Derry pensioner Gordon Harper was living alone at his home, feeling isolated and depressed, when he discovered a passion that would turn his life around.
The 88-year-old from the Waterside area said that depression was an illness 'that had always been there' which intensified during Covid-19.
Struggling with his mental illness, Gordon decided to reach out to Aware NI which supports people living with depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder in Northern Ireland.
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"I was really struggling," Gordon said "I wouldn't say that I have got clinical depression or anything like that but it's my temperament. I can be highly strung, and melancholy.
"It's something that I felt since my teenage years when it became particularly bad. A psychiatrist once gave me a diagnosis that I wanted everything to be just so.
"I try and make sure though that I am stronger with every passing episode but I was particularly bad this time because all I wanted to do was sleep.
"I was really struggling to sleep at night and during the day all I wanted to do was sleep and that was no good for me at all because the more that you stay in the more depressed you become."
Turning to Aware NI, Gordon who had always enjoyed playing the piano discovered that he could put his passion back to use, something that would help turn his life around.
"I decided that I would go along one day and join because I was in need of a connection with other people because I was isolated living alone, which can become quite lonely.
"It's been great for me because I've met a lot of new people and it keeps your mind active and sometimes that means it saves you from feeling the way that people like me do sometimes.
"Being at the age that I am at now it's wonderful that I can meet people who are going through similar experiences and be able to have a chat about that.
"I've always enjoyed music and would play the piano quite regularly and that's when we came up with a music therapy that we could integrate.
"It's something that I've always wanted to do because I had previously done something similar for the Foyle Down Syndrome Trust and it was amazing to see their reactions and how music affected them in a good way.
"That's something that I am working on now and that's a big help because it gives you a purpose in life again and gives you something you work towards, like a goal of sorts. Music is only important to me when it's going out and helping other people."
With mental ill-health affecting so many people here in Derry and across Northern Ireland, Gordon told MyDerry that he hoped more people would come forward if they required help.
"It is not something my generation would have been particularly open to because it was something that was done many years ago, but that is changing.
"Caroline, who is a facilitator at Aware NI said that I was an inspiration to others in the group because I was giving back to others while also getting something myself.
"The group that we have is very good because you see so many people that are quiet at the start and after a couple of weeks you can see them bursting with confidence, it's fantastic.
"When you go to one of these groups you get a lift because you're among like-minded people who understand exactly what you're going through.
"I would encourage anyone, no matter what age you are, to come forward if you need the help because it's terrible to suffer in silence and people are there to help."
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