery — with help from my son, 300 biscuits, and a catastrophic betrayal by Greggs. Recovery isn’t neat. Sometimes it looks like emailing Tate & Lyle about syrup and finding strength in the small, ridiculous things.
serenbear.blog
September 10, 2025 at 12:18 PM
The Night Of the Rain

I thought I was building an impenetrable castle, but the concrete hasn’t set yet. One bad night of clusters and relapse slipped back on like old slippers. Recovery feels fragile, but still I patch the walls, clinging to rain, coffee, and my son as reasons to keep going.
The Night Of the Rain
I thought I was building an impenetrable castle, but the concrete hasn’t set yet. One bad night of clusters and relapse slipped back on like old slippers. Recovery feels fragile, but still I patch the walls, clinging to rain, coffee, and my son as reasons to keep going.
serenbear.blog
September 8, 2025 at 1:29 PM
Sharing My Liminal Space with a Cluster Headache

Cluster headaches steal everything — sleep, appetite cues, even silence. Every attack feels like the worst one yet, a knife through my ear into my eye. Survival takes all my energy, while recovery waits in the background. Sometimes posting the raw…
Sharing My Liminal Space with a Cluster Headache
Cluster headaches steal everything — sleep, appetite cues, even silence. Every attack feels like the worst one yet, a knife through my ear into my eye. Survival takes all my energy, while recovery waits in the background. Sometimes posting the raw reality is the only self-care left.
serenbear.blog
September 2, 2025 at 11:44 AM
Pretty Painful Grief Letters Review – The Book That Sits With You in Grief

Pretty Painful Grief Letters doesn’t ask you to process or “move on.” It simply sits with you, honest and raw. Grief is lonely, but this book makes it a little less so — like having someone beside you who understands the…
Pretty Painful Grief Letters Review – The Book That Sits With You in Grief
Pretty Painful Grief Letters doesn’t ask you to process or “move on.” It simply sits with you, honest and raw. Grief is lonely, but this book makes it a little less so — like having someone beside you who understands the ache without needing to fix it.
serenbear.blog
August 28, 2025 at 11:33 AM
The Anger I Tried To Starve Away

I thought starving would erase my anger, but it only buried it alive. When WeeGee died, my anger was grief with its teeth out. Recovery means I can’t run anymore. I have to sit with Angry Rhio, feed her anyway, and let her break me open.
The Anger I Tried To Starve Away
I thought starving would erase my anger, but it only buried it alive. When WeeGee died, my anger was grief with its teeth out. Recovery means I can’t run anymore. I have to sit with Angry Rhio, feed her anyway, and let her break me open.
serenbear.blog
August 26, 2025 at 12:23 PM