“Faster, higher,stronger” is the Olympic motto and one which we will become increasingly familiar with as we approach London 2012.

If ever gold medals are given out for staying one step ahead of the game, in my case the ever-present black clouds of depression chasing me down like hunter and hunted, I would top that podium every time. I may have low moods, bad days, feel like s**t and burst into tears at the slightest mishap but it hasn’t got me yet and I don’t intend to lie down and succumb either.

I often liken my experiences with depression to Harry Potter‘s encounters with the Dementors. These creatures are an evil insidious force who, without hesitation, attempt to suck out your soul with their “Dementor’s Kiss.”

“Dementors are among the foulest creatures that walk this earth. They infest the darkest, filthiest places, they glory in decay and despair, they drain peace, hope, and happiness out of the air around them… Get too near a Dementor and every good feeling, every happy memory will be sucked out of you. If it can, the Dementor will feed on you long enough to reduce you to something like itself…soulless and evil. You will be left with nothing but the worst experiences of your life.“

 Remus Lupin says to Harry Potter.

But like Harry I’m not a quitter and whilst I don’t have a magic wand to summons a protecting Patronus Charm and make everything better, I do have the help and support of my friends and family without whom today would have been a bleak and lonely place indeed.

So every time I suffer a setback or experience a bad day I sit tight, wait until things calm down and get back up and start again.

Citius, Altius, Fortius.