I’m Jellis Vaes. I’m a therapist, Clinical Psychology student and founder of Inner Path Seekers. 

I created Inner Path Seekers because of my own personal mental health journey. This is the story behind the platform. 

All of us will face obstacles and serious challenges throughout our lives.

I’m no different. 

This became clear to me at the tender age of four, when I lost my dad. But of course, it didn’t end there. At the age of six I was diagnosed with ACM, a life-threatening progressive heart disease. 

Despite this, I had a lovely childhood. 

But that all changed during secondary school. I completely lost my way. Who was I? What did I want? I no longer had any clue. I became chronically depressed. My depression combined with suicidal ideation and even concrete plans to end my own life, marked six long, lonely years of my young life. 

I survived, but not without the emotional scars to prove it. 

So how did I do that? 

When I turned 18, I realised that if I didn’t change my situation, my life might as well be over. 

So, in the Summer of 2011 I grabbed my chance. I told my mom about a volunteering project in South-Africa. That’s where I wanted to go. That’s what I wanted to do. It felt good to finally feel excited about something again. And my mom supported me. 

Her unwavering support helped me start on this journey back to myself. The moment I packed my bags and left the only home I’d ever known, was when my journey truly began. The journey in which I finally took control over my own life. The journey to save myself. 

What started as a plan to travel to South-Africa for two months, quickly escalated into a three-year trip around the world on which I took the time to heal and discover who I was. I travelled to countless countries and saw for myself how beautiful Planet Earth is and how many beautiful souls populate it. And in the meantime I learned to see the beauty within myself. 

Travel, this world and everyone I met along the way, shaped me into the person I am today. After those three years I returned home, a completely different person from the one who left. I was healed. I was happy.

As a young teen, my mental health had started to suffer for many reasons, among which the lack of emotional education – lack of knowledge about myself, my emotions and thoughts – and the lack of support from others.

After all, our individualist society is not good at teaching us how to take good care of each other’s mental health. 

I want to change that. That’s how Inner Path Seekers was born: a support platform for mental health. 

My podcast with guests who are actively working on their personal growth and wellbeing, and experts like psychologists, psychiatrists and relationship therapists is chock-full of advice and information. I also organise monthly meet-ups so like-minded people can check in with each other and myriad topics can be discussed in a safe space. Once in a while, we can also meet in real life, during differently themed events. This is how I hope to support you on your path towards better mental health and personal development. 

Thank you for visiting Inner Path Seekers. I hope you feel at home here. I’d love to welcome you as a listener of the podcast, or at an online meet-up or live event very soon. 

– Jellis