A Barrie woman has taken a brave, public step in an effort to erase the stigma surrounding mental illness.

Emily Aube has suffered from mental health issues her entire life. Her panic attacks started as age three and by twelve she was diagnosed with a panic disorder and severe anxiety which led to depression and suicidal thoughts.

“The hardest thing is the stigma, so no one really knows what you’re going through unless they have also been through it.”

It was challenging for both Emily and her family.

“It was difficult to see my child suffer and not knowing what to do about it, not knowing to help, I felt powerless many times,” said Emily’s mother Julie Corbeil.

But life took a drastic turn in 2012 when Emily became aware of Bell’s Let’s Talk campaign; a day that encourages Canadians to tweet, text and talk about mental health.

“I went on the website and saw Clara’s story and I saw how everybody came together and there were other people suffering like me.”

Emily says Bell’s Let’s Talk campaign offered her an opportunity to share her story. She began Tweeting and blogging. Talking about her anxiety was the first step to recovery and people were reading it.

“The feedback really inspired me to keep going because people were resonating with my story, they wanted to know more about my story, and they talked to me about their story because I had told them mine.”

The blog then turned into a website, www.anxietyfreecommunity.com, a space for others to share their stories and offer help. In 2014, she published a book called ‘Love before Fear’ – her story of survival.

“Love before Fear is a choice that we make every day. So are we going to choose love or recovery or are we going to choose fear or destruction.”

It’s been two years since being inspired by Let’s Talk spokeswoman Clara Hughes and her life has changed remarkably.

“I’m extremely proud, I get emotional for sure, we’ve come a long way but we made it," adds Emily's mom.

Emily is in university and plans to be a psychologist. She wants to offer support for people so they don’t have to suffer in silence.

“Asking and declaring that you need help is not a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of immense strength.”

Get more information about Bell Let's Talk Day here.