It's funny as a young girl, I imagined a great life, exactly like the life of my parents.

For many years I fantasised about meeting my wonderful future husband and having children, and all around me were my family and friends super happy for me and doing all they could to ensure my happiness.

This was the image before I truly experienced any deep emotional pain and it drove me. This imaginary future had me desperate to grow up and grow up quickly.

A few years on and I hit my teens. In these years, I experienced and learnt what humiliation and embarrassment felt like. It was a time of...