Photography Can Save Your Life

I cannot believe that it has been over a year since I first wrote about how photography saved my own life, and I firmly believe it can save yours too. Trigger warning: this article contains references to suicide, which some may find upsetting.

September 10th is World Suicide Prevention Day, and this is a subject that is close to my heart. Whether directly, or indirectly, suicide has been a feature in my life since I was a young child. 

Battles

When I cast my mind back to my childhood, to when I was younger than 10 years old, I remember those times when my mom was on the phone with a family member, who was threatening to end their life, constantly. I remember the crying, begging, and shouting. The stress of it all was heavy, not just for my mom but for me also. I was traumatized, as anyone would be in this situation, but always praying for the best. I looked up to this family member like a hero for years, and witnessing them go through this pain left many scars.

Thankfully, this family member is still with us and doing well, but elsewhere, 2 other members from different sides of the family have sadly lost their lives to suicide over the past 15 years. This was extremely hard for me to process mentally, especially because it was after the below experience.

Rolling back the years again to when I was 14 years old, I was walking home from school and decided to cut through a woodland that backed onto our garden. What happened next, haunts me to this day, but I found a stranger who had taken their own life at the back end of my garden. I ran home, both of my parents were at work, so I was frantically trying to ring them as well as the emergency services.

When the emergency services arrived, I had to take them back to the scene and show them where the body was, and I was struggling to hold myself together. Things were never the same again for me from this day on.

I have spent years learning to live with what I saw that day, and I still struggle with it 23 years later but I found hope and balance in the form of photography. 

Hope

It was probably around 7 years ago now since I got my first digital camera; a cheap bridge camera that I wanted to use for wildlife photography because it had a super-zoom. The quality was trash, but at the time, it did not matter. I was able to go out with the camera and explore nature, capturing images as often as I could. 

I quickly realized that when I was out with my camera, my anxiety would ease, and I built this mental focus for photography and searching for wildlife.

I continued to develop my skills in photography and quickly found myself upgrading to DSLR cameras such as the Nikon D3300, and the Nikon D500. These cameras were a huge step up in quality when compared to the bridge camera, but also the costs were adding up as I would constantly be hassling my wife to allow me to buy more lenses!

A Growing Love

Needless to say, I was hooked. My love of photography has developed over the years to shooting anything from wildlife, landscapes, northern lights, astrophotography, weddings, ballet, and much more. I became a jack of all trades with the camera because I just loved photography. 

Pushing myself in those different styles of photography helped to get me out of my comfort zone and allowed me to progress and also earn money, which usually goes back into my development, equipment, and travelling to new locations.

One thing that always remains in common from the early days and now, is that when I go with the camera to do photography, suddenly all of my problems seem to go away. I feel at one with my camera and the location I am in, and I have this sense of focus and perspective, almost a state full of mindfulness.

I challenge myself with goals and set targets to make my photography better, and every day, I am learning something new and developing new skills.

Photography certainly takes the edge off my depression. These special moments make me realize I can just forget some of the bad memories in my head and focus on creating that perfect image. 

Challenges

Of course, it is not all sunshine and rainbows. Like any photographer, I have had bad days where things do not go well. Thousands of images for the deletion pile, hours wasted at photography locations, or even forgetting gear or memory cards to shoots! It has happened to all of us. 

I can certainly admit, I get grumpy when things do not go as I planned. My wife will also testify to that, I will have a grumpy face on and go silent. I like to be somewhat of a perfectionist, and get frustrated sometimes, but as I get older that is improving. Wildlife photography has taught me patience, and that other variables such as weather are just frankly out of my control. 

I have learned, that if what I am looking for does not happen the first time, then I just keep going back until I get it right. Persistence is king! 

Photography, and my mental health, have both been a massive learning experience for me. I have learned how to use both of them hand in hand to create a strong environment where they benefit each other. 

Help

So, that is part of my story about how photography helped my mental health, and to be honest, it saved my life. I do not know where I would be without photography, because it has given me something I enjoy, and something that I can use as a great excuse to travel to different locations around the world. 

If you are struggling mentally, having a bad day, or worse, I hope you can take the time and find something you can learn to love. There are countless resources out there to help you, and opportunities are never too far away. 

Taking a walk out in nature with a camera, is an amazing tool that can really open up your mind to the endless possibilities out there. It worked for me, and I hope it can work for you, but please, talk to someone if you are struggling. 

Seek out your local mental health charities, friends, family, doctors, and more. You are valuable and loved. Photography saved my life, and it could save yours too.