On 7pm April 12th, I'll be streaming as the person behind the Octavius character - telling my own story about struggling with the darkness that is depression. We'll be taking a light-hearted look at some serious sh*t. And I'll try my hardest to keep it together.

We are raising money for Mind - because especially during this crisis, everyone needs to have somewhere to turn to during dark moments.

If just one person gets something positive from this talk, I'll be happy <3

https://twitch.tv/octavius_k

I was supposed to be doing a talk a Play Expo this year, and a few other events I was going to pitch at. Because of ye olde coronavirus, that won't be happening.

It seems a shame not to get back up on stage as myself rather than as my online persona Octavius King, after it seemed to down so well to the smol audience in Margate.

I get it - I'm not a medical professional. But I don't need to be. You'd be able to ask a doctor what it's like to have a broken leg, or a fella that has a broken leg. Both are able to give a valuable response - the fella who has experienced it first-hand more so. 

I'm not an expert in the treatment of mental health problems. But I'm an expert in having them. And I'd love to talk to you all about the things that keep me going, what societal conceptions are utter bullshit, and what to avoid to keep the darkness away. 

I grew up being ashamed and embarrassed of feeling like utter sh*t all the time, so I didn't get help. I was made to feel, thanks to some toxic people and expectations of society, that I was attention-seeking.

But it's not attention-seeking to ask for help when you're not okay. 

No one should be ashamed when they are not okay. 

So join me for a short talk, featuring a dodgy green-screen, a couple of songs, open chat and maybe even some rats will show up at some point. 

IMPORTANT:

If you find yourself affected by the issues raised in this stream, please contact one of these excellent mental health support teams listed below:

UK helplines : https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/mental-health-helplines/

Samaritans: https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan/

Suicide Prevention Lifeline (USA):  https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/

Handy list of helplines by country https://checkpointorg.com/global/