Nikki Lilly: Music helped me through the tough times

On Monday, 14-year-old YouTube star Nikki Lilly starred in a special episode of CBBC's My Life.

Nikki says her love of music was one of the things that really got her through a difficult time last year. She writes her own songs and says she found singing about her feelings really helped her.

Nikki has a very rare medical condition called AVM - or arteriovenous malformation.

Basically she gets lots of swelling around her face and life-threatening nose bleeds because the arteries and veins there don't behave as they should.

Last year was a tough one for her. She was rushed to hospital because of complications with the condition.

Nikki said: "One of the things that got through the tough times was music and writing songs.

"Sometimes it's quite hard for us to talk about our feelings, but when you can sing them, it's totally different.

"It really helped me to scribble down my thoughts in the form of song lyrics. It's so important to try to get your feelings out, whether that's in a diary or through music."

In the show she says when you're going through something hard, it's important to remember you are not alone and that you must never lose hope.

She regularly vlogs about make-up, music and subjects which interest her, but says she thinks it's important to show that life can sometimes be hard.

You can watch this programme in full on the iplayer