And the award goes to...

Being a typical Brit, I don't like to blow my own trumpet, so it's nice when someone else does it for me.

In December, I received an email from a fellow blogger ('Emily'), who also writes about OCD and anxiety, saying she had nominated me for a Blog of the Year 2013 award. Alyson Sheldrake, an artist based in Portugal, set up this scheme, which encourages people to share details of blogs they enjoy. I was delighted that Emily valued mine enough to include it amongst her nominations.

The award requires me to select my own favourite blog or blogs - there is no limit - which presented me with something of a dilemma: I'm hopelessly indecisive and there is a lot of good writing out there. Although I follow blogs on a variety of topics, I decided to narrow it down, by selecting from those chiefly concerned with mental health issues, in line with my own. 

I also decided to nominate just one, but did want to mention two others.

Image courtesy of Simon Howden/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The first is Emily's own blog, Dreams to be anxiety free. She writes very openly and her post on intrusive thoughts about paedophilia was particularly moving and courageous. It's not an easy thing to admit to, but I'm sure that, in doing so, she will have achieved her aim of helping others.

The site ocdtalk, which provides the perspective of a mother of a child with OCD, is also excellent. The posts are informative and a good resource for both sufferers and their carers/families.

My current favourite blog, though, is that run by Tina Fariss Barbour, called Bringing along OCD. 

Not only do Tina and I share a surname, but we are both writers, suffering from OCD and anxiety. Tina also experiences depression.

What I love about her blog is that it covers many other aspects of her life, in Altavista, Virginia, USA, including: her work as a reporter on a small-town, weekly newspaper; her relationship with her lovely, supportive husband, Larry; and the activities of their beautiful cat, Chase Bird. All of these posts contribute to provide a context for her mental health battles.

Her descriptions are detailed and charming and create a vivid picture of her home, her town and her lifestyle, which are so very different from my own. Tina and I may live nearly 4,000 miles apart, but it feels as if she is a friend just around the corner.

I hope that you will take the opportunity to check out these blogs and that you will enjoy them as much as I do.