This is my personal blog about my experiences with ADHD, anxiety and depression. And before you say, “Don’t be silly, YOU don’t get depression,” as someone who I had considered a friend said to me once, well, yes, I do.
Our veterinary profession is going through a crisis of depression and suicide. I see myself as an advocate for mental health and de-stigmatising what is such a complex process. However, we also need to think long and hard about the bullying that is rife in our professional lives and find ways to call out those monsters without destroying our careers in the process.
The name “Even superwomen get the blues” came after I remembered an old friend who used to say that I was a superwoman because I did everything effortlessly – not like his wife, he said, who stayed at home and “only” brought up their four children! Ha! Little did he know!
Now, my brain is super intelligent: high IQ; excellent at passing exams; I’m a vet; I have a PhD etc etc. BUT, my secret is that I have ADHD, generalised anxiety disorder, an overdose of impostor syndrome, and I am liable to slide into reactive depression without a medical pharmacy in my bathroom and a great deal of personal support.
What has surprised me has been just how many of us have our own well-hidden mental challenges or have family, friends, or colleagues affected in the same way.
If you are interested in how I keep my lurking demons at bay, check-in on www.avetlens.com/superwomanblues.
I hope that you find these pages interesting, empowering, annoying….just never boring.
Another friend used to call me superwoman, because I had a full time job, looked after my three kids (otherwise known as sending them to day care) and was so successful. He just never saw the frantic paddling of duckling feet beneath my still calm exterior! So, although I never confessed it in those day, this is to show that
even superwomen get the blues!