Over the past six months, a lot of people have heard me whine talk about how I’m struggling, and I’m honestly grateful for that. Reactions have been very mixed, which is interesting, but all have been supportive, which means a hell of a lot. People have directed me to personal blogs and websites about depression, they’ve offered advice, a shoulder, and they’ve just listened. One or two have said, ‘I want to help, but I don’t know what to say or do’. Mostly it’s helpful just to have someone listen.

The most unexpected times have been when I’ve been opening up to a friend and they’ve come back with, ‘I understand what you’re going through’, which is then followed by their own story…some of which have been a lot worse than mine. I don’t know why this is so surprising, since so many people struggle with depression/anxiety (especially intelligent people, and I’m surrounded by a lot of those). But it does make me think about it’s a topic that people, particularly men, shy away from bringing up. There’s a hell of a lot of struggling going on that never really gets mentioned, which reinforces my belief that I’m doing the right thing by writing about my own experiences here.

Anyway, I just want to thank everyone who has commented, tweeted, messaged, visited, emailed, and just generally put up with this stuff. I would love this blog (and my life) to be all unicorns, rainbows and jQuery, but I need to accept that it’s not going to be like that 24/7. I have been told that I need to like myself more, which is probably true. It just feels kind of arrogant, but I do need to be nicer to myself and stop giving myself such a hard time.

I also want you to know that I’m here for you. I know people are reluctant to say anything negative around me or complain about their own problems, but it’s honestly fine. I can deal with everything else in the universe except my own shit (and I’m pretty sure that’s true for most people). If you need anything, you know where to find me, and I’ll be as supportive as humanly possible.