Many years ago life was bubbling along fine, I had 4 houses and 3 units, I had gotten over my divorce and I had changed direction from the previous job I had and was moving forward. Then something happened, Depression!

I started to feel fatigued, I didn’t exercise much so I started to put on weight. I was not feeling happy about putting on weight so I started to eat more. I know it makes no sense but that’s what I did. Without really noticing it, I went from a happy outgoing person to a more reclusive person. Looking back, the amount of sleep I needed kept increasing. So I started to feel like I didn’t want to do as much work as I had before. By doing less work I had less income.

I still had mortgages on the property so I had to make the repayments. I was renting because I wanted to keep the houses rented out to cover the mortgages. I downscaled my apartment to reduce the cost. The problem was that I was slipping into depression and I didn’t know it. Everyday I slept more. Things that I would have done in a few minutes I started taking days to get done. I put things off and I started to feel like I needed even more sleep. I went to bed at 10pm and I was still tired at 10-11 the next day. As each day passed basic tasks started to feel overwhelming.

I started to not open the mail because I knew what was in it. I had a financial background but this overwhelming feeling like a dark cloud affected my life more and more. My mother would come over and clean up because I couldn’t even maintain my property. I started on a spiritual journey trying to figure out what was going on and learned many things, yet the financial realities started to mount. Bad credit seemed imminent. Winston Churchill used to call his depression the “black dog” and I have to agree with that term. People who haven’t suffered with it just don’t understand why people can’t just do this or that and fix their problems. When all of this happened, there had been no education campaigns about depression. There was no Oprah or Dr Phil. I kept chastising myself for not getting things done. I was in a downward spiral and I didn’t know why.

One of the things that I wished I had realised now more than then, was that there was help for it. There are 2 problems that need to be fixed. 1 You need to acknowledge that you are depressed and get some help. If you recover your health then the rest of your life will be easier to fix. See a GOOD doctor. 2 The wolves are at the door and you need financial help.

Firstly your health. You need some professional help. 1 Get a doctor who does a series of blood tests to test all vitamin levels, hormone levels, blood sugar levels etc. I know have a very thorough doctor who before he treats you for the first time, sends you off for blood tests so that he knows what problems you may have. He then treats you properly from day one instead of guessing. He uses mainly non drug remedies so you don’t end up on a depression drug for the rest of your life. You may need some counselling services as your depression may be related to a life event. Secondly, you have the pressing financial problems caused by your depression and usually inaction related to not coping with life. The best thing you should do is to ring up a financial counsellor. They are free here. They may be attached to lifeline or other charitable organisations. Or if your financial affairs have not become critical, then you can use your local accountant. Be honest with them. Tell them you are suffering depression and that even minor things seem overwhelming to you at the moment. Sit down and agree on a plan of action that reduces your stress levels and provides a way forward . Tell him or her that you need to cede some tasks to bookkeepers until you are better.

If that means them visting once per week and paying your bills to ensure things get done, then you need to do that as soon as possible. Make sure you meet with your financial people regularly and if you feel you can’t do that consider a supportive brother or sister and tell them you are not coping and can they visit you and help you until you are better. Your own circumstances will dictate your course of action. In summary, if you feel like some of the symptoms you are experiencing sound familiar in this article, get help immediately with qualified health and financial counsellors. Ring a brother or sister or mother and tell them what is happening or a counsellor. Tell them you need some support and more importantly, let them help you. If you have bad credit and need a loan to consolidate your debt it can be retrieved as long as you don't leave it too long.

Return to Index