I don’t have a bowel any more! Yep, they took my second brain away after it became too damaged from Ulcerative Colitis. I can honestly say I doubt I would have gone for CBT if it hadn’t been for my physical health. It made me realise my mental health is just as important - even if the majority of the time my doctors are concerned with only the former and forget about the latter! 

Post graduate depression is a topic that universities need to seriously consider teaching students about. Even as a psychology major, I was not warned enough of this possibility. There is struggling after school that we should be made aware of. A degree does not equal a perfect life. Depression is common.

Running, quite simply, has been the healthiest coping mechanism I have found to date for handling intense bursts of emotion. I started Run Talk Run in October 2017, after some significant life changes had me spiralling into a spell of depression that I quite simply wasn't shifting. We are not therapists, or running coaches. We are simply peer-to-peer support, offering each other a safe space to talk about the "stuff" that can ordinarily feel unique to us alone.

I began exploring more about myself while I was in school to become a therapist. Which is where I also learned how harmful some therapists can be. Currently, I have a beautiful relationship with my mental health. And by beautiful I mean, I see all parts of myself and I accept them. I also see where the work needs to be done and I am doing that work.

Over different events in my life, I had come to the conclusion that I was only valuable when I was losing weight. Once I came to this conclusion, I had to maintain a daily quest to lower my weight. I’ve come to realise that there is only one measurement I should use to validate my feelings: My own pain. If I am suffering, that is enough a reason to seek help.

I learned, through a lot of pain and panic and isolation, that I suffer from something called ‘social anxiety’. I remember crying my eyes out the first time that I read that definition. They were happy tears, tears because I finally realised that how I felt was not something that was ‘wrong with me’, but something that could be defined because other people felt it too. 

I think when I first got into music I assumed the hardest bit would be writing new songs and performing them. But the biggest struggle is waking up every day and telling yourself “You can do this”. I do believe that the music industry has actively started to help with mental wellbeing, but it’s far cry from being able to say there isn’t a problem.

I used to compare my life to some outdated fairytale and self imposed rules I thought I had to live by. I always felt a little intimidated by a lot of life, which left me feeling inadequate. So I decided it was finally time to change that. I stopped comparing myself to everyone else and people pleasing. It all started with a decision to start a regular journal practice - Once I accepted I COULD change my story, I stopped holding myself back and I started doing.

Our Vlog is about our experience of how alcohol impacted our mental health and how removing alcohol was our turning point. We use this opportunity to encourage others to reflect upon their drinking habits and to consider taking a break as an experiment.

I went through 3 months of intensive chemo and in my Vlog I talk a little about my cancer journey and ways of coping and getting through it that helped me. I still do these methods everyday (I’m in remission now) and cherish the chance of finding them as they have changed my life for the better.