A new kid on the street

[An_Aging_Youngster]

New members are encouraged to introduce themselves, so here goes ...

Male, married (for 43 years, and to the same person), 64 years old, no kids.

Made a serious attempt at suicide at age 19, failed.

Had a bout of clinical depression at age 59, successfully treated with counseling. It gave me a technique to deal with approaching depression: controlled anger, born of a sense of injustice. That anger frequently motivates me to address the underlying issue between me and my partner, which addressing always yields benefits for both parties.

I recently supported a woman whom I have never met through her divorce. She and I know each other solely through Twitter. We now treat each other as brother and sister. She tells me that of all the people that she has ever known, I am the one that has had most impact on her life. (Good news: she is re-marrying next year.)

I discovered six months ago that I am of value to other people.

I have started looking into what it takes to be a counselor. My contributions to a relevant Facebook group seem to be being well received. I expect to be busy learning about counseling for at least the next two years. I hope to pick your brains! (And thanks in advance.)

[BballJ]

Hi An Aging Youngster,

Firstly, welcome to the forums. Great username by the way.

You have been through a lot from what I read and will have a wealth of experience and advice to offer many people so I was glad to read you are wanting to become a counsellor. We would really appreciate it if you would post back to others with your experience on these forums, we can never ever have enough help, that is entirely if you want too as well. If you just want to talk on your thread here, that is ok as well. You'll find the forums are made up of great people who are suffering or have suffered from mental health concerns. I am a long time anxiety sufferer along with depression and OCD mixed right in.

Please, post back as much as you like, I am always happy to talk.

My best for you,

Jay

[An_Aging_Youngster]

Hello Jay,

Thanks for you kind thoughts and your wonderful greeting.

I am still finding my way around these forums, as you would expect.

I have found one thread where I felt I had something to contribute, and duly pitched in. My inclination is to say nothing unless I feel that I have something to add to what is already there.

I have never thought of myself as being particularly prone to mental ill health, and looking at other people's stories here lends weight to that view. In that sense, I would not expect to be able to offer anything like as much as I have seen others do.

I will need to marshal my thoughts before I can write a post about my own clinical depression that readers might find useful. That might take a day or three. (Yes, I do occasionally subvert language to suit my own purposes.)

In terms of my own learning journey towards being a counselor, I have found a great wealth of ideas, information and personal stories in these forums, so I will be that much better prepared when it comes to starting a formal course. I find that people's management strategies for their own conditions are particularly informing for me. Following the example set by others, I will need to develop my own approach to saying "thank you" to people who contribute to that process.

And thank you for sharing what be termed your own unfortunate cocktail of conditions. I have no idea how I would cope under your circumstances.

Best regards,

AAY

[BballJ]

Hi An Aging Youngster,

These forums are purely for support, your post may just be reaching out to someone who just wants to talk about general stuff but you just take your time and when you feel comfortable, you will add in what you want to add, there is really no right or wrong answer.

You will fit in perfectly here.

My best,

Jay

[An_Aging_Youngster]

Hello Jay,

Thank you for your wonderful words of support - I really appreciate that.

AAY