#Variety : F1 crash to mental health reboot

Hello my friends. I'm starting to think I should blog more than once a week - what do you think?

Being the trend setter that I am, this week's post will be a variety of topics and to start I will update you all on my current mental health adventure.

 In last week's post I explained how I went from being bipolar to having a personality disorder. If you have seen my tumblr then you will have seen some the research I have been doing to try and distinguish which personality disorder I may have. I would recommend having a browse as, along the lines of my Are we all mentally ill post, I think we may all have personality disorders but on a sliding scale. At the moment I am waiting for a letter from the psychologist I met last week and then I guess I'll find out the next step.

In other news, I just wanted to say a Hello and Thank you for all the support I have received recently whether online or with my friends and family or through work. As we've discussed before the stigma of mental health is daft and it feels so good to be accepted by you all. That said I've just had a meeting with my HR department which I'll mention more at the end.

Photo with thanks to t-online.de

Carrying on with the variety, it is on F1. Max Verstappen is the youngest ever F1 driver and has had a quietly successful season so far. That was until a crash at last weekend's Monaco Grand Prix. Monaco's circuit takes place rather literally on the main roads of the tiny country and at the end of the curving start/finish straight is a sharp and tight right hand bend. Over the past few laps Max had been making fantastic headway in catching and trying to pass Romain Grosjean. It was at this sharp right bend that Max tried to undertake Romain and the picture shows the impact that threw Max into the barriers at 100+mph. Max walked away unscathed but commentators immediately started posting online and in print that this was proof that a 17 year old is too young to be in F1. A comment supported by Grosjean himself. I post this today to highlight how exciting even a dull race can be in F1 but also to defend Max. 

The late great Senna said:

By being a racing driver you are under risk all the time. By being a racing driver means you are racing with other people. And if you no longer go for a gap that exists, you are no longer a racing driver because we are competing, competing to win.

ROMAIN!! FoxSports.au

Max saw a chance and took it just like Senna would and just like Grosjean would. I do not think for a second that Max is reckless. This is his first accident in what I would call a quietly successful first season. Compare that to Grosjean. Romain appeared in 2009 for a brief period where his driving style could be described as enthusiastic but careless. He then returned with Lotus in 2012  where his experience had certainly calmed down the careless behaviour but look at this 3 year old report on a F1 Fan site - http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2012/10/13/romain-grosjean-first-lap-crashes/   It is true that he has matured and settled down since but look at this spectacular crash (pictured) which was caused at least in part by Romain and nearly took a fellow driver's head off.
My summary? F1 is dangerous but chances are there to be taken and whilst not every chance will be successful it is the experience and maturity that shows whether it the gap is too small or big enough. Yes, Max is still learning, but hasn't his season thus far redeemed one misjudgement?

Keep pushing Max, you've earned a fan here.

Earlier today I had a meeting with my boss's boss and our HR department. In the meeting I was asked how I offload my stresses and triggers. The answer is this blog. It feels great to think through and explain how I feel and maybe that helps me understand why, if there is a reason. Also, my friends and family can read it and see how I am without having any awkward conversations.

That said:  it must be very difficult to hear a member of staff say they tried to kill themselves but I would like to say a huge thank you to my friends at my place of work. I understand that last week they were under pressure and understaffed but they did a great job and I'm lucky to say I have almost caught up on my personal backlog. It will be good to see what support they can offer going ahead especially to the team I work with.

Today, I am functioning quite well and I'll be honest - the Matt that had to call the crisis team scares me.

And we wind up this week by promoting the Summer Show at the Iver Heath Drama Club. We are a small family of 30 members from all ages and abilities and this summer the youngsters have the main parts in Law and Order: Fairy Tale Unit with the old ones like me taking a step back. It is a funny and clever show for the whole family. Tickets on sale now at www.ihdc.co.uk

Thank you once again for reading my blog. I'm sorry it has been lacking the normal humour but why not have browse back through my blog and let me know your favourite post.

TTFN xxx

Baby Aria is the newest member of the Iver Heath Drama Club  Www.ihdc.co.uk  Www.Facebook.Com/iverheathdramaclub  #baby #amdram

A photo posted by Matthew E Streuli (@matthewstreuli) on May 27, 2015 at 11:50pm PDT

Love you xxx