I’ve had the most amazing reaction to my Instagram / blog post about my recent battle with depression. People have been incredibly kind and loving. A few have mentioned how ‘brave’ it is for me to share. But I don’t see that at all.
My whole career has been built around storytelling, and telling people how important it is to tell stories. I believe in them so strongly because of their power to create change. But that change only happens when the stories ring true.
It’s not easy to be vulnerable and talk about these things when you don’t know what the impact might be, but the stories we tell when we are brave enough are the catalysts for change. Before anything can happen people have to understand why change is needed.
I’m blessed to have a loving family, a caring and considerate employer, and the support of medical professionals who have helped me through a rough time. I have everything that many people struggling with mental health issues don’t have, which makes me feel bound to tell my own story from such a safe place.
“Be the change you want to see in the world.”
Anon1
I want to see a world where people talk freely about mental health, and their struggles, without fear of what that may mean for friendships, relationships or employment. I want people not to wait until it’s too late, but to speak up early, to seek help and to recover quickly and fully.
Sharing pretty Insta-quotes and platitudes is all well and good, but how can I expect all those things to happen if I’m not willing do the same myself?
- Often attributed to Gandhi, this quote actually has no reliable documentary evidence. Gandhi’s closest was from a 1913 publication saying, “If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. … We need not wait to see what others do.” Arleen Lorrance’s 1974 book The Love Project is closest to ‘authorship’ with “Be the change you want to see happen.” [↩]