Mental health is “a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to contribute to his or her community”. 

Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case for everyone and sometimes we need assistance in managing our Mental Health.  This does not mean that we have something wrong with us or that we are a failure, this means that occasionally we just need a little assistance coping with what life throws at us. This is especially true with what has been going on in the world in the last couple of years. Having someone to talk to or learning a different way to look at things can help improve our Mental Health tremendously.  Reaching out and asking for help is the first step, even if you are chatting to a friend it’s important to let people know if you aren’t feeling yourself 100%.  None of us have to suffer in silence, there is so much help out there for us, if we just learn to ask for it.

Having gone through Divorce and experienced Mental Health issues that I wasn’t even aware were Mental Health issues. I decided to embark on a journey to help others. When I started to experience Anxiety, I just thought it was a symptom of Divorce. I didn’t know I was suffering Anxiety and the longer it went on I then thought it maybe it was peri-menopause symptoms.  I was confused as to why I was feeling this way? I was healthy, I eat well, I exercise daily, I wasn’t unhappy, in-fact I was really happy so why was I feeling like my insides were bursting out of my body? Why was I ok one minute then feeling my whole body was shaking, sweating, heart pounding and feeling like I wanted to escape my own body? I embarked on the journey of crazy amounts of exercise which did help, I started with high intensity interval training but realised that if I raised my adrenaline so high it would come crashing down, and I felt worse than ever and it’s not sustainable or even healthy to exercise to those extremes every day. I tried various exercises, I found cycling and it became my new best friend, I am not “a cyclist” I do what is enjoyable to me. I also cleansed sugar out of my diet, I researched various supplements and took them all (pick me up and shake me, I sound like a baby’s rattle). I tried meditation, psychic mediums, self-help gurus, walks in nature and all of these worked for a short period but again the nightmare feelings would return.  It wasn’t until a friend explained to me one day what her Anxiety symptoms were that I said, oh, my word… Is that what Anxiety is? I have that and I’ve now had it for a few years. I have tried everything and for a short period, things do work but then is comes back.  Most people seem to have this problem. Feeling like I’d tried everything I really didn’t know what to do, I thought I just have to keep exercising and taking my supplements and when it comes back, I just have to relax and let it pass.  Easier said than done when you’re in the middle of an Anxiety attack (to later find out, actually Panic Attack). 

Fast forward and having decided I wanted to help others who have gone through Divorce and these awful feelings of Anxiety I started a counselling course. The first one was ok (level 2) it was enjoyable, so I decided to pursue it further and did the Level 3. Something in me felt that it was not for me, the tutors agreed.  Counselling is not for me, that’s completely fine because in this life it’s not a one size fits all with everything. I did some research and I found Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapy. This is such a good fit for me and my personality. I genuinely believe that “When we change the way we look at things the things we look at change” Dr Wayne Dyer. This is amazing for managing Mental Health and Anxiety. When I was doing my Diploma, I explained to one of my tutors about a particular instance when I had a panic attack, he spoke me through it and asked me, what were you thinking? What were you telling yourself at that time? That was my lightbulb moment and since then I have learned to manage my Anxiety. This has been life changing for me. I want to help other do the same. I want to help other manage their Mental Health because I believe Health is Wealth and that is Mental as well as Physical. 

This is the start of my journey…