Rebecca’s journey to meaningful employment has been plagued with dark thoughts and moments of desperation. But only through hitting rock bottom was she able to accept the help she knew she needed.
“I was sitting in a truck stop one day, and I was looking at the trees and working out which one could hold my weight,” says Rebecca.
She reached out to her support network at EPIC Woodridge, and began on the road to recovery.
“I felt that I could do it on my own and I was really wrong. Really, really wrong.”
Her journey involved an honest reckoning with herself about her mental health condition. Rebecca says that while her anxiety will always be a part of her life, it doesn’t need to dictate what she’s capable of.
“My anxiety is a constant argument in my own head, and it holds me back very much in my day to day,” explains Rebecca.
“But most people assume if you have got anxiety or depression or some kind of disability, you’re broken and can’t follow through the same as a ‘normal’ person.”
Rebecca says the reality is quite different from society’s perceptions, as she always gives 110% in a workplace to prove herself.
“At the end of the day I’m loyal, I’m dedicated, I want to be there, I need to be there,” says Rebecca.
“My drive, I believe, is so much greater than the average person, as I feel I’ve got so much more to prove.”
“I will go above and beyond a hundred times more than the average person, to show that I am of equal.”
Rebecca is thriving in her role as Administration Officer at Logan Hospital, and says her job has brought newfound purpose to her life.
“My job has given me my freedom, my independence, my confidence, my ability to be the mother I need to be to my child,” says Rebecca.
“It’s given me the ability to be the person I know that I am, and the confidence to move forward into my own future.”
To those struggling through mental health conditions, Rebecca reiterates that they are not alone and urges them to reach out for help.
“Don’t give up. Find someone to be your backbone and your support. Somebody will listen,” says Rebecca.
“Go into the woods and scream, get out that demon that is living in you at that moment. Because although I have been where I did not see any light, and there was no light at that time at all, there is always a light.”
