Mental Health Awareness Week – Kelly’s Story – Mentors, Social Media and Inspiration

Kelly Hinds presents the Friday morning Buzzing Music Mix from 10am to midday.  Here she shares her mental health journey and how anti-depressants weren’t right for her.

Today am at my happiest, I work for myself, I am building a business and a long-lasting legacy for my children and hopefully their children. I am my own boss and I love it, no matter what challenges it throws at me.

This isn’t always how I’ve felt, I didn’t feel like this for a long time. I was overwhelmed and my anxiety was at an all-time high, I didn’t know this at the time, I just felt like a failure for not being able to cope with my busy life, for not being able to make everything perfect all the time. I felt trapped by the life I had created and I didn’t know what to do or even how I had got to this point.

In a few weeks it will be two years since I quit my job of fourteen years. It was the only option I thought I had, I thought it would take all the stress away, I thought I would be fixed. I very quickly found out it didn’t fix me, far from it. I was left feeling like I’d totally lost my identity, I didn’t know who I was, what I wanted or how to sort it out, I felt anything but fixed. I felt the most broken I had ever felt in my life.

The recovery took around a year, I never imagined even needing to recover from leaving my job, but it was bigger than that. I started to read and I still read self-development books, I find them fascinating – my first was Lost Connection by Johan Hari which resonated hugely as I was at the point I felt like anti-depressants were my only option – I thankfully didn’t go down that route after reading this book. I listen to podcasts by the likes of Ed Armstrong and James Smith. I’ve been lucky enough to find amazing mentors like Heidi Marke and I am grateful to have the best of friends and family to openly talk to. I cleaned up my social media, my feed gives me positive vibes only.

Through getting the right kind of help and advice I know exactly who I am, what my values are, how I tick and why, most importantly I know that there is absolutely nothing ‘wrong’ with me, the life I had created just wasn’t serving my health, my own judgemental thoughts about what I should and shouldn’t be doing were destroying my soul.

I chose to leave burn-out, perfectionism, damaging self-talk and not seeing my family flourish behind. I now choose to be kind to myself, give myself time, I now get involved in all the things that scare me in order to grow. It has made such a difference to my life, but I 100% couldn’t have got to this point without help.

Please talk openly to someone if you’re struggling, or if it’s more comfortable take the first step and subscribe to a podcast, you’ll soon realise you’re not the only one feeling the way you are feeling. There is an abundance of light at the end of the tunnel, you just need a helping hand to find it.

We are all capable of change, it’s not easy – but nothing grows in comfort zones except the grass!

I’m off to hug a tree! 🧡

Take Action For Your Mental Health

Read Bekka’s Story  Read Guy’s Story