My story started in 2015, after being hit by a chronic skin condition, my mental health was severely affected. I struggled. There were days where I couldn't leave the house. Days where I couldn't face people seeing.
Many circumstances in our life change. We can't always control them and thus the repercussions can be hard.
However, one of the biggest problems for me was the inability to seek professional help.
The extent of stigma in our world meant that I was afraid to get help for the depression and anxiety that troubled me daily. Days feeling terrified of my self and not being able to look in the mirror.
You would try and speak to people but you couldn't. You would try to open up in school but people wouldn't listen. This was a big barrier to getting the help that I needed. Coming from an Asian background, I struggled opening up to my family. What would the community say? What would my family feel?
Even though I struggled a lot, I got some support and eventually went to medical school in Liverpool. Reflecting back now, I feel there needs to be a lot more education on mental health. We all have it, it's something that can get better and worse just like physical health. The things that prevent people from getting help aren't always being improved - Long wait times, lack of choices.
Through reflecting, I realise the need for things to change. We need to work in many ways:
We need to give people the tools they need to look after their mental health and improve their wellbeing.
We need more access to mental health professions and more teaching on what mental health is and how to apply knowledge.
We need to help people access health services when they need to.
For this reason, I founded the Be Free Campaign, a mental health charity that aims to give people the tools they need to look after their mental health and have a positive impact on the world around them. Years on from my mental health condition diagnosis, I am not perfect, nor am I fixed but I can manage and live a happy and fulfilling life.
I went on to receive the Diana Award in 2020 for humanitarian service as well as recognition from the Prime Minister, Rt Hon. Boris Johnson for my services to charity through the Point of Light Award. I continue to empower people to look after their mental health and know what to do if things go wrong.
