I have always been an advocate for de-stigmatising mental health issues. Back in the 1950s, my Dad lost two brothers in quick succession (one to illness, the other death was 'spun' as a traffic accident but was probably suicide). My Dad ended up quite badly depressed, quite understandably being the only survivor, and so he was given ECT and cold baths to cure his depression. Guess what? It didn't work. It seems hard to understand now, but even in my memory going back to the 1970s, mental health was something you did not talk about, you did not admit to having problems with in your family.
Nowadays, we are all so much more enlightened and have a far more compassionate attitude towards mental health issues, don't we? So when I discovered that I was depressed (not in response to a death, or a car crash, or discovering that I am really the lovechild of Jeffrey Archer, no trauma involved), I expected that my health-related employer would rally round, help me get myself back together, give me the time, space and support I needed to deal with the acute problem before it became a chronic one. Boy, was I ever wrong. So now I am unemployed, as well as having a slightly fried brain (medium-rare, hold the seasoning).
Still, I am enjoying the Prozac, the extra time walking the dog, and with all the extra trips to the gym and giving up drinking, I lost two stones (30 pounds)! Now all I need to do is find a new employer that has moved on from the Bethlem Royal Hospital model of mental health management. After all, I'm not stupid or lazy, I'm only mad.
Nowadays, we are all so much more enlightened and have a far more compassionate attitude towards mental health issues, don't we? So when I discovered that I was depressed (not in response to a death, or a car crash, or discovering that I am really the lovechild of Jeffrey Archer, no trauma involved), I expected that my health-related employer would rally round, help me get myself back together, give me the time, space and support I needed to deal with the acute problem before it became a chronic one. Boy, was I ever wrong. So now I am unemployed, as well as having a slightly fried brain (medium-rare, hold the seasoning).
Still, I am enjoying the Prozac, the extra time walking the dog, and with all the extra trips to the gym and giving up drinking, I lost two stones (30 pounds)! Now all I need to do is find a new employer that has moved on from the Bethlem Royal Hospital model of mental health management. After all, I'm not stupid or lazy, I'm only mad.
"I am but mad north-north-west: when the wind is southerly I know a hawk from a handsaw." ~ Hamlet, Act II, Scene II.
"I don't mean to sound bitter, cynical or cruel; but I am, so that's how it comes out." ~ Bill Hicks.
"I don't mean to sound bitter, cynical or cruel; but I am, so that's how it comes out." ~ Bill Hicks.
