About Lucy Bamboo

I never planned to spend my life writing about mental health. I planned to be a secondary school English teacher. Then, at twenty-three, I had a panic attack in the middle of a supermarket that I did not recognise for what it was for almost two years. What followed — the confusion, the misdiagnoses, the internet rabbit holes at two in the morning, the slow and occasionally humbling process of actually getting better — is the reason Mental Health FAQ exists.

My Background

I hold a BSc in Psychology from the University of Leeds and a postgraduate certificate in Mental Health and Wellbeing Communication. Over the past decade I have written for health publications, collaborated with licensed therapists and psychiatrists to fact-check content, and trained as a Mental Health First Aider. I am not a licensed therapist or clinical psychologist — and I am transparent about that throughout this site. What I am is someone who has done an enormous amount of research, lived through a significant portion of it, and learned to translate clinical language into something that feels human and useful.

Before founding Mental Health FAQ, I worked as a health content editor at a national wellness publication and as a research assistant on two peer-reviewed studies examining anxiety communication in digital media. That experience taught me something that still shapes everything I write: people do not fail to take care of their mental health because they lack willpower. They fail because the information available to them is either impenetrable, overly clinical, or wrapped in language designed to sell something.

Why I Started This Site

Mental Health FAQ grew out of a simple frustration: when I was at my worst, the information I needed was either behind a paywall, buried in academic journals, or written with the reassuring confidence of someone who had clearly never had to drag themselves out of bed on a Tuesday for no reason they could name.

I wanted a resource that answered the questions people actually type into search engines at midnight — not the polished questions, but the real ones. Is this normal? Am I making this up? Why does this keep happening even though I am doing everything right? How do I help someone I love who will not help themselves?

Every article on this site is written with those questions in mind. I research each topic thoroughly, consult published clinical guidelines, and wherever possible, speak with mental health professionals to sense-check what I have written. I also draw on my own experience — not because my experience is universal, but because I believe that lived experience, combined with evidence, produces writing that actually reaches people.

What You Will Find Here

Mental Health FAQ covers anxiety, stress, sleep, depression, relationships, therapy, self-care, and the spaces in between. I write about the science — the research, the mechanisms, the things that are genuinely evidence-based — but I try never to let the science crowd out the humanity. Mental health is not just a collection of symptoms and interventions. It is a deeply personal, often confusing, frequently non-linear experience. The writing on this site tries to honour that.

You will also find product recommendations throughout the site. I am transparent about this: some links are affiliate links, which means I earn a small commission if you purchase through them at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products I have researched thoroughly and would be comfortable recommending to a friend. Affiliate income helps keep this site free and independent.

A Few Things I Believe

  • Mental health is health. Full stop. It deserves the same seriousness, the same funding, and the same freedom from stigma as any physical condition.
  • Getting better is rarely linear. Progress tends to look like two steps forward, one step sideways, a confusing detour, and then, quietly, a Tuesday where things are a little lighter than they were before.
  • Asking for help is a skill, not a weakness — and like most skills, it gets easier with practice.
  • Information is not the same as advice. This site provides information. It is not a substitute for working with a qualified mental health professional, and I will always tell you when something is beyond what good information can fix.

Outside of Work

I live in the north of England with a very opinionated cat and a slightly overwhelming collection of half-finished books. I run badly but regularly. I make sourdough with mixed results. On good days I walk in the hills near where I live and remember, reliably, that the physical world has a way of putting things in perspective that no amount of reading ever quite manages.

Thank you for being here. I hope you find something on this site that makes the thing you are carrying feel a little lighter.

— Lucy