NoMeNoTrees

The Mental Health Campaign Born from a Bare Tree

24 February 1997: The Day Everything Changed

My father died suddenly of a heart attack. The weather was cold, wet, and bleak - matching the darkness I felt inside.

I saw a bare tree in the distance and stared at it for fifteen minutes. In that moment, I saw my dad standing there.

PTSD, anxiety, and severe depression followed. The tree became a symbol of my grief - bare, vulnerable, stripped of life.

1999: The Tree That Changed Everything

Two years after losing my dad, I returned to the same place.

This time, I didn't see him. I saw myself.

Bare. Vulnerable. Still standing.

The tree was still there. Damaged by storms, stripped by winter, but rooted. Alive. Waiting for spring.

That's when I understood: You are a living tree.

No matter how bare the branches, no matter how harsh the storm, the tree still stands. And when spring comes, it blooms again.

The Birth of NoMeNoTrees

Years later, I met Dean Cole, who understood the power of the tree metaphor from his own mental health journey.

Together, we created NoMeNoTrees - a mental health campaign built on the truth that recovery is possible.

The Logo: Half Bare, Half Full

The NoMeNoTrees logo shows a tree that is:

• Half bare - representing depression, darkness, winter, the struggle, living SAD
• Half full - representing hope, light, spring, recovery, blooming again

It's the visual representation of the journey from darkness to light, from despair to hope, from winter to spring.

The tree can bloom again. So can you.

What NoMeNoTrees Stands For

NoMeNoTrees means:

• No Me - Without me (in the depths of depression, you feel like you've disappeared)
• No Trees - Without life, without growth, bare and stripped

But the campaign is about the opposite - finding yourself again, blooming again, standing tall again.

It's about recognizing that even when you feel bare and broken, even when you're living SAD every day, you are still rooted. You are still alive. You can still bloom.

The Mission

NoMeNoTrees supports mental health charities and raises awareness that:

• Recovery is possible
• You are not alone
• Depression is not permanent
• Spring always follows winter
• The tree can bloom again

Through products, campaigns, and partnerships under the SupportUKtoday umbrella, NoMeNoTrees helps fund mental health support services across the UK.

The Tree Analogy

"You are a living tree. No matter how bare the branches, no matter how harsh the storm, you are still standing. And when spring comes, you will bloom again."

This isn't just a metaphor. It's a truth I lived.

From the bare tree I saw in 1997 when my father died, to the years of living SAD (Stressed, Anxious, Depressed), to the tree I saw in 1999 when I realized I was still standing, to the NoMeNoTrees campaign that now helps others - the tree has been my guide.

It taught me that survival is possible. That rebuilding is possible. That blooming again is possible.

Why It Matters

Mental health challenges can make you feel:

• Bare and exposed
• Stripped of joy
• Broken by storms
• Alone in the cold
• Like you'll never bloom again
• SAD every single day

But the tree teaches us differently.

Even in winter, the tree is alive. Its roots run deep. It's gathering strength. And when spring comes, it blooms more beautifully than before.

The tree still stands. So can you.

How You Can Help

Every purchase from the NoMeNoTrees collection supports UK mental health charities.

30% of every purchase goes directly to mental health support.

By choosing NoMeNoTrees products, you're helping fund:

• Crisis support services
• Mental health awareness campaigns
• Recovery programs
• Community support networks

Shop NoMeNoTrees Collection

The Message

No matter how bare the branches.
No matter how harsh the storm.
No matter how many times you're knocked down.
No matter how SAD you feel.

The tree still stands. So can you.

#NoMeNoTrees
#SupportUKtoday
#change365lives