My Life as a Side Effect

(Paperback)

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Depression is not a passive activity, it's exhausting. It's a pervasive and relentless despair, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The World Health Organisation forecasts that by 2020 depression will be the second largest illness after heart disease. It is estimated that 10% of the Australian population will suffer a mental illness at some time in their lives. My Life As A Side Effect aims to define depression, overthrow stereotypes, and demistify and destigmatise it. Depression is an ongoing illness that requires understanding and treatment in the same way that diabetes does. Mental illness shouldn't be a valid excuse for anything and everything, but it can be unpredictable and debilitating and therefore knowledge and awareness will make the world a happier and easier place for all involved. Many people and their friends, family and colleagues don't know where or how to get help. This book will point them in the right direction and bring them understanding. My Life As A Side Effectis a loose diary of Milissa's depression and the journey to conquering / managing it, through drugs (prescribed and social), therapy, self-harm, relationship breakdowns, paranoia, anx

Author Bio

Milissa Deitz is a Sydney author and journalist who has taught media studies and journalism at The University of Newcastle and Macquarie University. Her work has been published in various magazines and newspapers, and her novel BLOODLUST was published by Random House in 1999.