Hey you,

I just wanted to tell you... it's OK not to be OK.

It's OK to sit at home and wonder how you'll possibly make it out the door today, to feel alone, isolated, scared and angry, to feel there's nothing to make you happy ever again, to hear voices, mixed emotions, pain.

It's OK to wonder why you feel this way, wonder if you're alone, feel helpless and cry.

It's OK not to be OK. Really, it is.

What's not OK is feeling like you have nowhere to turn, that you cannot speak about how you're feeling, that nobody cares.

It's not OK that every year thousands of people take their own lives while in the grip of crippling mental health disorders, feeling they have no way out.

Whether you're a child, teenager or adult, man or woman, gay, straight, bisexual or transgender, rich or poor, it doesn't matter; mental health doesn't care, nobody is exempt.

But there are people who care about mental health and YOU.

Anxiety

They want to help you, guide you through your darkest days and shine light on the good that is out there to hoist you from low depths. While a permanent solution isn't something they can promise, you should know they'll damn well try their best.

It might take time and it'll be a journey, but what makes you think you're incapable of riding it? You've already come this far, you've already clicked on this article and acknowledged perhaps you can relate to what is being described.

It is possible to overcome the feelings mental health issues hurl at you then leave lingering in the corners of your mind. But know this: so many people have "made it". Don't feel like a failure because that's not you yet, your time is coming.

This week, Mental Health Awareness Week, those who have "made it" will be sharing their stories with us in the hope it may inspire someone who is not OK to seek the help they need.

World Mental Health Day is on Tuesday October 10 2017

"Making it" doesn't mean achieving sunshine and rainbows-type happiness, it means learning who you are and how you can manage how you feel. It's learning how to get back into your mind's driving seat.

If this sounds like you, please talk to someone. The first step is the hardest but the most important... you can achieve anything. You can and you will.

Call Mind's infoline on 0300 123 3393 or text 86463.

Tuesday October 10 is World Mental Health Day.