75 - Faye Kilgour - how my career change and subsequent anxiety led me to study psychology

​Firstly I would like to say that I think Faye is very brave reaching out to share her story. I know she will not be the only one feeling like this and I can honestly say that I have also felt very similar on occasions.

Sometimes the slippery slope of anxiety and depression can creep up on you so unexpectedly. 

It can be even harder to accept when you embody what most people would consider a privileged position, with ‘everything’ going for you. It makes it twice as hard to reconcile why you should be feeling down, which then makes you feel even more down, you start accusing yourself of being a bad person etc and so the vicious cycle continues.
 
My granny used to say, ‘everyone has their cross to bear,’ which meant everyone has their own struggles, some of which we are not even aware of. Who are we to judge? How can we really ever know what battles are raging on inside someone’s mind and soul?

I feel it’s important to add here that the idea behind the BeGlad Movement is to create a space where someone going through a tough time can come and hopefully find a similar story to their own current situation and see an example of light at the end of the tunnel, so they too can search for their own light at the end of their tunnel. The glad game is about searching for any small positives in a sea of black that you can hold on to and hopefully enjoy in the moment, about wondering what this adversity could mean for you in the long run in a positive way, how you could use your experiences to help others etc.  It’s certainly not about saying ‘look what this person has lived through, therefore you’re not entitled to feel bad. We must be kind to each other, we must support each other, we should always aim to lift each other up, when the tide rises it can lift all the boats. Kindness is what we need, kindness for ourselves and others.
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Thankfully Faye has been able to get on top of her anxiety for now and it has led her to embarking on a psychology degree. I wish her all the very best in her endeavours, I love that she is mostly interested in how to help people build their mental resilience so they are better equipped for the future.  

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The BeGlad Movement is aiming to collect 100 stories of good coming out of bad and reasons to be glad by the end of 2018 to help support each other with our experiences and to raise money for the Samaritans and Action for Happiness. If you would like to donate it would be so greatly appreciated. Thank you!

https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/beglad