i think that one of the main differences between anxious/ depressed people and healthy people is how we view death.

Healthy people either accept it: 'When your time's up, your time's up' or are in denial about it 'It'll never happen to me', 'I'm only in my twenties, death's another 50-odd years away yet, nothing to worry about'. I used to believe that by the time I was in my 50s or 60s that cancer and aids and other killer diseases would have been cured and I could go on forever if i chose to!!

Being depressed and anxious I think about it everyday now. There have been people not that much older than me at work who have died and there always seems to be death in the news and you suddenly feel like 'Christ! I'm not guaranteed 75 years, anything could kill me at any time'.

I suppose it has been a wake up call to me because I used to let depression rule me to the point where I was paralysed with fear and I wouldn't go out and do new things. I'd sit at home watching tv all day. My diet was terrible too and I used to do drugs.

The realisation that my time is limited has sparked a sense of urgency in me. I have gone a little too far with it though and I can't sit down and relax because I feel that I'm wasting time with so much to do. It's also spurred me into facing my fears and the things that I always planned to do in later life, when I'll be more confident.

I did have a CBT therapist and she was right when she said that "the DOING comes first and then the CONFIDENCE will follow"

Ships in harbour are safe..but that's not what ships were built for.