did ya miss me?
Yeah I've been away for a while, don't take it personally. I've been hiding from a lot of people

It's been quite a year actually. last summer I finally had to come to terms with the fact that I needed some help.

I'd been suffering from what has now been diagnosed as Major Depressive Disorder for longer than I cared to admit. It got particularly bad around June last year and ended up with work very politely telling me to go away and come back when I was better.

Eventually I had to take about 7 weeks off work before I got myself to a state where I could function again.

I did the whole caboodle for depression treatment, Therapy, CBT, medication, exercise (actually ran a 5k , there are photos to prove it and everything!)

Now I'm mostly fixed, still on medication and probably likely to be for the foreseeable future.

Anyways I'm posting this because I've never been one to shy away from issues.

I'm trying to do my bit to end the stigma attached to mental illness. I was brutally honest with my coworkers as to what was happening, we now refer to the time I had off as my "crazy leave". I tell them that I'm still taking my "crazy pills"

so visit this website Bell Let’s Talk

I have to support m name sakes after all

Oh and I'd be very worried people, because in their infinite wisdom Transport Canada have decided that I'm still fit to fly a plane

Z

Sympathetic as I am to your circumstances and to the cause of improving mental health generally, you're off your head if you think I'm going to give any money to that bunch of shits at Bell Canada. They could take 10% of my phone charges and use that to keep half the Province in "crazy pills".

Hello - welcome back to the other mad part of your life - BE!

Aren't the statistics something like one in four people will deal with mental health issues in their life? That's huge and it's sad it is still carries some stigmas with it.

I'm glad you have found a way through it Zoe - and I'm sure there is more work to come. But acknowledging there is an issue and then being willing to tackle it (probably the hardest part) is the first major step.

We're living it with it right now in our house. My 18 year old has withdrawn from school, six months prior to graduation. It's been bloody awful to be honest - for her of course, but to live with and support it too is hard work. She has a plan of action though and we're all slowly working with and around her. There were four teen suicides in our small town last summer - all 18 or 19. It was no contest when it came to health versus grades!

Sending some BE hugs your way .

Bloody Hell, Zoe. Well done for facing the turmoil and confronting your demons, and huge kudos to you for sharing your story. Having tried to support a family member through a similar diagnosis a while ago, I can at least begin to imagine what a huge and brave step is must have been to acknowledge your "craziness" in public. Oddly, the "crazy pills" were described exactly as such by my family member, too.

I'm so glad TC have allowed you to continue flying. Apart from just being a cool thing to do, anything that brings you joy is a worthwhile part of ongoing therapy (that's a thought: can you claim for costs through OHIP?) so get out there and do it! Congrats too on the 5K. We'll have to catch up in the summer - if only because I think I'm on a promise for a blast in the little car... that'll add to the therapeutic workload

Good to have you back on the forum ZoeBell,sorry to hear what a tough time you have been having. So glad you have managed to get some help and are working through your difficulties. It sounds like you have come a very long way in the last year. Good luck and keep reaching out to friends.

Welcome back and glad you're doing better.

It's an opportunity to suck some money out of Bell for a good cause once a year. I've tried explaining that on here in the past with little success.

Hat tip for identifying and addressing the problem, and coming out to help others.

If only me ex-w was so smart, there'd be two happier children and one mighty less stressed me around.

Welcome back Zoe

Hey Zoe, welcome back. You were most definitely missed. In case you didn't see the thread there is a meetup planned for March 11th, usual place, usual suspects. If you fancy it, would be great to see you.

Hey Zoe. Thanks for updating and glad that you are now coping better. Speaking of the Dark Side, SW7, The Force Awakens...you like?

Nice to have you back. Glad you are getting things sorted out. From your post you seem to be your old self!

It affects us all in some way or another, just some don't face up to it.

Good on you.

Thanks all. It was rough , but probably more for Ben and people around me than myself sometimes.
I'm getting there, still not great in huge social groups at the moment , so I'll see how I'm doing in March before deciding if I attend or not. One of my biggest symptoms was completely isolating myself from friends and co workers. That and developing a truly awesome array of OCD rituals.

Love the idea of charging flying to OHIP
although i do have to say that Transport Canada have been pretty damn awesome during this and completely reasonable in their demands and amazingly quick in reinstating my medical.

too damn quick in fact. I'd taken advantage of the forced grounding to get LASIK ( which grounds you for a month anyways) the irony being that I got my medical clearance on the day I had the LASIK

Oakvillian, I'm so going to take you up on the car ride

Opps forgot me manners- welcome back. We did miss you!

What does South Ken have to do with a star wars movie???

was better than I was expecting , went to movies twice to see it and didn't kill anyone for irritating me ,
so either the movie was good or the crazy pills are working or both!