Poetry helped me to fight depression
A poet, who suffers from depression and obsessive compulsive disorder, has released his first book of poems exploring his battle with the conditions.
Steve Morris says his love of literature has helped him through tough times. The 47 year old, who lives in Wolverhampton, has struggled with depression and OCD since early childhood. It was brought on by a physically abusive, alcoholic father but he found that writing helped him to cope.
Steve turned to literature when he was young as a way of escaping the abuse, becoming particularly fond of poetry. Now he has published a book of poems, 20 years in the making, which showcase his journey through the illness.
Steve, who is originally from Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, said: "The book has more than 40 poems in it. It's like an autobiography of my life in poems, starting from my early childhood. Each poem is individual, but it tells my journey through the ups and downs of depression.
My poetic writing has been very therapeutic for me in dealing with depression."
Despite Steve's passion for literature, he didn't start writing poetry until his early 20s after studying English literature at A-level.
It was reading Wilfred's Owen's book, The War Poems, which finally inspired him to start penning his own poems.
"Lots of books have touched me, but none more so than Wilfred Owen's The War Poems," he said.
"The book contains poems from mothers about losing their sons in the First World War. The emotion in the poems really struck a chord with me.
"Reading Roots at school was also an influential book for me," he said.
A piece he wrote called Rhona is about unrequited love. "I met a girl in my early 20s ," explained Steve, "who I feel in love with but she didn't love me.
"It was a tough stage in my life. I'd lost both my grandparents and she had broken my heart."
Steve moved to Wolverhampton in 2010 to study photography at the city's university. He says photography is his second passion behind writing.
Steve now works for mental health charity MIND in Birmingham.
He hopes that his poetry can help others with depression and show how literature can be a therapy for overcoming the illness.
"If my poetry can touch people in the same way that so many poems have touched me, that would be fantastic," he said.
Steve's book, Consummatum Est, is available on Amazon and also through the website www.abebooks.co.uk
