Historian of sometimes medicine, sometimes psychiatry | British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow | Writes about long illness, mental ill health and pain | Lover of old 📚 , moderately strong ☕️ and reality 📺 Views own she/herhttps://bsky.app/profile/katemcal993.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/katemcal993.bsky.social/post/3mty5sipcr22iGrateful as ever to have an NHS and staff that can provide out of hours care, but also shocked to learn that (in Sheffield at least) 24 hour pharmacies are just… no longer a thing?!26 Aug 2026 10:47 +0000at://did:plc:sdlddwvm2bnmtrbaws224hbl/app.bsky.feed.post/3mty5sipcr22ihttps://bsky.app/profile/katemcal993.bsky.social/post/3mtb5jo4k322oAfter the last few days, it’s very clear to me that despite countless public campaigns about the need to ‘be kind’, a lot of people really don’t understand suicide or what it means to be suicidal.17 Aug 2026 07:10 +0000at://did:plc:sdlddwvm2bnmtrbaws224hbl/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtb5jo4k322ohttps://bsky.app/profile/katemcal993.bsky.social/post/3mt4bgaple222A reminder that there is a family out there today, who have faced all of this alongside their father, partner, brother, uncle and son, and who now have to navigate what is to many people unimaginable grief. Think of them, and Jason Arday, before you speak.15 Aug 2026 08:37 +0000at://did:plc:sdlddwvm2bnmtrbaws224hbl/app.bsky.feed.post/3mt4bgaple222https://bsky.app/profile/katemcal993.bsky.social/post/3msvquxottk2mNo direct view of the eclipse for us but I did sit in the garden as the birds (and what felt like the world) fell silent12 Aug 2026 18:25 +0000at://did:plc:sdlddwvm2bnmtrbaws224hbl/app.bsky.feed.post/3msvquxottk2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/katemcal993.bsky.social/post/3msiucjn5hs2cI love this framing of #histpsych: “The history of psychiatry is, above all, a history of stories, often told by patient’s families and friends to rationalize committal to hospital. Stories related by patients to doctors, then reinterpreted in casebooks, journal articles, and conference papers.” [contains quote post or other embedded content]07 Aug 2026 15:22 +0000at://did:plc:sdlddwvm2bnmtrbaws224hbl/app.bsky.feed.post/3msiucjn5hs2chttps://bsky.app/profile/katemcal993.bsky.social/post/3msgerj4zcc2oAll this talk of social construction brought me back here. I’ve read it so many times but always find something new06 Aug 2026 15:38 +0000at://did:plc:sdlddwvm2bnmtrbaws224hbl/app.bsky.feed.post/3msgerj4zcc2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/katemcal993.bsky.social/post/3msapfna5vs2wToday l learnt that Regent Court, a block of flats in Hillsborough, Sheffield, is thought to be the first example of workers’ housing of the modern movement in the UK (ahead of Kensal House in London)04 Aug 2026 09:32 +0000at://did:plc:sdlddwvm2bnmtrbaws224hbl/app.bsky.feed.post/3msapfna5vs2whttps://bsky.app/profile/katemcal993.bsky.social/post/3mrwiwuwqn22e*sigh* Historians of medicine and psychiatry have so much to contribute to these public conversations, and yet, judging by the description of this new documentary, are still not being included. https://www.channel4.com/press/news/new-channel-4-documentary-great-adhd-myth-seeks-determine-whether-adhd-genuine31 Jul 2026 08:10 +0000at://did:plc:sdlddwvm2bnmtrbaws224hbl/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrwiwuwqn22ehttps://bsky.app/profile/katemcal993.bsky.social/post/3mrmevvxxjs2rI started Liliana’s Invincible Summer by Cristina Rivera Garza last night. Finding the passages on grief, memory and institutional archives particularly moving27 Jul 2026 07:31 +0000at://did:plc:sdlddwvm2bnmtrbaws224hbl/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrmevvxxjs2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/katemcal993.bsky.social/post/3mrk5voeh2k2hWhy is Julian Casablancas now obsessed with autotune26 Jul 2026 10:21 +0000at://did:plc:sdlddwvm2bnmtrbaws224hbl/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrk5voeh2k2hhttps://bsky.app/profile/katemcal993.bsky.social/post/3mrg65tpfrk2eAnnual leave is almost up, and it’s been in many ways not at all restful… But all the while, the apples on the tree we planted for my brother, Dan, have continued to grow. Despite constant heatwaves and with regular water. Life goes on24 Jul 2026 20:15 +0000at://did:plc:sdlddwvm2bnmtrbaws224hbl/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrg65tpfrk2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/katemcal993.bsky.social/post/3mqbrc4gqi22aCombination of close, humid, hot conditions and the last day before I go off on my holidays (yay!) means that I am not capable of much coherent thought today10 Jul 2026 08:49 +0000at://did:plc:sdlddwvm2bnmtrbaws224hbl/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqbrc4gqi22ahttps://bsky.app/profile/katemcal993.bsky.social/post/3mq36hukrbc26Where are we publishing conference papers/short think pieces/vague thoughts that are too long for Bluesky these days? Are personal websites still worth it or a waste of time?? Thoughts please!07 Jul 2026 17:56 +0000at://did:plc:sdlddwvm2bnmtrbaws224hbl/app.bsky.feed.post/3mq36hukrbc26https://bsky.app/profile/katemcal993.bsky.social/post/3mpiri6xbak2eSitting and looking at my tagless suitcase, reminded now of when just over a year ago, I accidentally swapped with someone and ended up having to go across the country to get it back… just before my holiday… I haven’t learnt but now you can30 Jun 2026 10:15 +0000at://did:plc:sdlddwvm2bnmtrbaws224hbl/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpiri6xbak2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/katemcal993.bsky.social/post/3mp4latz7hs2yIf anyone will be at #SSHM next week and would like this, let me know and I will pop it in my bag! [contains quote post or other embedded content]25 Jun 2026 13:52 +0000at://did:plc:sdlddwvm2bnmtrbaws224hbl/app.bsky.feed.post/3mp4latz7hs2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/katemcal993.bsky.social/post/3mp4kqa56ts2yRevisions are all fun and games until you can’t remember which of the documents named ‘final’, ‘FINAL final’ or ‘FINAL FINAL FINAL’ you actually ended up submitting all those months ago25 Jun 2026 13:43 +0000at://did:plc:sdlddwvm2bnmtrbaws224hbl/app.bsky.feed.post/3mp4kqa56ts2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/katemcal993.bsky.social/post/3mowtpugr722jWhat are the random sounds that make you think of summer? One of mine is the sound of a spoon clinking on the side of a bowl, as my neighbours eat their breakfast outside23 Jun 2026 07:08 +0000at://did:plc:sdlddwvm2bnmtrbaws224hbl/app.bsky.feed.post/3mowtpugr722jhttps://bsky.app/profile/katemcal993.bsky.social/post/3mongsywhks2w#histpsych friends, anyone fancy a copy of this? I bought one (forgetting that my eager self had already done this two years ago, when planning my current project). Perhaps of particular interest to anyone working on #histpsych in Sheffield or Manchester, where I believe Lawton Tonge worked…19 Jun 2026 13:23 +0000at://did:plc:sdlddwvm2bnmtrbaws224hbl/app.bsky.feed.post/3mongsywhks2whttps://bsky.app/profile/katemcal993.bsky.social/post/3moimmrgkck2jToday I wore a turtleneck to work https://static.klipy.com/ii/c44064a00e4b7451969381d90dea1769/89/e0/XpyriNqb.gif?hh=498&ww=498&mp4=PZHK7atcEgWhKgfO3F&webm=VSgpTz3TtNOBeMhDUGr17 Jun 2026 15:23 +0000at://did:plc:sdlddwvm2bnmtrbaws224hbl/app.bsky.feed.post/3moimmrgkck2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/katemcal993.bsky.social/post/3mo3ks7qjts2bThinking about what defines an academic career nowadays and keep coming back to one word… admin12 Jun 2026 10:46 +0000at://did:plc:sdlddwvm2bnmtrbaws224hbl/app.bsky.feed.post/3mo3ks7qjts2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/katemcal993.bsky.social/post/3mnhwf7da5k23Many years ago when I finished my GCSEs, I vowed to never have in my life a job where I have to do maths. Today I find myself trying to figure out how many platters of sandwiches I need for a workshop of c.15 people and wonder where it all went wrong04 Jun 2026 15:20 +0000at://did:plc:sdlddwvm2bnmtrbaws224hbl/app.bsky.feed.post/3mnhwf7da5k23https://bsky.app/profile/katemcal993.bsky.social/post/3mnc7tgglc227One of the really nice bits about going back time and again to the same relatively small archive is you get to know the staff and to some extent, the other regulars. It’s a nice bit of community in what can often be quite a solitary thing02 Jun 2026 08:53 +0000at://did:plc:sdlddwvm2bnmtrbaws224hbl/app.bsky.feed.post/3mnc7tgglc227https://bsky.app/profile/katemcal993.bsky.social/post/3mna5oiiyt22mFavourite passage of the day, from the minutes of the welfare committee of a local steel manufacturer: “several complaints were made as to the food… the chips were abominable”01 Jun 2026 13:09 +0000at://did:plc:sdlddwvm2bnmtrbaws224hbl/app.bsky.feed.post/3mna5oiiyt22m