Being depressed is not just about feeling sad as some people say; it's about being totally numb and not able to feel joy, excitement, happiness etc. 

It started 3 years ago when my life turned upside down. My high school sweetheart committed suicide and a close member of my family was on the verge of suicide. I was betrayed by someone I was seeing at the time and on top of this my living situation wasn’t great. I was working two jobs to finally save for my dream flat as a way of getting out of the house I was living in where I was miserable.

I felt like I had nowhere to run so I could hide from all of the bullets that life was throwing my way. It all got on top of me and as a consequence turned my life into a 3 year long battle with depression. I let myself go, putting on weight and started losing hair through stress.

In terms of my mental well-being, I struggled with short term memory and constant migraines as well as feeling helpless and hopeless. There would be times where I would be struck by random bouts of crying.

Thankfully, I am now fully recovered and have managed to get my life back on track. I feel happier than I have ever been and this is all due to Mind and the services they offer. 

This year, I decided to make my dream come true and take part in Tough Mudder (5km with 13 obstacles in Finsbury park) which I wouldn't have been able to do, if I didn’t recover from depression, thanks to Mind.

 I am so grateful that my friend and work mentor convinced me to contact them to ask for therapy. Mind were invaluable in my healing process, starting from free group therapy to affordable 121 counselling. They offer subsidised fees for counselling depending on your income starting from as little as £5 up to £30 (this would usually be around £50-£70 privately).

I was incredibly lucky to have met Susan, my therapist, who showed me an incredible amount of support but was also able to challenge my thinking in so many different ways.

I am not sharing my story for self-pity, instead I want to raise awareness and encourage people to start talking openly about their struggles. Depression can happen to anyone, regardless of gender, age or social status etc.

Please help me say thank you to Mind by donating money through this website (this will go directly to their account) but also helping their cause which enables access to affordable therapy for those in need. Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.