
And with social media being such a major part of our lives, it's no surprise that a wide variety of channels are being fully utilised to get important mental health messages across.
I recently came across Jamie Lee Olivero on Twitter https://twitter.com/LeeOlivero.
Jamie Lee has a YouTube channel dedicated to mental health. Check it out here:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCig7aUFt2q-Mnn-dQVLHrPA
Here, Jamie-Lee writes exclusively about why he started the channel.
It all started because I smoked a joint of cannabis, this joint pretty much ended my ‘care free’ lifestyle that I was so used to. The night I smoked that joint I had my very first panic attack, I was also extremely high and so my emotions and the situation itself was so much worse than it could have been.
After that night I would have frequent panic attacks for no reason, I developed Hypochondria [Health Anxiety]. As time went by I then developed Insomnia, Depersonalisation and a crippling fear of going insane. It got to the point where I would pull my hair and smack my self because I felt like I wasn’t even real. It became very dark and I became suicidal. I never thought of telling anyone or getting help until I hit rock bottom, I told myself it wasn’t my time to leave this world yet. I phoned my mother and immediately got help.
Now, two years later, I go to therapy sessions once a week, I stopped drinking alcohol, changed my diet drastically, exercise every single day (except Sundays). Although it is still a daily struggle and I still have times where I want to give up, it is now a lot better and manageable. I had dug myself into this very deep hole and had no idea how to climb out of it. I thought that there was no way out, no matter what I did, I thought I was destined to die.
For anyone going through this, I have to tell you, it DOES get better, it always does. No matter how dark it gets there is ALWAYS a light at the end of the tunnel, you just need a little help to see that, that's all. Don’t be afraid of reaching out and receiving help. I make videos on the topic myself on YouTube so here is the link for anyone interested:
Https://www.youtube.com/JamieLeeOlivero