Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Losing dad, husband and home inspired woman battling depression to write song called Breathe

Amanda-Jane Taylor and her "amazing" dad who died after battling cancer.
Amanda-Jane Taylor and her "amazing" dad who died after battling cancer.

Coping with anxiety and depression is never easy.

But for Amanda-Jane Taylor it became an even more arduous battle when she lost her dad, marriage and house all in a short space of time.

Dealing with the pandemic while living on her own, bringing up two sons, brought further challenges as she struggled with her illness.

She eventually had a breakdown and was signed off work but has since been focusing on her love of singing to help her recover.

‘I was really close to my dad so it was difficult’

Eric Taylor, 62, died after he was diagnosed with prostate cancer and Huntington’s disease, a rare condition that causes the progressive breakdown of nerve cells in the brain.

“It happened to him over a period of less than 18 months and I was really close to my dad so it was difficult,” Amanda-Jane said.

“Watching anyone going through that is the most horrific thing.”

Amanda-Jane with her dad Eric during happier times.

It was during this time that her Amanda-Jane’s 12-year relationship fell apart and it soon became clear her marriage had come to an end and she would need to move home.

But giving up the family home and taking on rented accommodation meant she also had to give up her cat and dog because pets weren’t allowed there.

Her mental health hit rock bottom and she could not see a way out.

Amanda-Jane, 41, who suffers from borderline personality disorder, said: “Grief just comes and goes and you never know what you’re going to feel like from one day to the next.”

The mother-of-two, who lives in Westhill, was furloughed from her work as a dental hygienist during the first lockdown.

And after returning to work at the end of the summer she felt she struggled to breathe dealing with all the trauma and all the PPE she now had to wear.

Amanda-Jane Taylor struggled to work in full PPE.

Then, in October, she suffered a mental breakdown and ended up signed off work to help her recover.

Amanda-Jane has been learning new coping strategies through the help she receives from a mental health nurse.

And the most positive changes in her life came through taking part in a Branching Out outdoor therapy course.

The course is based on around three hours of activities a week in a woodland setting over 12 weeks.

Exercising and being out in nature has helped

“I exercise daily. I go out in nature pretty much every day – I’m outside a lot,” Amanda-Jane said.

“I’ve always been a nature lover but since I’ve been to an outdoor therapy group it’s made me even more immersed in it.

“They showed you how to forage for food and taught you all about different birds and wildlife and how to light fires and cook outside.

Amanda-Jane taking part in the outdoor therapy classes.

“I can’t get enough of being outdoors. It takes my mind off of everything and I feel so much calmer – it’s realising that there’s so much more out there and it’s really grounding.”

She now concentrates on making sure she is doing the activities every day that make her feel better.

And this has included focusing on her singing, penning a song called Breathe on her way home from the school run one morning.

The lyrics describe going through a bereavement journey and finding strength in remembering that she will always hold her dad in her heart.

The song is a reminder that her dad is with her

“That’s why I wrote the song really,” she said. “It’s a reminder that they are there, even though they are gone. It’s a beautiful song and it’s touched a lot of people as well so that’s a nice thing.”

Symptoms of depression.

Amanda-Jane Taylor, who performs under the stage name AJ McLovely, sang regularly in her spare time before coronavirus struck.

During the last few months she’s been helping mental health sufferers across the globe performing shows on social media while raising money for charity. 

Her fourth single, Breathe, is released this week, which she has written both the song and lyrics to, features Dennis Douglas, the Aberdeen Wedding Pianist.

It features on most music platforms, including Spotify, Amazon Music and iTunes.

More health articles…

The ‘lucky’ gran who found fitness helped when she lost a lung to cancer 

The Aberdeen doctor who became champion for diabetes patients across the world

Warning over tobacco companies targeting young people on social media

Meet the north-east’s Mrs Motivator

This article originally appeared on the Evening Express website. For more information, read about our new combined website.