Sorry My Mental Illness Isn’t Sexy Enough for You
Lessons on Living with Personality Disorders and Mental Illness (That We Learned the Hard Way)
Sorry My Mental Illness Isn’t Sexy Enough for You- The Book
Lessons on Living with Personality Disorders and Mental Illness (That We Learned the Hard Way)- Katja Pavlovna and Kay Garbett, with Foreword by Professer Peter Tyrer
Book Release
The Lives Not Labels team are excited to be able to share that we published our first book in October 2025, named after our mental health lived experience project, Sorry My Mental Illness Isn’t Sexy Enough For You. The book, written by Lives Not Labels co-founders Katja Pavlovna and Kay Garbett, tells the story of how the project came to be and the unique journeys of the authors.
Authors: Kay Garbett, Katja Pavlovna
Please note: For readers in Australia/ New Zealand, your books will ship in January 2026.
How to cope with Personality Disorder and Mental Illness
Part memoir, part self-help guide, the book is told through the eyes of Katja (diagnosed with Schizotypal Personality Disorder and with historic diagnoses of Borderline Personality Disorder/ Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder and an eating disorder) and Kay (diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder/ Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder and schizophrenia).
Whilst their diagnostic labels somewhat overlap, their experiences do not, and the book examines how to cope with personality disorder and mental illness from the perspectives of someone with low support needs, and someone with fluctuating support needs. It also looks at some of the issues surrounding perceptions of mental illness and personality disorder through tongue-in-cheek chapter titles , including the usefulness of labels, dealing with the more unappealing symptoms of mental illness, self-advocacy, stigma and navigating work.
Press Reviews
- Rosie Cappuccino, author of ‘Talking About BPD’
Katja Pavlovna and Kay Garbett have written an important, illuminating and compassionate book on some of the most misunderstood and misrepresented mental health diagnoses. Sorry My Mental Illness Is Not Sexy Enough for You shares the perspectives and inner lives of its authors with immense generosity and honesty. - Dr. Kiki Fehling, licensed psychologist, co-author of Self-Directed DBT Skills, and mental health content creator @dbtkiki
This book is unique in its comprehensive, honest, and stigma-fighting review of what it’s like living with a personality disorder in today’s world. With Katja and Kay’s generously shared wisdom, readers are sure to walk away feeling validated and empowered. - Richard Nicholls, author of 15 Minutes to Happiness
An important, compassionate, and refreshingly real account of living with mental illness. Pavlovna and Garbett dismantle stigma with humour and courage, offering hope, insight, and solidarity to anyone who has ever felt unseen, unheard, or misunderstood in their struggles.
