AFTER struggling for many years with ‘the messy business of being human’, a Wotton under Edge musician has come up with a helpful new aid.

Pianist and composer Katie Elliott experienced mental health difficulties for more than three decades before discovering simple ways to help herself feel better.

She spoke to people around the world, read hundreds of books, articles and research papers and experimented with all kinds of new and different ways of doing things.

These days, finally well and no longer meeting the diagnostic criteria for any mental health condition, Katie is passionate about sharing what’s she’s learned.

Katie found that people need certain key elements in order to thrive.

“But when we feel overwhelmed, exhausted or are struggling with our mental health, it can be hard to find the time and the concentration to make sense of it all,” she said.

So now she is creating a set of cards, called Amiko, which feature simple prompts towards some of these key things which can help people feel better.

“You use the cards by looking through them and noticing which ones feel good to do right now,” she explained.

“Then you go and do those things in whatever way works for you.

“People are often pretty good at knowing what will help them in any given moment - it’s just that they don’t always think to ask themselves, or trust the answers they find.

“The cards point people back towards this self-knowledge and encourage them to listen to it.”

Now part way through the project, Katie is asking for help to bring it to completion.

She is offering various reward packages to those interested in her idea, including preordered sets of cards. See: bit.ly/2KkOnC7