Goodness, the bugs you get in Australia will be VERY different from the rather innocuous ones in the UK. It's one thing I appreciate about this little island lol, having grown up in India.

Very nice expanded discussion around phobias and depression - I consider all inner processes such as these to be linked in fundamental ways, and usually going back to childhood experiences. And yes, having made oneself vulnerable by even talking about depression (or abuse or whatever) and being told that it's 'mild' or 'that one should get over it' can be utterly devastating. To come out with such stuff one must actually be insensitive to one's own pain (the statement 'my depression is worse than yours' betrays an lack of understanding), in other words if I have faced my own pain to some extent, I will know that a soft and gentle approach is the only one I would wish to take, for I would then have empathy.