My mental health journey has been a very long and difficult one - I’m sure ALL of you can relate to that!

I’m 18, and from the age of 13 I’ve struggled with depression and anxiety that was triggered from family circumstances - divorce, estranged father, my mother’s cancer, conflict, emotional and physical abuse.

It was only when I was 16 I decided to get professional help. I started seeing a psychologist and got on anti depressants. Whilst this didn’t cure my mental illness, it definitely helped me manage myself better.

January of this year, everything was really calm with my home life so with the all clear from my doctor I stopped taking my medication. I had stopped seeing a psychologist in September of last year.

Things were pretty good, and I was determined to stay in positive spirits. After all, my depression was circumstantial - I didn’t have the right to be sad (according to myself!)

But things have been pretty bad, and I’ve been in denial for a few months. From substance abuse, panic attacks, self harm and angry outbursts - I decided it was time I needed some intervention...again.

I saw my doctor today, she’s a very kind lady! We did a mental health assessment, and unfortunately things seemed worse than what I actually had anticipated

I filled out the questionnaire referred to as K10, there are the result scales for reference pictured below

I, uh, scored a 35. So things haven’t been the best. We talked about my use of drugs and alcohol, and agreed if I wanted to move forward I would need to cut those out of my life. She prescribed me my anti depressants again, and sent me on my way with an appointment with my psychologist in a week and a half.

I guess the point of this is to let everyone know you’re not alone, and it’s okay to start over again. Personally, I’m not disappointed in myself for needing these things put in place - they help me.