Spotlight on "Mummyhill"

Again, as with the other "spotlight" pieces we are running, please remember how brave these members are sharing their story. They are doing it, not for glory, but in order to help others and to help break down the stigma surrounding mental health illness.

Mummyhill has been with DWD for many years and is now Assistant Admin. Without all her hard work behind the scenes it would be a total nightmare trying to keep on top of everything! Much much love and respect to another now very close friend.

I am 36 yr old mum of three. I have suffered from depression on and off since my childhood. The first bout was triggered by a series of deaths in the family the most distressing one was the loss of my Cousin in an RTA. After my second child I had sever post natal depression which led to a well meaning person putting a report in to social services which I found extremely distressing. After they had signed everything off we had a new health visitor who applied a lot of pressure and made me feel threatened this led to me coming very close to a break down. I stopped my Anti depressants when I found out I was pregnant with my 3rd child and have received a lot of counseling including some CBT work.

At my very lowest points I stop doing housework and looking after my self properly. I ignore letters and important looking post as I can't cope with anything else on top of the depression and getting the children sorted out. They have always been put to the fore front I ensure that they are well fed properly clothed etc but neglect myself instead. This has understandably led to tensions within my marriage but we have worked through most of it.

Many people find it hard to understand depression and there is still a stigma which needs to be removed. The worst thing for me is being told to pull myself together or to stop being a drama queen when I over react to a situation due to my anxiety issues. The best thing has been finding DWD with all the support there.


I tried a wide variety of anti depressants before finding the right one for me. I have had counseling and CBT therapy. The CBT has been very effective although the most important thing was learning to talk to people and ask for help. DWD and the team there have been a massive help in that area and have given my the courage to speak out.


The most important things to remember are:
1) You are not alone.
2) It is really important to eat and drink sensibly.
3) Exercise can help
4) Last but no means least talk to any one and everyone but mostly to a medical professional if they don't know there's a problem they can't help you!