I was talking to a fellow hidden supporter over coffee recently as she recanted a tale of words she had recently used to her depression sufferer. She looked at me as if I would judge her and this is how I responded. 

“We have both read the advice on how to speak to a depression sufferer but we are both human. I have shouted, I have sworn, I have broken every rule in the book. I am not perfect. We both try our hardest and give so much, sometimes we do not react as we should.”

Being a parent has taught me a level a patience I never thought I would possess. I have never understood how it can take 5 minutes to even think about putting a pair of shoes on and as for doing up the Velcro straps, I’m sure I had laces to tie by the time I was six. This patience has been invaluable when it comes to my depression sufferer who at times could also struggle with the concept of shoes/ what to have to eat/ whether to get up. 

But some days it really does all get too much and some days when caught off guard, or left supremely disappointed again, I would vent my frustrations and know I was going against all advice. 

Did this do damage? I honestly don’t know but I do know that we are still a family and still very much in love. 

You, like me, are just doing the best that you can. Don’t be too hard on yourselves. Trust yourself.