This is an ABC podcast.

When I was about five, my father lost his job and we had to move to his hometown.

We lived in a boarding house for a while, And it was a terrible time for the family.

And I developed a reading disorder.

And at the time, it was a new school.

And the teacher used to shake me and call me stupid.

Yeah, no wonderful teaching in the 1970s.

Dr. Mark Cross has experienced anxiety in different forms and guises pretty much all his life.

This is one of his earliest memories of it.

And I recall that time not being a particularly pleasant time and an anxious one.

These days, he's a consultant psychiatrist, and he recognises that there's still a lot of stigma around mental health,

especially in the medical profession. But unlike most doctors, Dr. Cross chooses to be open and

honest about his struggle with anxiety, using his own experience to normalize the condition and

help others. We are taught not to show emotion, not to share of ourselves, and I think that's so wrong.

My patients love me for it, and I have a great relationship with them.

It doesn't mean that I'm ever useless as a doctor as a result.

Now Dr. Cross is hoping to help an even greater number of people.

His latest book is called anxiety,

expert advice from a neurotic shrink who's lived with anxiety all his life. It covers the basics

of what the condition is, how it's treated, how to get help, but also detailed accounts of his

own journey, from a family history of mental illness. Biolar looms large in our family, as well as anxiety.

To the impact of growing up gay in South Africa.

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