All About Me

Hi, my name is Natalie AKA The Spoonie Mummy.  I am 35 and a Mum to two gorgeous sons, Leo (12) and Riley (9).  I love to write, read, spend time with my family, cross stitch, watch movies, cook and play with make-up.  I have numerous chronic health conditions including arthritis, Crohns disease (for which I have an ileostomy), iritis, high blood pressure and ostopenia.

I started my blog in February 2017.  The previous 18 months had been extremely difficult and writing certainly helps me to deal with things.  But more than that, I wanted to help others.  I want people to see that even with arthritis, you can still have many adventures.  That even with an ostomy you can still look and feel good.  That you can still be a fantastic parent, even when chronically unwell.  I hope to inspire, support and raise awareness using my blog and appreciate everyone who has supported and helped me with this.

I chronicle many different areas of my life – the health stuff, parenting, my hobbies and things we all do daily.  I am currently a part time student with The Open University, studying for my degree in Psychology. I have recently expanded the blog to cover my passion which is mental health. I have suffered with both depression and anxiety for which I have been on medication for three years now. Mental health problems are very common in people diagnosed with chronic illnesses, yet it is an area largely disregarded when treating people with them, where the focus tends to be on the physical problems. I hope to become a psychotherapist specialising in people diagnosed with chronic illness and think my combination of experience along with knowledge gained from study will be really valuable.