AN AUTHOR has appeared on television to discuss how writing a novel has turned a completely negative experience into a positive . Steve Westwood, who recently featured in a Comet country article in The Comet, last week appeared on ITV s This Morning alon

AN AUTHOR has appeared on television to discuss how writing a novel has "turned a completely negative experience into a positive".

Steve Westwood, who recently featured in a Comet country article in The Comet, last week appeared on ITV's This Morning alongside the programme's regular consultant psychological therapist Anjula Mutanda.

On the show he discussed his struggle with Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD), a preoccupation with a perceived defect of a person's appearance.

It is on this subject, and a struggle with depression and a borderline personality disorder, that Mr Westwood, 32, wrote Suicide Junkie which was released earlier this year online.

It is now in paperback form.

Mr Westwood, from Letchworth GC, has managed to have 200 copies printed which he will give away to organisations and foundations which deal with BDD and general mental health. Other copies will be given to local libraries.

Mr Westwood said: "I am trying to promote the book as much as possible to get it out to the right people - people it might help who are suffering similar problems and people who are just interested to learn about mental health problems so that they too may be better educated and break the stigma of the words mental illness."

If an organisation would like to be considered to receive a copy of the book, contact details for Mr Westwood are on his website www.swestwood.com where there is also a link to buy it straight from the publisher.