Post by anna on Dec 16, 2013 19:54:56 GMT
Hi, I'm Anna.
It's taken me a little while to get here. I've been following since my cousin Bex took part in the BBC Three programme, Diaries of a Broken Mind, and subsequently helped to set this amazing initiative up, but I've not quite made the leap to actually join... until now! It's about time.
I thought it only polite to introduce myself before I get chatting elsewhere on the forum. I'm 34 and I live with my boyfriend and our cat, Mia, in East London.
I know I'm a lucky person. I have a lovely boyfriend, a great job, brilliant friends, a supportive (and occasionally annoying!) family, a house and a cat. I'm happy. I'm also depressed. Well, I live with depression to be more precise. Sometimes I can manage it, sometimes not. I also suffer with anxiety and have recently had it more specifically diagnosed as social anxiety. Now that it's been said, it makes perfect sense to me. I'm not sure how I didn't manage to put a name on it myself, but that's why it's good to see a professional I suppose!
I have in the past suffered quite badly with panic attacks, particularly in social situations. It's far less common for me to have panic attacks now, but over time I have gone from having a busy social life where I look forward to going out and seeing my friends to becoming quite withdrawn and shy away from social interraction, even with people I'm close to. As a result, I don't have panic attacks but my social life and friendships are suffering. I understood a long time ago that I was an anxious person but it took me a lot longer to realise that I was also depressed.
One of the kinder misconceptions about depression that I experience (we all know what the unkind ones are) is that being depressed means being sad. I know I have thought this in the past too, which is one of the reasons it took me 33 years to recognise that I'm depressed. I know that depression affects everyone differently, but for me it's not about being sad but feeling empty, numb and pointless. Sadness can be a side-effect of that I suppose which is maybe where the misunderstanding lies. The trouble with this misconception is that it leads people to thinking that you can just cheer up or not recognise that you're depressed as you might be displaying signs of happiness!
Anyway, I'm already getting on my soapbox and I'm only supposed to be introducing myself. I'm not sure that I've really done myself justice. I'm sure there are plenty of other ways to describe myself but I'll leave it at that for now. If you want to ask me anything, feel free.
Is everyone feeling ready for xmas or already sick of the sight of those Argos aliens??
It's taken me a little while to get here. I've been following since my cousin Bex took part in the BBC Three programme, Diaries of a Broken Mind, and subsequently helped to set this amazing initiative up, but I've not quite made the leap to actually join... until now! It's about time.
I thought it only polite to introduce myself before I get chatting elsewhere on the forum. I'm 34 and I live with my boyfriend and our cat, Mia, in East London.
I know I'm a lucky person. I have a lovely boyfriend, a great job, brilliant friends, a supportive (and occasionally annoying!) family, a house and a cat. I'm happy. I'm also depressed. Well, I live with depression to be more precise. Sometimes I can manage it, sometimes not. I also suffer with anxiety and have recently had it more specifically diagnosed as social anxiety. Now that it's been said, it makes perfect sense to me. I'm not sure how I didn't manage to put a name on it myself, but that's why it's good to see a professional I suppose!
I have in the past suffered quite badly with panic attacks, particularly in social situations. It's far less common for me to have panic attacks now, but over time I have gone from having a busy social life where I look forward to going out and seeing my friends to becoming quite withdrawn and shy away from social interraction, even with people I'm close to. As a result, I don't have panic attacks but my social life and friendships are suffering. I understood a long time ago that I was an anxious person but it took me a lot longer to realise that I was also depressed.
One of the kinder misconceptions about depression that I experience (we all know what the unkind ones are) is that being depressed means being sad. I know I have thought this in the past too, which is one of the reasons it took me 33 years to recognise that I'm depressed. I know that depression affects everyone differently, but for me it's not about being sad but feeling empty, numb and pointless. Sadness can be a side-effect of that I suppose which is maybe where the misunderstanding lies. The trouble with this misconception is that it leads people to thinking that you can just cheer up or not recognise that you're depressed as you might be displaying signs of happiness!
Anyway, I'm already getting on my soapbox and I'm only supposed to be introducing myself. I'm not sure that I've really done myself justice. I'm sure there are plenty of other ways to describe myself but I'll leave it at that for now. If you want to ask me anything, feel free.
Is everyone feeling ready for xmas or already sick of the sight of those Argos aliens??