A PASSIONATE campaigner is hoping to break the stigma around mental health by launching her own campaign while raising cash for charity
Kelly O’Donoghue, 27, from Braintree, is hoping to raise awareness around mental health ahead of launching her ‘Our Stories in Our Words’ campaign.
The campaign will be a collection of personal experiences told by people who have suffered with mental health issues to highlight the fact that mental health doesn’t discriminate.
The campaign is due to be launched online ahead of Mental Health Awareness Week across social media platforms and on YouTube on May 9.
Kelly, who works as a deputy manager at a nursery, suffered a breakdown in 2020 and has been living with mental health issues for the last ten years.
Her experiences inspired her to turn the negatives into positives and she has since been using her social media platform to release videos and images for Mental Health Awareness Week to break through addressing the subject.
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The campaign is also coinciding with a fundraiser for the mental health charity Mind.
Working with photographer Brandon Beedon and videographer Scott Davis, Kelly and the team compiled footage and pictures of those sharing their stories on Saturday.
Local cake business Pear Tree Cottage Cakes is also helping Kelly raise cash, with items sold on social media seeing 75 per cent of the proceeds donated to Mind.
Kelly said: “I was diagnosed with clinical depression when I was 17 and was diagnosed with anxiety at 20, but I personally think I have been feeling things from the age of 12.
“A lot less was known about mental health 10 years ago – it was a bit of a taboo subject too.
“Two years ago, I had a mental breakdown. What saved my life was the counselling I received.
"I also do photoshoots part-time which really helped.
“I don’t like calling myself a model because it isn’t a job for me.
“To post something about your mental health is brave, but to sit down on camera and talk about your mental health is inspirational.
“The important thing to remember is that mental health doesn’t discriminate.”
To donate, visit justgiving.com/fundraising/OurStoriesInOurWords.
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