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Firstly, I want to say I’m so sorry that you are experiencing this. Whilst depression is common and there are a lot of treatment options, it is a hard thing to be receiving a diagnosis.
Secondly, I was diagnosed with a severe anxiety disorder about 9 years ago. It was staggeringly awful at the time; at one point I couldn’t physically cope with getting the train to the office, I had continuous severe breathing difficulties etc. I had so little hope I felt I’d probably just cease to exist by the next day. I also had allergy issues with medication, leaving me with extremely limited treatment options!
And yet…not only did I recover back to my ‘okay’ (5 solid months of weekly therapy), over the following few years (when I chose to return for more therapy to address root causes rather than just a crisis) my career absolutely flourished, and I credit most of that to the growth in self-knowledge, resilience, emotional intelligence and maturity that I gained from experiencing a severe mental health crisis. I am an effective leader because I can understand people’s emotions and be steady as they work through reactions. That happened literally today as a junior in my team made a small but high impact mistake, and I could stay calm and help him regroup even as I saw him struggling with the stress. I am brave with things like public speaking because I can observe physical symptoms and understand they are messengers but not dictators of a situation. That has let me be on panels, or present to large groups and grow my impact. I have learnt how to pause, to self reflect and to adjust because that is what I had to learn in order to overcome intrusive thoughts. That helped me last week when somebody unreasonable really upset me, and I knew to exit the situation, go away and recognise my part as well as theirs, and then go to their management with a balanced complaint and suggested pathway.
Yes…this sucks. You can be upset about this diagnosis. You can also decide maybe it’s not the year for chasing a promotion! But maybe, just maybe, you can turn this experience into a career superpower in a few years. You have plenty to deal with, but do not believe for a second that mental health issues will rob you of a glittering career.
Thank you for this, I really needed to read this right now ❤️
Mentor
I guess it depends on what type of depression you were diagnosed with. Not to be a downer but I was diagnosed with major depressive disorder at age 14 and I haven’t really “gotten better”. 28 now and still depressed but chugging along.
Coach
Industry. My next job out of public was alright/manageable but my current industry job is again affecting my mental health. I'd ideally like to leave this field all together but don't know what I'd pivot to.
Lexapro and therapy is what I’m doing.
Diagnosed with PTSD, general anxiety disorder , and major depressive disorder
Lexapro has been a game changer for me.,
I’d actually think it’s great that you finally have a diagnosis. Accepting you need help is often the first step and this diagnosis will make accessing help easier. Like many other responses here, I also have major depressive disorder. It gets better, you just have to figure out the right combination of tools for you - medication, therapy, TMS, journaling. It also takes a bit of trial and error to find the right meds and dosage that work for you, so stick with the process for at least a year before you decide meds are not for you. What also helped me was reminding myself that my world view was gloomier or biased because of what my brain was doing and things weren’t always as bad actually. I just needed to get better to see and feel the positives of life. It doesn’t change overnight but it does change I promise. Read about all the cognitive biases caused by depression and hopefully you can start to train your brain to react differently. Sending you healing vibes.
I'm sorry to hear you're going through this. The good news is that you have already been dealing with the symptoms. The difference is that now you have a diagnosis to research, and you and your doctor can figure out how to best care for you. Depression is manageable, and you will flourish when you determine how to best support your needs, even if it may not seem like it right now. Be gentle with yourself, you're not alone 💕