There was a time when darkness surrounded me completely, I felt I was the only person going through it. No human could help me but me. It was the worst time in my life. In the painting, you can see the darkest elements at the bottom, representing this period I went through sexual abuse, financial abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, loss, death, mental health problems medication, section under mental health act, substance abuse, ugly, bullying, different, disbelief, disability, suicidal ideation, prisons, addictions, pain, depression, loss of family member to suicide. I couldn’t see past the pain, I felt hopeless, a waste of space, tearful and overwhelmed by thoughts.

Life doesn’t come with instructions.

I needed help and hope. I needed to stop the madness. I let go of drugs, alcohol, self-harm, and the police stations that had become my way of coping.

The lightness within the picture is my safe place. It was about coming out of the darkness and into the light. I believe in me again. It was knowing that there was something better inside me, I now know the strength inside me. I have found new ways of coping with life and freedom, happiness to be myself. I am free from overwhelming feelings; I have peace, and mental wellness is my focus now.