Bailey Seamer had conquered more than three-quarters of a gruelling 5,000-kilometre walk up the east coast of Australia, when she checked herself into a mental health hospital.
She had trekked for 10 months to reach North Queensland, pushing through being knocked unconscious in a remote creek and nearly getting hit by a car on the side of the Bruce Highway.
But as her mornings got tearier and familiar — but nonetheless terrifying — thoughts of wanting to die crept into her mind, she knew she needed to stop and get help.
"That was a really hard decision … I flew into Sydney and I actually went into a mental health hospital for a month," the 24-year-old said.
"I felt like I was failing because I had to go back … [but] I kind of developed this mindset: 'OK, I'm losing the battle to win the war'.
"I'm going to get treatment so I can finish what I started."
After years of dealing with crippling depressive episodes that could grind her down to a catatonic state, Ms Seamer was diagnosed with bipolar disorder when she was 19.
"It was quite crushing," she said.
"I felt a lot of doors and opportunities had been closed on me in regards to whether I would be able to own my own home, have a career, even tertiary level study felt impossible at the time."
During one of her first admissions to a mental health hospital she had an epiphany that would eventually take her from one end of the country to the other on foot.
"I sort of went, 'There has to be more to life than thi...
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