Hi! My name is Jess, and I am a mental health blogger and lesbian representative for Liverpool John Moores University, United Kingdom. After being diagnosed with depression and anxiety at the beginning of my third year of university, I embarked on my journey to recovery. With increasing global and national discussion focused on mental health awareness, I was already aware that the UK’s mental health system was lacking. 

Initially, I was made to fill out a questionnaire by my local mental health service; it was basic, and the questions didn't represent my experience or the depths of my struggles. Then, a telephone appointment to inform me that my “score” on the questionnaire wasn’t "extreme" enough to warrant one-to-one therapy, leaving me feeling let down. So, I turned to my university’s student wellbeing centre, which offered me the important talking sessions that people struggling with their mental health often need. However, the universities wellbeing centre was understaffed and underfunded, resulting in only four hours’ worth of therapy.

When I first came out, as bisexual at 17 years old, my friends were supportive and didn’t treat me any differently. Yet, I was humiliated and ridiculed by members of my family, and for the following two years I felt as though I couldn’t talk to them about it, let alone act like myself around them. At the time, I knew I was experiencing depression, but I did not act on it, as I didn’t want to draw more attention to myself. 

Gradually, I felt more and more accepted in my family, but this experience had a profound impact on me. As I learnt through therapy, I became guarded and worried about what other people thought of me as a result. I yearned to gain people’s approval, and their friendship, even if they weren’t interested. 

In 2018, I came out as gay, but this too was problematic. I believe that sexuality is a spectrum, and that labels prevent us from understanding that. I was bisexual in my late teens, but that changed, and that’s okay. Trying to explain that to the family that had once ridiculed me for being bisexual, was daunting and brought back those insecurities and anxiety I had once had.

Today, I am a proud lesbian woman undergoing treatment for depression and anxiety. I am open about both to friends, family and even strangers who ask. There’s no shame in being a LGBT+ person, and there is no shame in having a mental illness. Being a part of the LGBT+ society in my university, has allowed me to meet people of all backgrounds, some of whom have had similar negative coming out experiences. Running my own mental health blog, brings me joy and I find it to be very therapeutic.