“I have suffered depression a few times in my life, most notably in my mid 20’s, but fortunately managed to pull myself out of the black hole. I am lucky that I don’t slip into the spiral on a frequent basis, but when it has happened it feels a helpless place and has made me insular and reluctant to rely on help from friends or family and the skin gets thicker. This in retrospect was a bad thing and in my mid-40s I am still not married and have no children with the belief if it’s better to worry about just me and not take anyone down with me. I have also witnessed a friend and a family member suffer a higher level of mental illness and I never knew the extent of the problems until it hit ‘crisis point’ where treatment and support was provided to great effect.
I am supporting this cause as I recognise the importance of help,support and develop research that can help diagnose and provide long lasting treatment rather than patch up jobs. Something that should be long term and can limit the emotional side effects of managing mental illness and where we can help encourage people to avoid ‘crisis point’.”