About and Legal

Welcome

‘The darkest nights have the prettiest constellations’- Dani Sylvia

Hi there and welcome to Be Ur Own Light!

This blog was started by Eleanor Segall Mandelstam. a young woman in the UK who has lived with bipolar disorder for 17 years as well as an anxiety disorder. Diagnosed with bipolar 1, a mood disorder, at 16 (after falling ill at 15) and now aged 35, I blog about my ongoing health and what has helped me in recovery. I am here to help others too.

Be Ur Own Light was started in March 2016 to raise awareness to friends and family of what life is like living with these conditions and to emphasise how, however difficult you can go on to live a happy and fulfilling life. I write to combat stigma against mental illness and increase understanding of mental health conditions.

We also have guest bloggers and brand partnerships who write for us, who share these goals too- thank you to them all! Be Ur Own Light started working with sponsors and SEO companies in 2019 and make sure that our paid partnerships reflect the blog well. We are lucky to have been awarded as a Top 10 UK mental health blog by Vuelio in 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019 and 2018- such an honour.

I hope you enjoy reading the posts and feedback is always welcomed. You can contact me via the Contact page.

My book ‘Bring me to Light: Embracing my Bipolar and Social Anxiety’ with Trigger Publishing is out now in the UK and in the USA and Europe. It tells about my life story with mental illness and finding hope in the dark.

bringmeinsta1

(image: Trigger Publishing)

You can see extra posts about life with Bipolar and Anxiety on the Media page for charities Rethink Mental Illness, Time to Change, Mind, No Panic, Bipolar UK, STOP Suicide, Self Harm UK, SANE, Centre for Mental Health, Judith Trust, ISMA and further collaborations with Metro.co.uk, the Telegraph, Glamour Magazine (UK), Cosmopolitan Magazine,  Elle Magazine, Huffington Post UK, Happiful Magazine and happiful.com and many more. I provide my story on request to companies.and also talk about mental health on radio, podcast and as a speaker.

Its important to note that although bipolar disorder has been a big part of my life, as a human we are more than just our diagnosis. I went to drama school, have travelled quite a bit (but still more to do), I love music and theatre, chocolate, animals, reading good books and of course spending time with my husband and our guineapigs.

Thanks for stopping by-  We believe in hope, healing, talking and recovery.

Love,

Eleanor x

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There may be instances when on this blog I accept paid partnerships and promote, advertise and share products in blog posts. If you click and buy any of these products I may receive financial compensation or other rewards. 

I am selective about the products or services advertised on my blog and I will only promote a product that I feel appropriate. By using this website you are agreeing to the above disclaimer.

Please email me at beurownlight@gmail.com if you are unsure.

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You are not Alone. Please reach for help if you need it.  These are UK lines: 

Samaritans UK Helpline: 116 123

CALM is the Campaign Against Living Miserably, for men aged 15 to 35. Phone: 0800 58 58 58 (daily, 5pm to midnight)

SANE

Emotional support, information and guidance for people affected by mental illness, their families and carers.  SANEline: 0300 304 7000 (daily, 4.30pm to 10.30pm)

Textcare: comfort and care via text message, sent when the person needs it most: www.sane.org.uk/textcare

Peer support forum: www.sane.org.uk/supportforum

Website: www.sane.org.uk/support

23 thoughts on “About and Legal”

  2. Thank you for sharing your journey with the world! Now write a book about it. A great way to leave behind as a “Legacy” so you can continue to help others have hope with living with mental health when you are long gone. I did, and I shared both my addiction and recovery and my living with mental illness. We are caring and productive people 🙂

    Author & Columnist at In Recovery Magazine,
    Catherine Lyon XO

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  5. Your entire blog is awesome. It is one of the very best out there. I love it. I am very impressed with your blog, so I nominated you for “The Sunshine Blogger Award.” I hope you will accept and participate, because I would love to learn more about you. Plus, you deserve great praise for your writing and words and deserve to have many sunny, bright, happy, joyful and blessed days. Love, hugs and many blessings always, Sue. Here is the link to the “The Sunshine Blogger Award” post… https://wordpress.com/post/myloudbipolarwhispers.com/87421

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  10. Thank you for sharing your story on here Eleanor, and thank you for following my blog. I really think mental illness is not talked about enough in general and that platforms like blogs can really help others who are struggling as well as helping myself to feel better. Wish you the best and look after yourself xx

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