Depression

These feelings of despondency and rejection can be experienced in many ways. Some people can become very angry and explosive when depressed, while others can start to see the world as ‘grey’ and lose energy becoming tired and withdrawn. Winston Churchill used to call it his “black dog”, and the character Holly from “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” referred to it as:“getting the mean reds”. In other words, many very successful people from world leaders to writers experience these moods, so it’s certainly nothing to hide, and may in time may become something of an ally.

Anxiety

Anxiety is a response to a situation that has an uncertain outcome; it’s dealing with the unknown. The way this is experienced again can vary: for some they might not even feel ‘anxious’, rather a background tension with a lot of physical aches and pains, especially in the upper back, shoulders and neck. Others though might feel panicky, or anxious many times a day, fearing social contact, or particular situations. Again though, like depression, many very successful people through history have reported coping with anxiety, and even how at times it helped them.