Now that I’ve firmly settled in back home I can feel the effect that challenging myself has had on me. I honestly feel so much stronger and secure in myself, my anxiety is hugely reduced and if I do experience it I am now less likely to panic or feel frightened.

So I’m chuffed. I know this isn’t the end of the road by far because many mental illnesses, particularly ones such as Post-Traumatic-Stress-Disorder, are a lifelong battle with many highs and lows along the way.

Now the travel part of my life is over (for now) and whilst I still have many stories to tell, it’s time for me to start a new chapter. I will of course be talking about my personal experiences but will be taking a more active role in challenging different perceptions and stigmas of mental illness.

To aid this I’m really excited to say that I have signed up to the Time to Change campaign which is a movement dedicated to changing how we all think and act towards mental illness and is lead by two charities: Mind and Rethink Mental Illness. So I am now a Time to Change Champion! This means I can use my real life experience of having a mental illness to help change our society’s perception of mental health issues and work within our community to do so.

I’ve also made a pledge with Time to Change which means I’m adding my name to thousands of others who are starting conversations about mental health. A pledge can be anything but if you need a little guidance a few examples are given to choose from which you can customise yourself if you like. Mine reads:

As readers of mine I know you want to spread and learn about mental health awareness so I think it would be amazing if all of you would take a couple minutes to write a pledge to show your support! (Don’t worry, you won’t be signed up to be a champion, but your name and pledge will be featured on the Pledge Wall).

Here’s the link where you can find out more: time-to-change.org.uk

Let me know if you decided to pledge! I feel really passionately about this so i’m very exited to get started with the movement.

I will be writing more posts soon, as always any feedback is warmly welcomed.

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