Tomasina Purcell was just nine years old when she began worrying excessively about the inevitability that she and her loved ones would eventually die.
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These obsessive thoughts consumed her until she had no energy to care at all.
"I was just so exhausted of being so scared, so the mindset became 'I just don't care if I die'," said Miss Purcell, who is in her final year of studying nursing.
Miss Purcell also began struggling with an eating disorder where she would uncontrollably indulge in food until she felt ill and then over-exercise until the guilt subsided momentarily.
This vicious cycle, the anxiety and her overall sadness was a "recipe for chaos", she said.
"My options were either I go into a doctor and I talk to someone, or I die," she said.
She was 15 years old when she went to see a doctor and said she just sat there and cried.
She was diagnosed with anxiety and depression, but said she felt better after speaking to a professional.
She assumed her recovery would be speedy and "sky-high".
But she soon began viewing her journey as ongoing rather than secular, and that is how the past six years have been for her.
"I think often within our society there is the belief that happiness should be a given and it's not, it's a mindset," Miss Purcell said.
"You have to work for happiness. When you constantly strive to be happy, you forget to be happy in those moments. But when you strive to be grateful, happiness just follows naturally."
She had been on various medications and seen several psychologists.
Now aged 21, Miss Purcell is in her final year of nursing, soon to specialise in mental health.
Although she is in a good place right now, she stills struggles with anxiety.
Despite this, Miss Purcell has taken on the brave and inspirational challenge of visiting Canberra high schools to share her story and raise awareness of mental health, with the aim of destigmatising mental illness.
"Had I had someone quite relatable come in and speak to me at a younger age, maybe those habits could have been broken," she said.
One stereotype Miss Purcell was passionate about changing, particularly among young people, was that people suffering from depression were weak.
"I've worked in hospital with people who can't walk, who just have nothing and I think I need to be so much more grateful for what I have. But I remind myself that this is something I really struggle with and I'm allowed to admit that," she said.
Miss Purcell was also determined to change the idea of people being defined by their illnesses.
"No, 'John' is not a schizophrenic. No, John has schizophrenia, he is still a person," she said.
After speaking to the year 11 students at Merici College, one student approached Miss Purcell and told her that the presentation saved her life.
"I realised then, that this is what I'm here to do," Miss Purcell said.
"This is the purpose of my life."
Lifeline 13 11 14. For more information about anxiety and depression, go to youthbeyondblue.com.
