Mental illness can dramatically impact your ability to function. On a bad day, it is important to realise that a win may be as simple as having a shower and feeding yourself.

Writing therapy is one of the core components of my ongoing mental health plan. When I feel a build of of mental pressure - I write!

The page listens and does not judge, and therefore you can tell it anything without fear. Writing enables me to collect, organise and express my thoughts. By writing them down, I am able to detach from them and let them go.

Zachary reads a chapter of his first book: Under the Influence - Reclaiming my Childhood.

Chapter title: "Who Let The Bum In"

When I am depressed, the 'pointlessness of life' becomes overwhelming.

This episode addresses why life can feel pointless, as well as some of the ways that I overcome those feelings.

Zachary talks about his day off from life, spent in solitude meditating. No social media, communication, reading, writing or eating; just observing the mind.

"I noticed that my mind would throw up strong urges and emotions. I started to act on them before I realized that I was doing so. This led me to wonder (in normal waking life) how much do my emotions, thoughts and feelings control me? I always presumed that I lead them, but I think I am drastically wrong about that."

"I am planning on taking a day off everything to just meditate. I want to see what my mind throws up at me, and what I am often striving to avoid. I will spend a day with out technology, talking, writing, reading or eating - with the sole focus of meditating and facing the demons of my mind" 

"For me, a lot of the symptoms of anxiety are physiological: shortness of breath, headache, coldness, and clumsyness. I get trapped in rumination, often overthinking everything. This has an impact on my ability to cope in social situations as there is a lot of stimulus to take in and process.

I find myself creating multiple potential futures for each outcome and simultaneously contemplating the worst of each. This causes my mental state to be focused on the worst possible outcomes for futures that never eventuate."

Zachary reveals how he discovered his obsession with avoiding his own thoughts, the addictive pull of social media as well as how creativity can be stifled by too much external input.

"If you are always listening to other peoples words, you are always having an external person influence your thinking process ... by allowing for silence, you get to discover what you truly believe and feel about things."