"It took a long time - most of my 20's - to accept that I had Generalised and Social anxiety. Not just that I had them even, but that they severely impacted my daily life. I'd found all sorts of coping strategies that helped me to pretend I didn't have any problems - but sometimes they were too hard to ignore. At 27, I was lucky to move to a new city and make friends with people that spoke openly about their mental health. It was SO empowering to go through the process of learning to accept and embrace my anxiety. Now I try to find healthy ways to manage them and speak as openly as possible about my mental health. So that I can try to help other people in the same way that my friends helped me."