Steve

Steve has had experienced bouts of depression since he was a teenager. He attended a military boarding school and found life difficult when his sexuality was called into question. Friends speculated that he was gay, and he was bullied and taunted. As an amiable and social young man Steve started using alcohol and recreational drugs in social situations to boost his confidence which helped him to cover up his real feelings. As an adult Steve has worked in hospitality - running bars and cafes and living a very socially orientated life and he used alcohol to avoid thinking about his problems.
 
‘It’s a highly stressful job…. You’re doing 12 hour days…. Shifts…. So it’s the perfect job for people who don’t want to deal with their own problems or their own health because you get a lot out of it…. But you go home and everyone has a bottle of wine after they’ve done a 12 hour shift…..’
 
More recently Steve started to think about how his behavior had begun to have an impact on other people around him and he felt he needed to sort out his life. He moved back to live with his parents and for a while tried to cut out drinking alcohol and smoking cannabis. After a time though, he drifted back to using alcohol again, and recently hit a low point when a job he’d applied for fell through. A friend suggested to him that his drinking was becoming a worry and suggested he should go and see the GP. The GP prescribed citalopram. He was also referred to the community mental health team for support and is waiting to be offered counselling. At the time of the interview Steve had been taking citalopram for a few months said he was starting to feel more able to cope. He feels that antidepressants don’t solve people’s problems, but they can help by making it easier to think more positively. He was disappointed to find that there was a long waiting list for referral for talking therapy, as he pointed out ‘I think 18 weeks is a ridiculous time to wait, when you realise that someone has a problem, regardless of how big…… that’s annoying…….it can feel a bit like you’ve been ‘diagnosed and then left’.
 
Steve is feeling in a more positive mindset at the current time and is keen to capitalise on his improved mood and make a start with therapy. He has also recently begun a new relationship, and says sometimes it can feel difficult to work out whether the improvement in his mood is down to the antidepressants or to the change in his personal circumstances.