As somebody who has experienced a number of mental and emotional challenges, I feel it’s extremely important to face these head-on. The key factor, for me, has been to accept personal responsibility for my own well-being, and make the necessary changes, to take control of my state of mind.

Life is not something that happens to us. It’s a journey that we manifest and have control over and thus are responsible for. While the obstacles are often many, and in a large number of cases can seem insurmountable, there are always others who can help us bear the load. It’s important to know our limitations as well as our strengths; to seek help when it’s required; and not allow pride to prevent us from making positive changes.

In their excellent book on depression, Dr Michael Corry and Dr Áine Tubridy suggest that the condition is ‘an emotion not a disease’ – which I believe extends to many other forms of mental and emotional challenge, and makes our issues dramatically easier to confront and manage than when conventional, Big-Pharma entrenched professionals point to brain and body chemistry, and other often unhelpful perceptions.

Every problem potentially has multiple solutions. Despite how difficult and overwhelming things can be, mental health is something that we must believe can be tackled, managed and improved throughout our lives, provided we refuse to give in to passivity, and instead use our inherent power to make positive changes.

100 Voices was published in the Hot Press Mental Health Special in conjunction with Lyons Tea and Pieta House as part of the Now We're Talking Campaign. For more please visit hotpress.com/now-were-talking/