Gary Parr

Nobody chooses to have anxiety & depression, nobody chooses to get to the point where they feel that committing suicide is the only viable option. But that is exactly what has happened to me. But when I reached breaking point, I contacted my wife and we took action. Since then, I have been an "inpatient" in a psychiatric hospital receiving the help I need. This blog talks about my journey, our journey - the highs and the lows, the "what to expects", the honest truth about what it is like to fight for your life from the elephant in your mind, and to have my wife by my side helping me through it. I am from Northern Ireland, my wife is a Northerner (well, Derbyshire!) both now living in London - for all the good & bad that entails! We met online, we dated, we fell in love, I proposed while we were in a helicopter above Niagara Falls and we got married by Elvis in Vegas. It's been a crazy 3.5 years, but neither of us expected to be where we are now. We want to share this journey to try and break the stigma that still surrounds mental illness, to get people talking and asking all the awkward questions no-one dare ask, and to provide support to anyone going through the same kind of thing to let you know that you are not alone.