Ryan's story
I grew up in the little town of Aston in Birmingham which is a very culturally diverse community, even still today. Ever since I was young I always loved drawing. My fascination for art and design led me to university where I learned all the art disciplines from Fine Art to Graphic Design.
Now that I’m a business owner of a Design Consultancy, I admit, depression was very real in my early years at university, and later in life.
It wasn’t easy when the economic crisis in 2008 happened. Life just got very hard.
Everything looked great, until that time. A great job in Covent Garden working for a media news distribution company. It all sounds good and it was. The salary was great, but some part of me felt incomplete. Then, I remembered that awful time, when the company told the entire UK office it was closing down its UK office and redundancy packages were being prepared. My heart sank and I pretended that I wasn’t devastated but I was.
It took me over 3 years to find my feet again. And to smile and laugh again. Depression naturally started to grip me.
It was when I started taking my nutrition seriously and talking about what happened, things began to change. Life got easier and easier. Day-by-day.
Life comes with its challenges and that’s just the way it is, but without the experience of the past, it would never have shaped the life I have now. I’m able to adapt quickly, reframe my thinking before going into a negative loop, and move fast because of 2008.
I always tell myself: it’s ok, not to be okay.
That takes the weight off. We’re not robots. We’re human.
Support
If you have been upset by anything you have read or listened to, please phone the Samaritans on 116 123, text Shout on 85258 or find out more about Kingston mental health services here.
