I was diagnosed with Generalised Anxiety Disorder while at university and going through an especially tough time with an exam that seemed created for me to fail but, looking back, it seems that I've been struggling with it for as long as I can remember. For a long time, I kept it secret and told almost no-one what I was coming to terms with and trying to overcome daily but now, 5 years on from that time, I aim to be as vocal and open about my mental health as possible. People will continue to keep it quiet and the stigma will continue.

Only by speaking up and having open conversations with those 99 out of 100 people who have never, and will never, experience a mental illness will we create a world where individuals are no longer judged, accused of exaggerating, or treated in any way as less of a capable individual by those around them because of their diagnosis. To anyone who may be reading this and has previously allowed themselves to stigmatise anyone else because of mental illness, let me clarify:

I am no less capable because of my mental illness.

You may find it uncomfortable that it still needs saying but the reality of a life with mental illness is that too many people still don't fully understand that mental health doesn't define us. Sure, it can make days harder and we can face challenges that others don't, but the fact that we continue to wake up day after day and do whatever we can physically and mentally manage is an amazing thing. I have developed a strength and resilience that I wouldn't have known was possible until I experienced the worst anxiety that I have faced so far. Getting up and going to lectures every morning after sitting up for hours having panic, and anxiety, attacks night after night was the most courageous and strong thing that I've done in my life so far.

Now that university is a few years behind me, and I'm well into a full-time role, I've found my anxiety creeping up on me again; only this time I wasn't going to let it be a secret. It started small: I told my partner, my parents and my doctor. I got medication and registered for therapy (there'll be a post on my experience of CBT in the future) and I found the bravery to confide in my line manager about what was going on. From that point on, I've become more open in my life and around work about my mental health and am becoming more comfortable with turning down social invites without any more of an explanation than 'my mental health really isn't up to it today, but thanks for the invite'.

And the thing that I've found is that, while many people may not fully comprehend the reality of living with a mental illness, the general perception is shifting. As a generation, we're becoming more aware and understanding of mental health as just a vital part of our wellbeing as our physical health. Colleagues are more comfortable engaging in discussions about challenging emotional situations and overwhelming thoughts. Some of my co-workers will still make comments that are far more hinderance than help, but it's commonly a manifestation of misplaced support rather than from a place of no understanding or even malice.

Mental health will likely continue being an area of medicine that is not well understood which can largely be considered due to its amorphous nature: no two people's experience of the same diagnosis will be exactly the same. One person's trigger may be another person's mental comfort and we can't expect everyone around us to be walking on egg-shells for fear of setting you off, but what we can do is continue becoming more open about our individual experiences and helping those close to us to understand how they can best support us and how to avoid any big triggers. We are getting there. It may take telling someone in several different ways and getting help from others to educate them too but my experience has so far been one of an increasingly accepting and understanding generation with regards to mental health, and that can only be a good thing.