Alex's Story

What are some struggles you've faced with your mental health?

Depression. Going through that was rough - really rough. I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy to be at war with your own mind. The first time I went through it I didn’t even realise what was going on really until I spoke to someone about it. And then what was the worst thing really when I went through it again, I knew what was going on, I knew what to do to fix it but I still didn’t do it just because I felt ashamed nervous anxious to speak out about it. It’s awful.

What do you do to keep you mental health in-check?

I think now to keep everything in check it’s just the mentality I’ve developed, as in now it’s sort of a brutal way to look at it. But I just had to get on like no one’s going to help you unless if you help yourself first. The sun's always going to come up and go down so you have to do something about it. If you can’t talk you can’t sort.

What makes you feel most fulfilled?

Hiking, 100%. Going outdoors seeing amazing views but also just getting in some really sticky (sometimes close to death) situations that really get the heart pumping and coming out alive.

What is something you're looking forward to doing?

I'm looking forward to winter! Really hoping I can go out camping in some great conditions in the snow and get climbing in the snow. I'm also looking to tackle Europe next year so fingers crossed for that.

What advice would you give to someone struggling with their mental health?

Ask yourself: "Are you being true to yourself and what you want to do with your life?"

Now I saw a podcast or something where Jim Carrey said along the lines of “Depression is where your soul doesn’t want you to play this character anymore.” For me it was going out drinking & partying. What I discovered was that as soon as I moved away from that and got into hiking, my issues that I was having went away. So I really related to that.

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Thanks so much to Alex for taking the time to write this. There's some great advice in there which I hope you take on-board.

Follow along with his adventures this winter on instagram @._alexjackson.