How do you take care of your mental health?
Awareness has been the biggest thing - just understanding what is going on. Having a name for it and then being able to have strategies. Also, medication isn't for everyone but it has been a life-saver for me, quite literally.
Why do you think it's important we talk about mental health?
I spent years not realising that what I was going through was something that others faced and that could be treated. If people had talked about it not only would I have been aware of what I might have been facing, but would have known about ways to get support. I also wouldn't have felt stigma when I finally did seek help because it would be normal to ask for help.
Favourite self care activity?
Creative writing and performance poetry. I process a lot through spoken word poetry.
Favourite quote, song lyric or mantra?
"Shit makes good fertiliser" has been a big one for me. The hope that from all the crap something good and new can grow (but that doesn't stop it feeling and smelling like shit at the time).
A message to someone struggling?
Sharing our struggles is bravery, not weakness. Find someone trustworthy to talk to about it. We struggle most when we try to go it alone.
If you could have 'a moment with' your younger self what would you say to them?
There are some good reasons why you feel like you do. Go and chat to a doctor or counsellor about it. Don't wait until your mid-thirties. Life on the other side of support is so much better. Not perfect, but better.