People don’t have a clue what’s really going on with other people, even sometimes those that they love. People that you diss and you envy; people that you respect and admire; people that you love and revere – any of them could be hanging by a thread. I absolutely know this to be true. I eventually did “work on myself ” when I was thirty-five years old. It worked for me. I did Psychotherapy and I did some courses that taught me a bit about how the brain works, and helped me figure out how to change my thinking about myself.

I can’t recommend it highly enough. Twenty years later, and the anxiety and sadness that ran my life has largely disappeared. There is help out there if you reach for it. The shame and stigma around mental health destroys some people’s lives. We have to end that. Lose our Shame, lay down that toxic burden. Big love to anyone who’s struggling. You might feel alone, but believe me, you are anything but.

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/