Dealing with Mental Health, Anxiety and Depression
I am interested in others views on dealing with mental health while going through flying training and a career as a pilot, and what helped you, especially if you have had a similar journey to me. I am in the process of changing careers and getting my CPL, however one of the initial hurdles has been getting past the medical evaluations, including the Psych review. I have had independent Psych review sessions with a consultant and I have now gained the Class 2, and hope to convert to Class 1 in July when reviewed by the CAA.
Just a brief history, I gained a PPL back in 1998, and did a year of air squadron at university, and I wanted to get into a flying career but at the time didnt have the self belief or funds to progress. I tried a few sponsorship interviews but wasn't succesful. I'm sure there are plenty of people who have been in that position. I have had periods in my life where I have felt the pressure of study, life changes, and an IT career which I never wanted to be doing. Some of those times during periods of work pressure I have taken time out of work as I couldn't deal with the job while feeling the anxiety. I have had medication, which I didnt feel helped, and I continued to function in my job and progressed to a decent salary and role. About 3 years ago issues with my marriage came to a head and separation and divorce happened, which added to the pressure. I since got paid out of my IT career over a year ago, during the divorce when I couldn't keep the job going to the level needed. I am in a good place now but am concerned about my history and it does play on my mind when thinking about the new career. I'm 46 now so that does bring other pressures, but I can see a future and am funding my way into a modular route to CPL, building hours and getting started on the ATPL ground school. I'm building campervans to pay the bills, but its not what I want to be doing as a main job.
Any advice would be appreciated, I am keen to find the right support. However, I am worried about going down a medical route to find help and keep my stable mental health as I don't want more on my medical history going forwards, and worry about losing the Class 1 once I've got it.
Many thanks