Only Connect is the name of a popular TV quiz show chaired by Victoria Coren but the phrase is generally credited to the novelist E M Forster. It's a simple but powerful message.

Like other Moodscopers when I'm depressed the last thing I want to do is connect – I want to hibernate and speak to as few people as possible. The illness tells me that I have nothing of interest to offer anyone, everyone is having a better time than me and they seem to find life a total picnic. The best thing is to retreat into the dark place and keep as quiet and still as possible and hope and pray that the misery will pass. Experience tells me it will, but depression tells me it won't.

A couple of years ago I had one of the worst bouts ever. Teetering on the brink of the abyss, hardly sleeping or eating, I told no one - it was terrifying. Moodscope was absolutely crucial in my recovery and I will be eternally grateful to the community for being there. I didn't post but I checked in with the blog every morning. Just knowing there were other people who got it was a lifeline. I started to confide in a few carefully chosen friends and felt supported and more hopeful that I would get better.

It was a hard lesson but it has taught me not to isolate. I'm semi-retired, live alone and when I do work it is mostly from home. Now I make sure that every day I connect in some way, either meeting with friends, volunteering, chatting on the phone or exchanging a few words with a stranger. It really does make a positive difference.

As we are being told to self-isolate by the government I urge fellow Moodscopers to connect if you can. You won't just be helping yourself but other people too.

Laurel

A Moodscope member.