Mental health awareness week 2017

In this photo, I could do anything. I could put my body through hell and yet I would always come out the other side as good as new.
In reality, I was dying, and yet I was ignorant enough to believe that I was invincible.

I have countless other photos that might seem more striking to you, but for me, this photo is the one that will always stand out in my mind. The entire time that I believed I was indestructible, my eyes and skin were turning yellow and my body was filling with excess fluid. I was running on adrenaline alone. My life, which felt like a crazy adventure, was anything but.

Nobody will come running to save you from your mental health illness. Nobody will be there to rock you to sleep and protect you from the monsters in your head. Mental health illness isn't romantic - this is real life, not an episode of Skins. Mental health illness is cruel and torturous and isolating. My mental health stole from me my friends and family and education and so, so many years of my life.

When I was sectioned, there was nobody sitting at my bedside holding my hand. There were no "get well soon" cards or flowers adorning my room. Instead, I was 170 miles from everything that I had ever known. I was alone in a strange place with strange people, locked in and unable to continue running from my problems. I was forced to stand up and face the trauma that had encompassed my life for so long.

It is now 2017, and despite the massive amount of effort that people have put into removing the stigma from mental health illness, it is still a taboo subject. I witness this every time that I try to initiate a conversation about my past, and since I try to approach the subject as much as socially appropriate, this isn't an unusual occurrence. These exchanges often result in awkward silences or forceful attempts to change the subject. More people need to know of the horrors that we have battled through and overcome.

Will I ever stop talking about mental health? No.

Mental health illness is something that will forever be a part of my life. Even if one day I completely overcome my struggles and am no longer reliant upon medication, I will still have the tell-tale marks criss-crossing my limbs.

If you want to do even just one good deed this mental health awareness week, please smile at someone. Make someone laugh, offer your assistance or even a shoulder to cry on. Buy the homeless gentleman that you pass everyday a coffee. Pass on your bus ticket when you've finished using it. Pay for the family behind you at a fast food drive-thru. Drop a stranger a random compliment. Help an overwhelmed mother in the supermarket. Ask somebody how their day is going.

Random acts of kindness might not seem like much to you, but you never know who is having a hard time and your good deed could make their entire day.

Be kind.