This isn't all there is

Mental health. Depression, anxiety, depersonalisation, bipolar, PTSD, schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder. 
One in four people in the world will be affected by mental or neurological disorders at some point in their lives. Around 450 million people currently suffer from such conditions, placing mental disorders among the leading causes of ill-health and disability worldwide. Despite so many people suffering from mental ailments around the world, so many still feel so alone in their struggles. The world may seem like a really big place- but you’re not alone.


Now, mental illnesses are scary. Terrifying even. I know what it’s like to feel so isolated and alone as if no one cares about you but at the same time feel as if the world was closing in around me, and people and everything became too much for me to handle. It’s an odd feeling, and to this day I can’t explain properly what causes me to feel like it. My mental health stems from my past- the positive and the negative parts. For almost two years, I dealt with depression as well as anxiety and a panic disorder. I contemplated suicide- and came close to attempting it. The only thing that stopped me was my fear of what people would think of me if I failed- my anxiety stopped me from  doing it. To many that may sound weird, but it helped me a lot. I realised there were things I had to do, and I couldn’t do them. Since then I worked through the depression (despite still going through lots of rough patches and down periods) but almost leaned on my anxiety for a crutch. This was also a bad thing, as I couldn’t put myself out there to do anything. Just over a year later- I have started to work through my anxiety problems. The thing I am most thankful for now is that I didn’t  commit suicide when I had wanted to as there is so much I would have missed out on.


No matter how you’re feeling now, there will come a day when you don’t feel that way. There are things to live for- and even if you can’t see them right now- your future self will. There is so much good to see in the world and you need to be able to see it. There is so much out there to explore, to photograph, to paint, to write about. There are jobs for you to take and opportunities calling for you. You’ve got to be there to see it.


You aren’t alone. Reach out, get help from someone you trust. You can make it through this. If the world seems bad, be the change you wish to see.


Elizabeth xx