[woppy71]

Hi Redglitter, I have been diagnosed as having moderate to severe depression, together with an anxiety disorder. I am lucky in the fact that I have very understanding people around me, namely my family and my friends and colleagues at work.

My friends and colleagues at work have been really supportive and have allways been sympathetic to my problems.

I have had some professional councelling which, allthough it hasn't 'Cured' my depression, it has certainly taught me methods which I can use to combat my illness and make me feel better. One thing It has certainly done is boost my confidence, which was severly lacking before I sought help.

It has been especially hard for me as my job involves dealing with people face to face and often involves conflict of some sort.

What I find particularly difficult is the constant swing in moods. I can be absolutely elated one moment and can sudenly have 'pangs' of sadness, for no apparent reason. I have tried meds (Fluoxetine), which did help, but I prefer to combat my condition through selfhelp and councelling. The good news is that It appears to be working.

One thing that I have found that helps is talking about it, I think people who have depression are very often afraid of how other people would act towards them or what poeple would think about them. I have been lucky in the fact that people these days seem to understand more about depresive illnesses than they did in the old days.

Best regards,

Gary