Life was like a party…until it wasn’t

I’ve always dislikes winter but last year was the absolute worst.  While usually I’m just cold, cranky and unsociable, I was also suddenly without work. I’d been made redundant from a job I adored and had given everything up for. While I was given an respectable redundancy package, I didn’t do the whole ‘holiday and contemplate life’ thing, like my colleagues who also lost their jobs said they’d do.

I went straight to bed and stayed there for the better part of three months. During this time, it really hit the fan. My girlfriend left, my cat ran away ( couldn’t blame him, really) and I developed repetitive strain injury from lying on my back looking at my phone all day. I was jobless, loveless and catless. I knew I needed help but taking the steps to find a local psychologist in Mornington was beyond me at the time.

A good friend ignored the fact I’d ignored him for a whole month, and appeared on my doorstep in the middle of the night. Or 10:30 am, depending on whether you, like me, had little to no concept of time anymore.

“Jack, I’m worried. what is going on with you?” Mick stared at me open mouthed. ‘It stinks like a bat roost in here. And you look as bad as it smells. Dude, talk to me.’

I told him everything. He made an appointment for me with a local GP. It was a big relief being introduced to a qualified psychologist. Mornington Peninsula has many professionals in the field that are at the top of their game. I’ve realised after a few months of working on myself, what really matters. I used to think I hated winter, but it shouldn’t have surprised me that  I hate feeling boxed in much more. I talked to my psychologist about my past as a serious marathon runner, and he encouraged me to buy a new pair of shoes before my entire redundancy package disappeared on those supermarket mudcakes I’d been loving on so hard.

The morning I pulled them on, and went for my first run in almost six years, it was like a light switched on. It was the middle of winter and not only was I not underneath a blanket, I was back on the track again. Literally.