Recently, a friend of mine had to make a difficult decision; it was about whether to attend a family funeral. In normal circumstances, this sort of decision may be unheard of; naturally they should go and pay their respects, but sadly the family are estranged and have a very difficult family history. So there were many consequences to consider – and they predominately orientated about how it might affect their mental health.

This rendered the poor person terribly upset, torn, and full of anxieties. But this person sought professional advice and gathered opinions from close friends and other family members. It was advised that they should stay away, and ideas were suggested about how they could mark the day without attending the service.

If you have difficult decisions to reach, it’s all too easy to get bogged down by guilt and a plethora of other emotions. Yet that handful of people whom you trust, or a doctor if you don’t have close friends or family, can literally start melting your anxieties away, simply because you’ve delegated the decision away from yourself. Making such decisions are extremely difficult – but my friend made an extremely brave decision and chose what was best for their own wellbeing. If you have a difficult decision to make which may compromise your mental health, start by sharing your problem with someone you trust. Lifting the burden a little by sharing your dilemma is the first step to figuring out the best solution for you.