“I’ve always said that my survival instincts kept me alive."

“When I was seven, my mum was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder. If you’ve supported a loved one through a mental health problem, you’ll know it can often present its own challenges and your relationship with them can change. During this period, I was known as a well-behaved and mature child. However, following my parents’ divorce, I began to turn to food as a coping mechanism. This could include starving myself until I felt like I was going to faint, and overeating until I felt sick. This would culminate in me entering my first depressive episode at age 16.

“Regardless of how hard I tried to get up in the morning, tidy my room, or even take a shower, my depression made me feel like I couldn’t. Instead, I spent hours in my bed watching videos and movies, keeping myself away from reality. I didn’t understand what was happening. People had known me as a cheery, motivated girl who always had a smile on her face. Now, I felt like I had lost myself. As a result of my eating disorder I gained weight and my self-confidence plummeted. I was ashamed of people seeing me, and I began to reject the person I saw in the mirror.

“I stopped going to school, and on the rare occasions I did come in, I wore a jacket at all times. I didn’t go outside for months at a time. My depression would actually improve for a few months, especially in spring, but by late autumn my low moods would return. I got so frightened about re-entering a depressive episode that I started having thoughts of suicide.

“Finally, I decided to open up to my parents and seek help. At the age of 17, I took medication for my depression for the first time and started work with a therapist. It was a long journey for both me and my family. I discussed the feelings from my childhood with my therapist, and together we built coping mechanisms.

“Slowly, I started going out again. I set a goal of going to school every day. Then, step-by-step, I managed to take my jacket off too. When someone made a comment about my appearance, I talked to a person I trusted instead of eating.

“I decided to study Psychology with the aim of using my past experiences to help people like my younger self and my mother. Despite missing so many classes due to my depression and my eating disorder, I worked hard to catch up and ended up graduating with good grades.

“Now, I’ve moved to Scotland and I’m a third-year psychology student at the University of Stirling. I’m still turning to chocolate when I’m upset, but I just remember that I’ve got people who love and care about me. One of those people is now me.

“I’m still on the journey to becoming kinder to myself and I can’t wait to see where it takes me.”