So a lot of you know the basis of my story, and have probably seen me go on about mental health and mental health awareness on my Facebook page and my blog. But why do I do it? I do it because when my mental health journey kicked off, it became a big part of my life that still to this day I have to maintain and control. It's a part of me, I have struggled shaking off, time and time again. But over time, I've learnt to accept that it's a part of who I am. My experience with anxiety, panic attacks, and recently my depressive relapse spell, has shaped the person I am today, in both good and bad. The truth is, life just isn't about the things that haven't even happened yet. They're about things that have already happened, and dealing with them in the present. After all, you can't change what you refuse to confront. Simba found that out when he needed to scoot back over to Pride Rock and challenge his evil Uncle Scar, even with Hakuna Matata in his life (yes I did just say that).
Happiness is just not linear. I'm slowly learning to accept, that I will go
through huge ups and sometimes huge downs. But over this time, I've developed what a good friend of mine called recently, a toolbox, of things to get my feet back on the ground. Sometimes, I'm great at it. Sometimes, I'm useless at it. The latter I discovered when I relapsed over Christmas with a feeling of dread and distress, that had me contemplating my whole life.

I'm currently in one of the happiest places I've been in. My
return to Belgrade this summer was based on my happy connotations with the city and my time here, and my desire to help others who have also had times of distress, and have been in, undoubtedly, worse situations than I could ever contemplate. But in helping others, I've once again been reminded what real, wholesome love feels like, and I'm learning about life in yet another perspective. I'm now comfortably back home, preparing for my next adventure, and getting back into writing.

Mind was one of the first charities I came across once I had discovered I was suffering with anxiety and panic disorder. Their booklets became my start point into understanding myself, and understanding mental health. I'm running this just giving page simply to encourage others to donate to mind as part of my mental health blog. 

So please read, and please donate!

Nat