Interview 10
Age at interview: 30
Age at diagnosis: 26
Brief Outline:
Helpful approaches include counselling (which has helped him to address past abuse as well as being gay) removed himself from a bullying workplace; settling debts, swimming and moving away from London.
Background:
Works part time in the tourism industry, living in a coastal town. Suffered depression and anxiety at a time when he was in a highly confrontational customer relations job.
More about me...
Says that swimming, with its repetitive movement and breathing, is his main form of stress relief...
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Says that swimming, with its repetitive movement and breathing, is his main form of stress relief...
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You know, you hear all these comparisons about you know, the reason people like it is because it takes them back to the womb etc. I've heard that being used before, especially the feeling of being under water. I know the sound is all muffled and its just you know, its.... releases the endorphins, obviously the good, the feel good hormones etc. And after I found I now use it, it's my main tool for stress relief, I can often go in feeling terrible and come out feeling fine. Which was very, very common during depression and I'd go to the swimming pool and I'd go in, in the foulest of moods, and I'd come out feeling light, happy, relaxed.
And it's absolutely brilliant. I've even sometimes used it to take out aggression, so if I'm feeling very, very angry then that just reflects in the speed in which I swim. And you know, if I'm, if I'm feeling really bad, then I'll swim very fast and I'll do.... so instead of doing 20 lengths, I'll do 30, and until I feel that, that actually feel that weight lifted off.
When depressed he thought that his friends and family didn't like him, but therapy helped him to...
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When depressed he thought that his friends and family didn't like him, but therapy helped him to...
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Counselling revealed that his family did not talk about emotions easily, so he talked to his...
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Counselling revealed that his family did not talk about emotions easily, so he talked to his...
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Found it hard to accept that depression was a legitimate reason to be off work, felt guilty and...
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Found it hard to accept that depression was a legitimate reason to be off work, felt guilty and...
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And they just basically advised me just to relax, try just not to think about work, not to feel any pressure about going back to work. My GP said, "You know, you're under no obligation to go back to work, the most important thing is your health, that you relax"'. There was a lot of guilt there, there was a lot of pressure thinking no, I should be at work. You know, just because I had this bad day, I should be at work, I'm expected to be at work. You know, everyone is probably at work saying, "Why isn't he here, he hasn't got a broken leg, you know, ok he just had a really bad day, but you know he should be here, we all have bad days!'
Dissatisfied with his GP, he wrote to his local Primary Care Trust to get a new GP at a new...
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Dissatisfied with his GP, he wrote to his local Primary Care Trust to get a new GP at a new...
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I went in complaining, for instance, of really, really bad headaches. It was always on one side of the head and I had convinced myself I'd got a tumour. But it was just the way he... He might have been thinking, "Oh, you're a hypochondriac, you're worried about nothing," but he actually went through and he explained everything. He said, "I'm going to do this test, and this test and this is why I am doing this test" and he said, "It's unlikely but...". And then he checked and said, "No, you have no symptoms of it, so it's probably just stress", you know. There was another skin condition I had that he explained what it was. He even gave me a printout of what it was, what causes it, "This is the medication I'm giving you, that's why it works, that's how it works, and that's what's going to happen after the treatment is finished". And he said to me that, "Whenever you feel that, you know, your headaches are coming back or are too persistent, then don't hesitate to come back and see me, and... similarly, if the depression ever relapses, come back here' we can refer you to the on-site counsellor".