In March 2020, I had planned to hike the South West Coast Path on my own; the idea of carrying everything I needed in one bag and moving forwards every day was really appealing to me. The pandemic put a stop to that and instead I found myself stuck inside with all my things. I knew I had to change my life. I’d wanted to be a writer from a young age, but wasn’t doing anything about it. I started to put the time into my actual daydreams, rather than putting physical obstacles in the way –and slowly things started to shift.

Since I’ve been aware of my hoarding behaviours, I’ve tried to unpick where and why they might have started, but try as I might I couldn’t pinpoint any specific events or moments. It was clear the behaviours had built up over time. No one becomes a hoarder overnight.

I wrote a play based on my experiences of hoarding behaviours in 2022 and took it to the Edinburgh Fringe. Breathless ended up winning a Fringe First award and touring, we took the play to New York where it was a New York Times Critics Pick. Taking the play on tour, it was clear what a universal issue hoarding is, there were always people wanting to talk to after the show. Hoarding UK came and ran post show discussions and were really helpful.

I know that when there is stress or anxiety in my life, hoarding behaviours can rear their head, and I know it's something I will need to keep working on. I am starting the South West Coast in May and will walk the entirety of the 630 miles on my own. I want to use the walk as an opportunity to talk about charities that are dear to me, if you can afford to give anything, or share with anyone who might, I'd really appreciate that.

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