TRIGGER WARNING!
This website contains poetry and true stories about trauma, personality disorders, suicidal thoughts, self-harming, depression and other significant mental health issues, as well as personal stories of emotional neglect and physical and sexual abuse, which some people might find disturbing.
Poetry for Mental Health
Supporting people with mental health challenges by motivating and inspiring them to write poetry.
We rely on the support of our readers to keep going, so please donate to help us continue publishing and promoting poetry for mental health. Thank you!
"Poetry for Mental Health has supported thousands of people around the world through words and poetry!"
"Formed at the outbreak of COVID by helping people cope mentally by inspiring them to write poetry; five years, seven books, hundreds of poets, and thousands of pieces of poetry later, we are still inspiring people to write poetry for positive mental health! With around 1400 visitors each and every month,
Poetry for Mental Health
is now probably the largest and most visited website for poetry and mental health on the net!"
~
"No matter what your age, background and experience, culture or identity; whether an established writer with many published titles to your credit, or an aspiring poet who has never written a word of poetry in your life, our philosophy here is to embrace, welcome and support everyone, everywhere suffering from mental health challenges, and help you cope through words and poetry ...
Get writing!"
ROBIN BARRATT
Founder POETRY FOR MENTAL HEALTH
NEW - This Week's Featured Poetry
Monday 15th September to Sunday 21st September, 2025.
RAGE
By James Aitchison
They say dementia steals
the memory of taste, confuses
the weary tongue. It is a lie.
Glassy-eyed memories of food
flood my brain as my swollen
knuckles clasp a knife, spreading
sour butter on cold toast.
“Hurry up, you have physiotherapy
in twenty minutes.”
Storms swirl in my stomach: Enough!
I bite down on the urge to scream.
I know I am under surveillance.
I comfort myself.
Death will soon my way come.
“Haven’t you finished yet?”
The window frames the
old cherry tree. Bare branches
still, no blossoms yet.
Will I live to see them?
WOLVES & FOXES
By Dr. Archan Mehta
My dear, please don’t enquire about me:
You see, people have this nasty habit of
Spreading rumors and they gossip like those
Lazy aunties gathered around their kitty parties
In the late afternoons and early evenings. These
Aunties are blessed with evil eyes and acidic
Tongues: they will insist on meeting you in
Venues which are hidden from prying eyes and
They will say: honey, why are you involved with
That poet? You know, that poet is no good for you
And you know you deserve better. Why, that poet
Can’t hold down a job. Oh, the things we have
Heard about that poet. Please don’t trust him, dearie,
You need to shut you windows and lock your doors
Whenever that oddball is around, lurking in the
Shadows. Come on, pumpkin, find yourself a rich
Medical doctor and marry him. Your eccentric poet
Spells nothing but trouble, so break up with him.
ABOUT THE POEM:
"When I was a naïve teenager, I found out that my friends and relatives were spreading rumors And gossiping about me behind my Back: they smiled sweetly in front of my face but they turned out to be manipulative and did not have my best interests at heart. That erosion of trust compelled me to avoid them and I started to keep my distance: that isolation made me feel whole again and changed my life for the better, since I realized I no longer needed them in my life."
SLIDE FORWARD, NOT BACK
By Riley M. Frank
The hopes, dreams, and fears,
Source of all of your tears
And all else you have seen,
What all does it even mean?
To divine what is true
Begin to look inside you,
As hard as that may be.
When you do you may see
The path or paths to take,
Which past strings to break.
Perhaps it’s easy to say,
But it may be the way
To keep going forward,
Not sliding ever backward.
WHEN THEY ASK WHY I READ
By Raisa Anan Mustakin
Words keep me sane when nothing else can:
it's an incomprehensible concept
where one is painfully aware of what conserves the mind but can't understand why.
Some days, I find it unimaginably difficult
to distinguish between the woman I was yesterday and will become tomorrow;
the time in-between ugly like the dark pores
making a nest on my nose.
It is a whole other nonsense that shames me,
makes me think I'm a lesser human being until everything coagulates into one epiphany:
the despairing person's life is the anticlimax itself.
There is no sweetener to lessen the sting.
When the woman comes back to the mirror, she finds no reflection today,
at this second, this minute, this hour,
this moment suspicious of its existence,
so she does what she does best: making tea, then bringing a book down from the shelf.
ABOUT THE POEM: "I wrote this poem when I was hit with the sudden realization that I turn towards books for comfort with an almost eerie consistency. What is also consistent, yet unconscious, is the steadfast belief that words can bring relief in a world that otherwise takes up the garb of utter desolation in the face of overwhelming emotions. If this poem comes across as dismal and void of a hopeful tone, it is because it was written in the midst of an emotional maelstrom when hope seemed nowhere to be found."
ABOUT RAISA: Raisa’s poems are contemplations on what it means to be a human-being, and have been featured in the Oxford University Poetry Society, Ekstasis Magazine, Synchronized Chaos Journal, The Beatnik Cowboy, Poetry Potion and Scar Publications.
More Featured Poetry ...
On the themes of mental health, from hundreds of poets around the world.
"Why is poetry so very good for people with mental health challenges? Because it helps them see the world in their own way, and in a way that makes sense to them ..."
Robin Barratt
Our Books
Click on the covers for further details of all our titles. With thousands of contributions from hundreds of writers and poets around the world, our anthologies are probably some of the largest collections on mental health ever published. Please buy a copy -
ALL
profits from the sales of our titles go towards promoting and publishing poetry for positive mental health.
"People can benefit from writing poetry because it can take the images and the talk in your head and transfer it to paper. It’s like getting the words out
of your head so that they don’t linger there."
Nadine Dunseith
Personal Journeys
In their own words, SIXTEEN incredible writers and poets write about their own personal journey with mental health.
Interviews
Poetry for Mental Health chats to eight amazing writers and poets about their journey with mental health.
Featured Poets
Featuring over SEVENTY poets around the world, with up to six pieces of their work, and a little about the author and the stories behind their work.
NEW - Featured Books
A NEW service promoting books and publications on the themes of mental health.
MORE TITLES ONLINE SHORTLY ...
Articles
Articles about poetry and positive mental health.
COMING SOON ...
Our new online Poetry for Mental Health Writing Course will be available again soon!
We are established internationally as one of the leading resources for poetry and mental health and, over the past five years, have supported hundreds people across the world and showcased thousands of pieces of poetry! If you already write poetry, but would like to further develop your skills and style, or have not written a word of poetry in your life, but would like to start, then this course will be perfect for you. Aimed at writing poetry specifically for positive mental health, the course will be set over ten easy to follow modules, with questions and exercises at the end of each module. At the end of the course you will receive a certificate of completion. Also, every year, a selection of your work will be published in an anthology of poetry just featuring students and poetry from our course (you will, of course, receive a contributor's copy too*). Further details will be online shortly, in the meantime, contact us to register your interest.
(*Conditions apply)
Other ...
Directory of Support Services
Charities, groups and organisations worldwide offering mental health help and support to people in crisis.
Mental Health First Aid
Identifying warning signs of common mental health crisis, and how to guide a person towards safety and appropriate help. More info ...
Self-Publishing Services
We publish books for other people too! Poetry for Mental Health also helps writers and poets self-publish their own titles via Amazon's global publishing platforms.
Mental Health Awareness
Safer Minds believes everyone, everywhere should have some awareness of basic mental health.
Merchandise ...
Mental Health Support Stickers
AVAILABLE SHORTLY ... 15 cm x 7.5 cm front adhesive stickers for your shop front, office window, entrance way, business practice, vehicle window etc., demonstrating that mental health / crisis support is available. Con post internationally*.
Contact us for further details and prices.
Poetry for Mental Health mugs
AVAILABLE SHORTLY ... Our Poetry for Mental Health mugs, ideal for a brew while you are concentrating on your words! Con post internationally*.
Contact us for further details and prices.
*To selected countries only.
Newletter
Be kept updated with our news and calls for submissions. We'll never send you more than one email a month!
“No matter how bad something may seem at that moment in time when you feel all is lost, it can get better if you can only give it more time."
Lynda Tavakoli
NOTE ON CONTRIBUTIONS: We publish mental health poetry from around the world, and for a number contributors to this website, English is not their first language. Unlike some other platforms, we don't heavily edit a poet's own work (if we did, it would then not be their own work!), so please focus on a poet's messages and meanings, and not necessarily on any grammatical mistakes or translated imperfections that may arise within their contribution.