I must confess to having shed a few tears today – firstly because of the super kind words of my pbase friends who rose to the challenge and sent me words of encouragement and support. One of your number (you know who you are) sent me a private message with some wonderful advice, from a first-hand source. Thanks to one and all. You made me weepy this morning over my Weetabix!

I shed more tears later at work when my boss gave me these – to thank me for the work I did last week to prepare for the big O. Somehow I felt compelled to explain to her why I am such a wooss these days and now I do feel a bit exposed – for those of you who’ve been there, it’s the worry of the stigma of mental illness. It’s a difficult thing to judge – do you tell people why the person that was once a lion is now reduced to tears at the drop of a hat? By doing so you might find some sympathetic words…but equally you open yourself up to the possibility of the prejudices of those who don’t understand depression or why it’s so debilitating.

Fortunately (at least for now I think) she took my words in the spirit in which they were offered and hopefully that’ll be all! Thanks boss. She managed to make me feel a bit calmer and a bit less out of control so I am thankful for that. Tiredness, stress and massive workload don’t make good bedfellows.