The age of loneliness
Cecil Camilleri, now 63 years old, has spent most of his life dealing with mental illness. The sting hit six years ago when it got more difficult to manage and he told his South Australian workplace he had bipolar disorder.
“I lost my job overnight when I disclosed it at work,” Cecil says. “I was told the company was being restructured and they didn’t need my services after about 22 years as a senior manager.”
Suddenly, he found himself without connections. “I lost all my social capital – I could have counted the number of so-called friends that were left on one hand.”
Cecil then experienced severe loneliness and a prolonged period of having suicidal thoughts.
Published by Health Agenda magazine.
