Meet Kirsten
I DON’T THINK I CAN SO I’M NOT GOING TO - BUT IT WASN’T ME SAYING THAT I COULDN’T, IT WAS MY DEPRESSION SAYING THAT I COULDN’T…
Kirsten, is 19, and has been diagnosed with depression for a while. A few months before her Skills for Life Award, she hit a particular low and ended up in hospital. She told us how previously she would let her depression get the better of her – it would prevent her from doing things.
“Before the course, I feel like I was a bit more complacent like ‘well, I don’t think I can so I’m not going to’, but it wasn’t me saying that I couldn’t, it was my depression saying that I couldn’t. It’s like my mental health was like ‘oh you’re not going to be able to do this, you’re tired, you’re angry or you don’t want to do this’ and I’d just like give in and be like ‘ok, I’m not going to do this – I can’t do it’.”
Completing physical and emotional challenges on the Award, has enabled her to come out the other side with a more positive mindset – knowing that despite her depression, she can still achieve her goals.
“I was still depressed when I was on the course and I’m still depressed when I’m at home but I still managed to climb a mountain all while having depression. Although I had points where I struggled and I wasn’t coping so well, I still did it, so it’s like although I have depression its not stopping me from doing things - I can still do things, I can push myself, I’m still not going to be in the best mindset, but I can still do it - it’s not stopping me physically from doing things.