Smashing Skulls is the personal blog / mind dump of Skully, an outgoing introvert, writer, researcher and blogger of gen X vintage. This blog offers social commentary and personal anecdotes on mental health, women’s health, pop-culture and a whole range of topics that interest, amuse and energize me. It’s basically my personal play ground and retreat from other blogs and forums where I write on a more formal basis. I created this blog to share my thoughts and interact with other curious souls prone to pondering the ways of the world. It’s also a space where I reflect on the general and mental health challenges I have faced, and have some fun! Comments are welcome, pompous gits are not.

Madness & Mental Health
My mental health went into a sharp decline and into the realm of madness when I started to have visions of smashed skulls. In my psychosis induced state my mind thought certain skulls of real living people I knew would make good company to a sledge hammer. Fortunately my stint in wacko land was relatively brief and no one got hurt, but it heralded the beginning of life on the edge of reason and hope for several years to come. I’ve been in various states of mental sickness and have received an assortment of diagnostic labels. Depressed, dysthymic and cyclothymic are the ones that have stuck. Right now, with good management, I’m doing well, and now it’s time to reflect, research and write.

PMS, PCOS and PMDD
I like being a woman, but I don’t like my ovaries. In fact, I don’t like having to wander around with any of this reproductive kit, especially considering that I have no plans to use it. Not that I might be able to anyway. A few years ago I was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), which explained the awful periods, acne, excess hair and thunder thighs. Prior to this I was diagnosed with Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD), an extreme and debilitating form of PMS. PMDD is a highly controversial diagnosis, and rightly so. I am an advocate and critic of PMDD. As someone who has had an experience that is consistent with the diagnostic criteria, I know it is real. How this experience is classified and treated however, is an entirely different matter and one where my criticisms are directed.

Ph.D.
Amidst all this madness I’ve been working on my PhD. I’m not going to reveal the subject of my research here for reasons of anonymity – I don’t fancy peers knowing I was suffering from mental illness while conducting my research. In any case the subject is unrelated to the things I tend to talk about on this blog. What I do discuss about the PhD are the trials and tribulations of doing one. Hopefully some other post-grads out there will find these posts useful.

Some other things about me:
- Scottish accents delight my auditory erogenous zones
- I own more books than I will ever read
- I love the BBC!
- I have never seen the movie Titanic
- My other car is a Tardis

Please feel welcome to reach me via the contact page.