Here is the full transcript of Gill Hayes’ TEDx Talk on Depression, Suicide and the Power of Hope at TEDxExeter conference.
TRANSCRIPT:
The TEDx team warned me that when I was announced as a speaker, some of you would google me. If that was you, you’ll have discovered I keep a very low profile, so by way of introduction, I asked a few friends to offer a few words as to the kind of person I am. “Jill is the kind of person who lives life to the full, who believes anything’s possible, who laughs from the belly.” No one said, “the kind that suffer from depression,” no one said, “the kind to attempt suicide,” and yet, in the early hours of March 13, 2013, I got out of bed, left my sleeping family, drove to a nearby bridge and jumped. I don’t remember the fall or the impact; I remember being found, I remember a neck brace being fitted and been put into the ambulance.
As I was being taken to a hospital, two policemen would knock at my door and break the news to my husband. From there, the news would spread causing shock and disbelief. Not surprisingly, I wasn’t in great physical shape; many of the bones on the right side of my body were broken: my lung had collapsed, my pelvis shattered; neither was I in great mental shape. Thinking I’d already hit rock bottom, I now contemplated a life as a social pariah confined to a wheelchair with limited access to my kids.
So how on earth had I reached this point? It’s difficult to say when my story begins – roots into depression are complex – but let’s start with the loss of my father. His death had prompted a major reevaluation of life. It was time to make some big changes, so together with my family, we decided to up stakes and move to Devon.
We didn’t know a soul here, but we believed we’d find a better quality of life; we’d live the dream. There were a few setbacks in our new life, but nothing we thought we couldn’t handle. However, a year into our time here in Exeter, I realized that things weren’t quite right. I started waking early; things I previously enjoyed, I didn’t want to do; I was becoming withdrawn, social occasions were a real effort, my concentration levels were flagging, my thinking was becoming muddled, making simple decisions became really difficult. What was going on? A little time on the Internet suggested I was suffering from depression.
Depression? Me? How embarrassing. What did I have to be depressed about? I thought about confiding in friends, but they had real problems: a seriously-ill child, a dying friend, financial problems; I’d come to Devon to live the dream – whining to them that I was feeling a bit depressed? “Really? Pull yourself together.” I thought about going to see my GP, but I’d met a doctor at my practice socially; I didn’t want her finding out my shameful secret so I contacted the local depression service. They suggested a course of cognitive behavioral therapy, and as time progressed, my depression lifted. I could laugh and enjoy things, I could concentrate and engage with people.
It was such an enormous relief. I decided to make up for time; it was time to come back and suck the juice out of life again, I was never going back to that dark place. With gusto I threw myself into every aspect of my life. Few months later, I remember feeling a little under the weather. I just thought I was coming down with something but no, the depression returned.
This time, the descent was much more rapid, and it hit me much, much harder. I couldn’t do the simplest of things: a trip to the supermarket was overwhelming. I stopped taking my post, my emails, I had no appetite. I tried to keep up appearances, but it was hard work so I started to avoid people. I just seemed to shut down.