Struggling after a crisis, the shame of financial distress pushed Leah over the edge

Work became difficult for Leah Sheppard as she became sicker and more stressed. ‘The less time I was at work, less money I was making, and it all started to snowball,’ she says. Photograph: Chris Hopkins/The Guardian

Leah Sheppard was on holiday with her partner overseas when he dumped her. Even though the relationship had been very rocky, she returned to Melbourne distraught it was over.

She tried to keep her head above water, not only emotionally after “the rejection of the one I thought was the love of my life”, but also financially.