As a leader working for a successful facilities company and, having had a great deal of personal experience with my own mental health, I feel strongly about how I can help to get the conversation going, and raise awareness about mental health with my friends and work colleagues alike.
I have social anxiety & generalised anxiety disorder (and probably OCD, but this hasn’t been diagnosed) which can, during long period of stress, bring on depression.
When we struggle with mental health, there often seem to be more darker days than bright. The days we feel alone and need that bit more support. If the support is not there, it becomes all the more cruel. We feel more alone than ever. The ones we expect to support us the most, those closest to us can be the most stigmatising and it becomes harder to see a positive side to life. But with time things can, and do, change.
Depression and anxiety is a part of my life. I recognise now that it has been for the majority of my life. But it took a long time for me to realise and accept this. I didn't want to be "ill". The stigma surrounding mental illness was built within me, passed down through generations of people "pulling themselves together".
