ReachOut

ReachOut helped me to heal and gave me the courage to find my voice again. – Isa

I started struggling with my mental health when I was 13. High school felt overwhelming. I went from being confident to feeling invisible. I didn’t understand what I was going through, or what my unhealthy coping mechanisms really meant. Mostly, I just felt alone — like no one really understood me.

Over time, I slowly found ways to manage. Creativity became my outlet — baking, drawing, anything that helped me express what I couldn’t say out loud. It gave me some relief, but healing wasn’t a straight line. Then COVID hit. Studying through lockdown made me feel even more disconnected and hopeless. I received an ADHD diagnosis that helped make sense of some things but, even then, I still felt stuck in my own head. I stopped imagining a future for myself. I stopped trying.

Eventually, I reached a breaking point — and asked for help. Therapy helped me start living again, even if it just meant getting out of bed. But what really made a difference was connection: finding people I could relate to and hearing stories of others who’d been through the same. Reading personal stories on ReachOut made me feel less alone. They reminded me that recovery is possible. That there’s hope.

Now, as a ReachOut advocate, I get to use my voice to help others feel heard — to speak up for those who haven’t yet found the words. Sharing my story has helped me turn pain into purpose, and be part of the change I once needed.