For many years I prided myself on avoiding the big "D". Oh...I wasn`t going to go there...Depression wasn`t going to get ME!!!
I was always smiiling,laughing my way through mishaps that are a daily part of a PD`S life.I was reknowned in my local shops as the KID WITH THE BIG GRIN...despite my illness.
"A breath of fresh air"..they used to say..
Well HA BLOODY HA.
One day,out of the blue...this so called "breath of fresh air" was snuffed out and replaced by panic attacks and the heaviest blanket of fog imaginable.

Ask any one of the "veterans" here [not in age but in terms of longevity on this site..well braintalk 1.]
They saw me through the most dismal part of my lfe and HEY...got me through it.
Yes..I had drugs...I begged for them...anything to get me back up there again.And therapy...lots of it.
But you know what...no dependancy,no stigma,no bitter aftertaste.That was about 18 months ago.It lasted but a few months..seemed like years,but what I am driving at here is...if its going to strike it will strike...clinical or emotional.You ain`t ever prepared,you ain`t ready for it.
All I will say is take all the help you can get and KNOW you come through it.
My faith helped a good deal...but still doesn`t shield you from the sense of loss and confusion.
Personally,I don`t think we PD`S are any more prone to anyone else.Life`s a struggle for many...and todays stresses see more and more younger folk getting counselling and they haven`t all got PD have they?
But what do I know.Since then, I don`t take life so seriously.Some PD expert once told me that in twins...it is likely to be the perfectionist who gets PD.Well guess what? Yep I`m a twin,a perfectionist and used to be obsessional.My sister..laid back,takes life with a pich of salt, worries very little.
Could all this have something to do with how we individuallly handle life`s episodes. Just a thought....