Steph’s story

Steph is 32-year-old dancer and public governor volunteer for Southern Health Foundation Trust. This is her story:

I have struggled with my own mental health since I was around 15 years old, and have been working on my recovery since then for anorexia, emotionally unstable personality disorder (EUPD), depression, and anxiety.

I found out about the NCMH through the NHS England website and wanted to get involved as I think it is so fulfilling and humbling to help others by using my experience to make a difference. I especially hope this will lead to improvements in early intervention and treatment.

I think at the moment there is still a lot of stigma surrounding mental ill-health, which is why I want to challenge this through sharing my story.

I aspire to be the voice that I never knew I needed when I was younger. I want to offer hope to those who may not know they need it, too.

In my spare time I am a keen ballet dancer and love taking pictures of people that capture life at any given moment (which some may say can be annoying at times) but the memories to share later is always worth it!

I am also deeply passionate about helping others, and using experiences from my own life to help people who may also be struggling with similar situations themselves.

Tell us something about you that not many people know

I love tap dancing – I have found that making loud noises is quite therapeutic, and is far more socially acceptable when you’ve got tap shoes on your feet!