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A Bit About The Hosts...

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Meet Izzy

Hi! I’m Izzy, I am 27 years old and I am an Assistant Producer at a media company in London. I came up with the idea for the podcast at the beginning of 2020 because I really wanted to have full creative control over a project and I wanted it to be focused on mental health because it’s a very personal and important topic to me.

 

My mental health journey

I have suffered with anxiety and depression on and off since I was 13 years old. I was always a high achiever at school and hid my troubles behind that, but inside I found everything incredibly difficult. I had social anxiety, was an extreme over thinker and was crippled with self doubt and self loathing. Coupled with a difficult home life and my parents’ subsequent divorce, I spent more than a decade with low to high level depression. This impacted everything from my ability to make and keep friends through to the fact that I didn’t think my life mattered enough to plan for what I wanted to do once I finished university. This meant my life in my early twenties had very little focus until my depression became so bad that I left a job that was making me very unhappy, started on anti-depressants and took a year to change direction. Everything was on the up until I entered into a relationship that was very bad for me and my depression started to come back.

To now...

I had to leave the toxic and unhealthy relationship at the start of 2020, move in with new people once again and keep my head above water in a global pandemic. It was tough but I also saw how strong I am and how much I can cope with. I recently made the decision to come off the anti depressants I had taken for over 3 years, which was a huge achievement as I have proven I can cope without them with the help of the coping strategies I now have in place thanks to the therapy I have been in and the support of those around me. 

 

Things I enjoy

Outside of work and the podcast, the things I love are yoga, running and walking to keep active. Seeing my friends and family are also integral to keeping me happy and on an even keel. I absolutely love eating out, cooking for people and experiencing new things, whether that is simply watching a new TV show or travelling somewhere new.

Meet Jenny

Hi, I'm Jenny, I am 27 years old and I am a qualified Mental Health Practitioner as well as co-host of the podcast with Izzy. I was keen to start this podcast with Izzy as mental health awareness and prevention is something that's been particularly close to my heart for many years. 

 

My mental health journey

Despite studying a degree in Psychology, I was wildly unaware of the impact that mental illness can have until I was myself diagnosed with depression whilst at University. I turned from being someone who was surrounded by friends and family, always cracking jokes, getting involved in creative projects and achieving high grades at school and college to someone who spent most of their time in their room eating biscuits, scared to socialise with anyone new, missing lectures, getting below average grades, and sleeping through 80% of the day. I isolated myself, detached from the people who did in fact care for me, and chose to act in self-destructive ways. I was hopeless.

I didn't receive the help I needed, and only truly realised I was depressed around 2 years after in hindsight this all began. I was on anti-depressants for 2 years until one day I realised that I in fact wasn't depressed anymore, I was just stuck in a life that had come from choices I made when I was depressed. 

Upon realising this, I made some very big changes in my life, including ending a relationship that was making me desperately unhappy, choosing to not only trust my intuition but allow others around me to help me, and training to become a Mental Health Practitioner. This was the best combination of choices I have ever made.

To now...

I now work as a qualified Mental Health Practitioner and have done for just over 3 years. It's not been easy but I gain a huge amount of satisfaction in helping others in the way that I needed when I was suffering. I can safely say that I have all the tools I need to keep my mental health from deteriorating again. I am no longer depressed but it still takes work to feel well.

Things I enjoy

As with any stressful job, it's important to look after yourself and have time to relax. So, to do this I like to take my camera out for a spin, mainly doing landscape photography in the Sussex countryside where I live. I also enjoy body combat, Zumba, painting (watercolours or acrylic), listening to music and watching a good film with some salted popcorn, preferably in my pyjamas!

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Meet Jenny
Meet Izzy
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