An Introduction

This is not a pretty blog.  This is a real life, messy, gritty bits blog.  It is about my life, struggling with mental illness.

It is the bits I don’t want to publish on my regular blog.  It isn’t that my other blog is an assumed persona, or that this one is.  My other one is my best side, the side I use to try and see the best in life, to try to inspire others to be the best they can be;  to try and remember to do so myself.

This blog is the rest – the things I only share with a few of my friends, usually, the bits I need to write about so that I can get them out of me…  it is about living with mental illness.

So a little about me.

I am a Mum of three littles (currently 1, 3 and 6, but they will continue to get older) and I live in urban Australia.

I was first diagnosed with depression in 1992.  It was diagnosed as SAD (seasonal affective disorder) as I was living in Canada at the time, but it was not treated.  I started treatment in 1993 for depression and anorexia.  I have suffered depression ever since.  I have also been treated for panic, anxiety, depression with psychosis and pre- and post- natal depression.

My current diagnosis is Depression and GAD (Generalised Anxiety Disorder).  Personally, I think this is a lot closer to the mark than some of my other diagnoses! I also suspect PMDD (Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder) and the verdict is still out on OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) – although what is causing what in this little bundle is all still being examined.

I am a Christian.