At the time I was getting roughly £70 a fortnight. It was the first time I really felt like a number. You sign on the same day every two weeks and at the same time. It’s all done alphabetically, and this is one reason why you get your National Insurance number!

What hope did I have – a degree in performing arts made me redundant before I even found a job. That’s not completely true. There was work, I just wasn’t the best in my area to get into a dance company. Still, I did have a little work teaching dance to children and adults. It was sometimes regular work, but after my time at university I think I was about ready for a change.

I got involved in a relationship which lasted two years, maybe two and a half, and in this time I was quite productive, painting pictures (not selling any) and making good use of my time, albeit sometimes slowly.

I had an amazing night-life when at university, working in trendy clubs earning good money and making loads of friends. We all shared the same vibe and it was great fun. Days rolled into nights and nights into days. We used to travel to different parties and spend weekends away.

It’s a shame it all had to end, but it’s the natural course of life that makes us change paths and take different directions. Besides, I was supposed to be studying. But the study all got too much when in the third year I found myself short of breath and very dizzy. I couldn’t walk straight and walked into a wall, which kindly offered its support to keep me upright. I’d been working too hard, studying for a major degree in dance when I hadn’t had much experience before and found it difficult to keep up.

It would have been easy for me to drop out on several occasions, but I didn’t want to waste the time I had put in and I had come so far. This was my first panic attack. I just felt a little bit tearful. But it wasn’t until I got home a little later that day I suffered severe panic attacks with hyperventilating and anxiety.

I began to be fearful of losing my friends and family, and money was a big concern. I had persevered with this degree and I had nearly finished, but what would I get at the end of it? I felt little reward, only torment.