“Some days I get sad.”
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
A common statement - not unusual or strange.
“There’s no good reason for it. But I just get really sad.”
A lot of people get down, a lot of people can move past this feeling, however, others just can’t. It has been described as a gut-wrenching sad, that pushes you into a dark place, completely hollow. Every thought is drenched in unwavering negativity. It is a feeling that is impossible to escape.
This is just one description of depression and Jess Gallimore has lived through it.
“I have been in and out of this dark place for years. So long now that I know the signs, when I’m about to have a panic attack and how to control myself.”
Jess is mother to three beautiful boys, the eldest William is eight, Lawson is three and Sam is one. She was first diagnosed with depression nine years ago when she was pregnant with William.
“I have been on antidepressants ever since. A year or two ago when I was pregnant with Sam, I started to get bad anxiety and panic attacks, to the point where I ended up in a mental health unit in Calvary.”
“I was so scared, I just had no idea what was happening, I felt like the only way out was to die. Part of me knew something was wrong, which is why I just had to go and see someone.”
“The kids were the turning point for me, I knew they needed their mum.
“I have a fantastic and caring husband, and wonderful friends and family.”
Coming from a small country town, Jess found it incredibly difficult to reach out. “It is such a frightening experience, like you’re sinking further and further away from everything, and there is no way out.
“I was ashamed at first, I was terrified of being judged and I also didn’t want to be a burden on anyone. I felt as though no one would really understand, and some people couldn’t but I now know that I am not alone and there is always someone there to help.”
She said it can happen to the best of us and ultimately there doesn't have to be an obvious reason. She believes that going to Calvary hospital saved her life.
“I have no doubt that if I hadn’t of gone there I wouldn't be here today, and if my friends and family weren’t here to help me I wouldn't have got through it. The nurses at the hospital kept saying to me ‘You have done the right thing and have come to the right place.”
“Everyone gets down from time to time. But depression is when you can’t get back up.”
“One of the scariest things for me was something really small, looking around the yard and seeing the kids bikes and toys and thinking, if I wasn’t here would they still be in the same place.
“I thought, honestly what could talking possibly achieve, nothing can possibly make me feel better, but I was extremely wrong. Talking makes all the difference. One of the biggest things for anyone suffering any kind of mental illness, yes it is you that has to get through it, but don’t try to do it alone.”
Jess is now studying mental health online and hopes to reach out to those in her own community that is suffering, “I want to give back what the nurses at Calvary did for me. I want to eventually give Yass a safe place to talk about these things. I think if I can do that for people my life would be complete.”
If you are experiencing any form of depression call Lifeline today on 13 11 14.