I'm amazed that someone like Alastair Campbell managed to hold a very responsible and high-profile job because the thing is, you never know when it's going to come back and get you. The ultimate bogeyperson. It makes life feel very risky. I'm not a great fan of Tony Blair but when Campbell told him about his mental health issues prior to working with him, Blair said "I'm not bothered". That sounds a bit callous but I think it was a blokish way of saying "it's all right".
Of course for every Alastair Campbell there's a Virginia Woolf playing Pooh-sticks with herself in a river. But talking about it, being open, accepting the condition and having it accepted is vital. We are not defined by our illnesses. We are not victims of them either.
I've done a few posts on my blog about depression. I've lived with it most of my life, and have spent periods of time in hospital when it was at its worst. I was also a social worker in the mental health field. People I knew thought it was odd that I would choose to work with others who they thought might make me feel more depressed. I think it was beneficial to them as well as me. There's nothing quite like real empathy. I talk about mental health a lot. I'm very open about it because unless you've been there you don't really get it. And I so agree with you about stopping myself from taking on too much when I'm "up" because of disappointing people when I'm "down"...when all I want to do is stay in the safety of my bed.
ReplyDeleteOops bit of a long comment there...all I want to say really is I know how you feel...I really do xxx
I don't mind long comments. I identify quite a lot with that, having worked in a "caring" sort of job for several years. I think perhaps we are drawn to that sort of work.
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