I have to write this.......
Today I have received a settlement against a claim of unfair dismissal. It should be a day of celebration. What started over 4 years ago, with the decline of my mental well-being; crying into cereal, fear of the future, fear of just going to work, anxiety about losing everything, manifested itself into panic attacks, exploding head syndrome and eventually my absence from work. A year and 6 months later, (after a period of 6 months back in work) I was dismissed. The occupational health reports stated I would need more time to recover. But this was time I never had. During this period, my colleagues, friends and family could do very little, apart from ride the horrific journey into misery and depression with me. But they had their lives to live and for the most part, with the exception of lunch when my wife would come home to check on me, and the evenings, I was alone. It's impossible to put into words how desperate those days were. Exhaustion was a massive part of it, and i...