Remembering that my story is not over yet.

Mental health struggles are often by passed and overlooked by so many people. When we meet someone we always ask that question 'hey how are you doing' but do we really ever want the answer...’am good’ or ‘okay’ suffices for most but I wish we probed a little more and I wish we lied less when we reply. ‘Am good’ as a reply is no longer good enough. Just probe a little more, you may just save someone’s life.

This is my friend's story and I am hoping we can help her out. Lilian is an amazing girl, so full of life, brilliant and she has so much to offer. I think we all make mistakes and we all deserve a second chance. Let us help her out as much as we can to begin this new chapter in her life.

Hi, my name is Lilian. I was recently diagnosed with depression and severe anxiety after having a mental breakdown...this is my story…

My struggle with depression began in 2015 when I was diagnosed with a severe case of PCOS. I remember it was a Saturday morning when I went to the doctor’s to get the results. For those who may not know, PCOS in most cases limits the fertility of a woman and as person who has always wanted children, it was quite the blow when the doctor said I was sub-fertile. Basically having kids was not impossible but it would be harder and will take a lot of work. Another side effect of PCOS is depression. I don’t think I recognised what I was going through and just brushed it aside. I however remember that there are days when I would be really happy for no apparent reason and on other days I did not have the energy to get out of bed at all and go to work. Being at work helped, the busy environment certainly helped to forget and push things to the back of my mind. If I am to be honest though, each day was a daze, I was just moving with the motion.

In January 2016, my employment contract came to an end and my employer did not renew it. I think this was the first blow of the year.