Story
Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.
The story behind my fundraising is kind of long, so I will try to be brief;
From an early age I have suffered from anxiety, and it wasn't until i was about 11, that I realized that this was having a physical toll on me...
I was starting to pull out my hair. Now, horrified and embarrassed about this, I didn't tell anyone. Not even friends or family.
Eventually it became noticeable, so I confided in my close friends and was advised to research what it was. I found that it was an actual disorder brought on by my anxiety, called Trichotillomania:
"Trichotillomania is a condition where a person feels compelled to pull their hair out. It is an impulse-control disorder (a psychological condition where you are unable to stop yourself carrying out a particular action)"
Eventually, with the support of my friends and family i was able to seek help from my GP who referred me to counseling and CBT (Cognitive behavioral therapy). This was a massive step in facing my anxiety by understanding what was the root causes of my condition.
Now I'm starting to be able to deal with my symptoms as well as put in place certain strategies to help me with the other obstacles my anxiety has left me with.
During this time I needed to defer a year from University, until I felt I was ready to cope away from home. Now I'm happy that I feel confident enough to start my course in this coming September in London.
This is why I would like to give something back to the charity that helps people like me. Considering the difficulty I encountered even with a mild case of anxiety, it's hard to imagine how much those with severe cases have to overcome and this is why they need the right support.
SO to start again: I'm going to be shaving my hair of as a "new start" kind of thing and I thought it would be a great idea if I could raise some money for Anxiety UK at the same time.