BBC
Glenn Rosborough says life has changed since he sought professional help for chronic anxiety
A Londonderry-based singer-songwriter has spoken out about his struggles with anxiety and how it has affected all aspects of his life.
Glenn Rosborough is a familiar face in the music scene in the north west and recently-played to a sell-out audience in Derry.
But behind the scenes and the four walls of his own home, anxiety has been a darkness he found difficult to escape from.
“Some days, my anxiety was so bad I could not leave the house,” said the 40-year-old.
Glenn avoided seeking any help until last year when things seemed to spiral out of control after a car crash.
That led to him making “the hardest decision” of his life by going into therapy.
‘Could not live like this anymore’
Glenn – who performs under the stage name Rosborough – hopes others who are suffering in silence – like he did for years – will seek help, too.
Even though he has lived with the condition most of his life, things came to a head in recent times.
“I was in a car crash about a year and a half ago, that completely shook me, family members were getting ill, and just the pressures of being a dad, being a husband and life were starting to build up to the point where I was getting constantly dizzy every day,” he told BBC Radio Foyle’s North West Today programme.
“I was getting panic attacks, anxiety attacks and it was almost as if those anxiety attacks happened and they never switched off.
“I was just scared, afraid and panicked all day.”
That is when he decided he “could not live like this anymore”.
Opening up to his family was the first step, followed “the very next day” by an appointment with the doctor before he finally found a therapist.
He believes that is where his “healing journey” started.
Good day and bad days
Glenn said he spent much of his adult life “worried sick” and it was an achievement just to get to the end of the day.
But he avoided seeking help for so long because of “the stigma” he believes is still attached to mental health issues.
“If I walk around with a broken leg all day, you’d be straight into the hospital but when something that affects your life so much is inside your head, it was the most difficult thing I did in my life to go and say to a doctor that I wasn’t okay,” he said.
After six or seven months of therapy, Glenn said he now feels his life is beginning to turn a corner.
“I still get days where I cannot leave the house, I get days where I’m dizzy but I know what it is and I know how to get through it,” he said.
“You’re not always going to be perfect, you’re going to have bad days and you’re going to have good days.”
Glenn encouraged anyone experiencing anxiety or depression to reach out and talk to someone.
“I was so blown away, people around me who I’ve known for years who are suffering from anxiety or depression, so talk to someone.”
If you are suffering with anxiety or depression, details of help and support are available at the BBC Action Line.