Being diagnosed with severe depression and anxiety isn't really a great surprise - or a great help. I've been on the NHS waiting list for talking therapy for 3 months already, and thing decline rapidly when nothing is really improving.
Things really fell apart last week, as for the first time ever I had to actually use unpaid sick leave to stay at home and try to get better. It is a low point being ill, but it is a lot harder when that illness is taboo. If I mention it was a mental health crisis, my colleagues will think I am unstable and about to flip out, or that I am being a "dramatic woman".
I am thankful for the support I have in my partner, family, and friends. Immeasurably so. But the extra things I can try without them make me feel less like I am weighing them down. Those things are music and sketching.
Thank creation for pen, paper, and the radio.
