by Dad

Created on: July 11, 2009   Last Updated: July 13, 2009

While growing up I often saw people that suffered from mental health issues. At the time I was too young to realise that these people were suffering from a mental illness I just new that something was different about these people than the general public. Know I am a grown man and I know all too well what was different about these people, as I suffer from mental health issues myself.

My childhood years were not scarred directly by any emotional events or abuse. I grew up in a loving family with both of my parents in my life and one older adopted brother. When I look back at my childhood now I see only one possible sign that there may have been something laying dormant that would eventually manifest into a problem later in life. As a child I was always very shy and afraid to do other things that other kids would do naturally. A thing as simple as playing in groups with kids I did not know was very hard for me. Until I was very comfortable with someone I would shy away and be withdrawn. As a result I would not venture into anything unless I was sure I was safe.

My teenage years were very much the same as my earlier ones. I had a circle of friends that I had made growing up and didn't stray from these friends and make new ones. I graduated high school and moved on to the workforce at a young age. Most of my friends pursued higher education at college and university and we lost touch with each other and I found myself alone in the world. I never went to my high school prom, never had a girl friend in high school and was very much turning into a loner but didn't realize it at the time.

Shortly into my working life I got a great job. The pay was very good the benefits equally as good. The one thing that was hard is I was very much still a boy and found myself in a mans world. I again found myself staying to myself even more so know as I had nothing in common with my fellow co-workers. They were mostly older married men with families and there I was just a young man starting out in life.

Shortly after this time in my life I was out one day having a coffee and I was approached by a young woman and we talked and formed a friendship. This friendship grew in the coming years and eventually a few years later we were married. Again I was still very young had not gone out of my comfort barriers but life was progressing. We eventually had two children, bought a house and life seemed to be progressing. Then one day out of the blue to me after fifteen years of what I

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