Lauren Frankland

Lauren is a 30-year-old advocate and writer who is passionate about intersectional disability justice. She experienced her first symptoms of narcolepsy (type 1) at around 13 but after many doctors' visits over the years, was not diagnosed until the age of 20, in 2011.

After years spent trying to fight the condition, she is coming to a place of acceptance of narcolepsy as a part of her identity, finding ways to work with it rather than against it. She has a degree in creative writing and English Literature from Liverpool John Moores University and holds writing for wellbeing workshops. She has used writing as a way of coping with difficulties in her life, which includes the social isolation related to having narcolepsy, since childhood and would like to share the benefits of writing for mental health with other people struggling. She hopes to help bridge the gap between symptom onset and diagnosis of narcolepsy through advocacy writing, to improve public knowledge and perception of the condition, and to help other people with narcolepsy feel seen and less alone.

Click here to read all of Lauren's articles on Narcolepsy.Sleep-Disorders.net