FOLLOWING his own struggles with mental health, a 24-year-old from Lymm has set up an Instagram page dedicated to sharing people's stories of hope.
Dan Gordon created the Strength in Stories Instagram page to highlight that people who face mental health difficulties still lead successful and fulfilled lives.
The former Lymm High School student realised how valuable it was to read these stories when he started to experience issues with his mental health in his second year of university.
Dan reached out to his GP and on their advice subsequently started counselling, medication and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).
"It was a lot of hard work, but following it I have since learnt to appreciate what it has taught me about myself," Dan recalled.
"I now value my mental health so much more.
"I know what I need to stay healthy and have made changes in my life to help with that.
"After a couple of medication changes over the last couple of years, I am now in a much better place.
"I’m by no means perfect, I still take medication to this day and still do CBT, but overall, if I look back on where I was, the difference is huge.
"I’m genuinely positive about the future and look forward with optimism.
"I think that in itself is the biggest sign of how far I’ve come."
Dan is now hoping for as many people as possible to see the Strength in Stories page, as he says looking after our mental health is 'more important than ever'.
"My goal is that this page becomes a source of hope for other people who find themselves in the situation I was in," he said.
"By no means do I want to make out that mental health difficulties are all sunshine and rainbows, but I do want to show people that there are people like them living with mental health problems every day and these people are still able to lead content and successful lives.
"My aim is for as many as people as possible to see the page.
"I feel this is especially important in this current moment, where looking after our mental health is more important than ever.
"I hope people will take some comfort from these stories."
If anyone wants to share their story or follow the page, it can be found by searching for @strength_in_stories on Instagram.
If you are struggling you can speak to Samaritans by visiting samaritans.org.
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