On the 28th of May 2014 my childhood best friend Steve Yates took his own life. I knew I needed to do something to stop the next Steve. So I thought, that’s what I’ll do. I’ll make a film. “Steve” is a positive documentary about male mental health. Real people. Real conversations. That’s when the idea of Talk Club came about. A talking group for men. Moving from Mental health Awareness wit to Mental Health Action.

The journey to a healthy mind can seem endless. It can seem like you have to give so much of yourself to gain, just a snapshot of peace. The truth is you do. You need to be in a place of true positivity.

After many years of suffering with what has only very recently been diagnosed as Recurrent Depression Disorder and Disruptive Behavioural Disorder that culminated in several suicide attempts over a 20 year period I found peer support and cycling as successful ways of managing my mental health and wellbeing.

‘Acne isn’t life threatening, but it can threaten your life’. A quote I read once in an article that will stick with me forever. Yes acne isn’t life threatening, to my knowledge no one died from having spots but the mental strain it puts on you, breaking down daily a once happy personality can threaten your life.

Whenever I am asked to write about mental health in the military I feel a slight guilt, like I might rock the preverbal boat, but not because I am about to launch into a sensationalist story of how the “system let me down” or that “my chain of command didn’t care” but because I am about to do the opposite.

At the age of just eight years old I had been given 4 mental health labels PTSD, Depression, OCD and Panic Attacks. My message to you all is always be your true self, never change for anyone, never be ashamed of your mental health and remember seeking help isn’t failure or weakness it’s the complete opposite- it’s true bravery. Don’t be ashamed of your story, it will inspire others.

Well, it has not been the easiest journey to get here but we are here and I can’t really believe that I am writing this! 2019 was a really tough year for us. For anyone who doesn’t know, we unfortunately suffered 4 miscarriages last year so I basically spend more than half the year pregnant and the rest of it recovering from miscarriages. I never once lost hope of us having a baby, but I found myself getting very tired of staying so positive.

The road to positive mental health is not linear, what is important is the tools we put in place to protect ourselves and to manage these feelings, so we do not spiral. I have re-started therapy, reading black feminist literature, tried not to compare myself to others, tried to open up more to my friends about how I feel because they can offer advice from a place of proximity that therapists do not have. I do these things combined with regularly pole dancing for myself.

As an empowerment coach, I currently work in schools and the community working with children, parents & educators, taking them on a journey of self-discovery so they can find their ‘treasure’ within, find their greatness, the truth of who they are.

There is an air of anxiety and fear around coronavirus due to the shared stress and uncertainty it brings. It is dominating conversations, lining news shelves and flooding social media feeds. If your anxiety about coronavirus is impacting your ability to enjoy the things you usually do, or you’re finding yourself pre-occupied with concern, this article is for you.