Being a creative individual has many benefits. You have the ability to step in to a world of your own creation, a place where no one else can venture..just yourself and your imagination. On the face of it this appears to be a blessing, and in many ways it is.

I have always loved creating my own worlds, and from a young age this has become a place of solace, somewhere to escape from the harsh realities of the world. The problem with this, is that it can also be a very isolating place to be. You can find yourself shut off from people you love, desperately wanting to reach out to them, but unable to do so, leading to a feeling of loneliness and ultimately depression.

I have long struggled coping with a creative mind, the usual burdens are over analysing things and subsequently developing OCD on the back of it too.

There IS light at the end of the tunnel though. Despite the isolation that I experience during the creation process, I have also realised that there is an opportunity to welcome people in to your world.

Due to the nature of myself as mentioned above, the lockdown hadn't really affected me, and I realised I could for once be a stronger person for other people who it had impacted more. Having lost my uncle and mentor to suicide, I am all to aware of how important it is to preserve your mental health and most importantly to ask for for help if you are struggling. That is why I have decided to support Mind and give people the opportunity to escape the boundaries that this lockdown have placed, away from their four walls in to my immersive world in the form of a Virtual Fashion show.

Maybe then for once I won't feel so alone in that place by myself and I can finally share my world with others.

My name is Gary James McQueen and I am fundraising for Mind's art of depression.