Taming My Black Dog

By David Armitage

Maybe you are ill with depression or you have a close friend or relative who suffers from this. Then reading my account of how I became seriously ill, what the effects of depression are like and how I managed to overcome the illness and live a happy and contented life.

This has not been an easy job for me to write, but I feel that if this book gives you hope to carry on then all has been worth while.

I have tried to be honest and there is no quick fix. Maybe my story can inspire you to change, or to encourage you to carry on caring for a loved one. you never know!

• Language: English
• Publisher: David Armitage
• Release date: Dec 1, 2012
• ISBN: 9781301447206

Book preview

Taming My Black Dog

David Armitage

Copyright 2012 by David Armitage

Smashwords Edition

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Taming My Black Dog

This is an account of my life; all that I’ve is written is true. The purpose of this book is more than just to tell my story; it is to show that if I can overcome the events that have formed me, then hopefully others can, too. So, extract stuff from my account and insert it into your context to help you carry on this life. Or if you are close to somebody who is going through similar events. Then use my story to inspire you to draw comfort to help them.

The first part of the book is just that: my story, written as a factual account rather than a dramatisation. This is so you can understand more of what the events were rather than my emotional understanding of them. The second part of this book is a modest attempt at self-help. Down the years I have learned an awful lot of good stuff, but unfortunately there has been some rubbish that has caused me harm. So I have just focused on what has helped me! It is just that the ideas that works for me. Some of the advice I could just take as it was given, while some I had to interpret to my situation.

Faith is very important to me. Without this aspect in my life, I doubt I would still be alive. But I know there are many religions in this world, and there are those who state that there is no God. So please do not reject this story because my account does not fit into your worldview. Instead, try to appreciate my journey and adapt its lessons to your own needs.

I have tried to be sensitive to those people who have appeared in my life in some way or other. Be assured that there is no malice or desire for revenge in writing this book. It is why I chose to write as a factual account rather than a dramatic recreation style. In doing this I have to just write what happened rather than draw on the emotion and run the risk of falsely characterising people. It is the actions of the person rather than a nature of the person I am dwelling on. It is the impact that those actions had upon my life and how these events made me me.

Part One – My Story

In the late 60s in the suburbs of Bradford there was a café run by an Italian. Such cafés were common then and were used were places where young people came to gather socially. Teenagers came to dance to the music and to use drugs. There was a sexual revolution going on at this time as well. And this context led to a teenage girl meeting an out-of-work actor. You can guess what happened, as these were my parents! They never got married, as neither could be sure who my Father was.

She came from a Brethren background. Brethrens were a strict Christian sect who distanced themselves from the world, which they saw as evil. But within this worldview was a genuine concern for both mother and child. This was due to the fact that her mother was illegitimate as well and had suffered greatly because of this. So the family wanted to stand by their pregnant daughter. Social services were involved and provided support for the pregnant teenager. There was a hostel she could go to and prepare herself for parenting. The social worker provided a flat and an opportunity for her to progress as a single mother.

Instead she signed adoption papers. Straight after my birth I was handed to a social worker and the social worker handed me to my adoptive parents. Years later when I questioned my natural mother about this episode in my life, the reason she gave me was that she thought that I would get in the way of her life. She then went on