My Face

Time to unmask…

Photo by on

Tomorrow is the two year anniversary since my diagnosis with depression. During this time, I’ve done quite a lot of writing, and tried to share these stories on a few different social media outlets. Throughout this time, I’ve either used a pseudonym — VaKnow22, or my first name, Rhys. Alongside this I’ve used the same profile picture — a poorly drawn logo of VaKnow22.

The main reason for hiding behind a profile logo, rather than my actual face is because I was afraid of admitting to who I was. What if a friend or family member saw this? What would they think? Another reason to hide my identity was because I’m painfully shy. The thought of publicising my face is frankly, terrifying.

So, why change my profile logo to a profile picture? And why now?

Well, there’s a few reasons. Firstly, all of my friends and family know about my depression, my mental health struggles and my attempted suicides. I have nothing to hide from them. Which is hugely liberating. Secondly, I want to be an advocate for mental health, and as I have gained more followers on Medium as well as on other social media websites, I feel I am now at a point where transparency is key.

I want people to not be afraid to talk about mental health. I want to listen to people share about their mental health. But to ask this of others whilst I…