From navigating warships on peacekeeping missions to settling on a farm to start a family – from the outside it looked like Diana Somerville had it all worked out.
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But inside her head her world was falling apart.
Diana struggled to find a job after returning to Wagga, which triggered an 11-year battle with depression.
The mother-of-two was inspired to speak out after Samantha Brunskill’s brave decision revealing her battle with bipolar disorder.
Still actively managing her condition, Diana has come through the other side of her battle and decided to tell her story to raise awareness and reduce the stigma associated with mental health issues.
Although highly skilled in a number of areas, Diana was unsuccessful in landing employment after six months of trying.
“I was going through days where I would wake up bawling my eyes out and the next minute I’d be ecstatically happy,” she said.
It was when Diana had a public breakdown while with her mother that she realised she was ready to get help.
Diana received treatment and counselling, but after her second child she thought she was on top of the dark passenger.
“I relapsed after stopping my medication,” Diana said.
“I travel in from Collingullie to Wagga every morning – I had picked out three trees that I was going to drive my car into. I still drive past those trees. They are now pillars of strength to me.
“One morning I had a bad conversation with myself and I was coming up to one of those trees and thought ‘this is it’ but just drove past it and I lost it. I rang Lifeline and got help straight away.”
The director of Regional Tenders and Corporate Services said a number of factors were crucial to manage her condition.
“You can’t just have the medication, you have to have a person you can trust to talk to that is outside of your social group, as well as having a healthy support network around you,” Diana said.
Samantha Brunskill has organised a Beanies4Bipolar walk around Lake Albert on Sunday, starting at 10.30am at Apex Park to continue raising awareness for depression. The cost to participate is $20 for adults and $5 for children, which includes a beanie and a sausage sizzle.
If you need help:
Lifeline: 13 11 14
