Most things can be conquered
A post for anyone managing a long term of worsening health condition.
This is inspired by a Billy Connolly quote, taken from a 2023 interview with BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. He’s talking here about living with Parkinson’s Disease and depression, and how this impacts his love of drawing.
“I shake a bit. I don’t shake every day, all the time. But for about an hour or two I’ll shake and when I’m drawing it spoils it. Then I conquered it. I draw with shakes in it and it works. I think most things can be conquered and especially the depression.”
I thought this was wonderful. The idea that most things can be conquered. You find a way that works. You work out what you can do, or how you work with it.
He goes on to say how his comedy is an important part of dealing with depression:
“Depression is such a complex affair, but you have to conquer it, take it on face-to-face and refuse to be part of it. I’ve always been easily made laugh. I am a lucky man with my sense of humour. I can laugh myself out of most things.”
#keepgoing
This is my blog where I’ve been writing for 20 years. You can follow all of my posts by subscribing to this RSS feed. You can also find me on Bluesky and LinkedIn.