As the shitshow/shitstorm of 2020 rages to an end -- but looks set to continue well into 2021 -- I'm going to pause for a second and CELEBRATE what I *did* achieve this year..... and also some of what I lost. THREAD.... (1/14)

Firstly and most significantly, I came out of a 16-month depression (it arrived in May 2019, so long before the pandemic, and departed October 2020). It wasn't a 'miracle'; it took hard, determined work, through two twelve-step fellowships. #ShentonStageMentalHealthDiary (2/14)

I (finally) confronted the demons of my past and the unresolved grief of my childhood: the ones that led me to numb my pain in addictive behaviour (my first fellowship) and discover the source of them (my second fellowship, dealing with family-of-origin trauma) (3/14)

This led to a MAJOR breakthrough: I finally resolved the long-burning mystery of why my father is an entirely inaccessible human being, when he UTTERLY rejected me. It was painful, of course; but also a relief: at last I knew where I stood. (4/14) https://twitter.com/ShentonStage/status/1326434493150982144?s=20

I'd like to thank each and every person here who responded and turned this into the tweet that garnered the most responses of any I've ever written; and not a negative one amongst them. Twitter CAN be good! ) #ShentonStageMentalHealthDiary (5/14)

Back to my addictions: It's a fact I freely admit that I'm addicted to theatre -- in a normal week, I might go anywhere from between 5 and 12 times a week (I kid you not!). The pandemic changed that. And I went into a kind of grief and mourning. But I survived! (6/14)

I discovered -- for the first time in my life -- the joys of television: I binged on everything from THE CROWN, HOMELAND and DESIGNATED SURVIVOR to SELLING SUNSET. Thank God for Netflix! (7/14)

I *truly* appreciated what little theatre I was able to see in the brief time it returned between September and December. (And the addiction even roared back in when I saw 10 shows in the last week before lockdown arrived again). I'll never take it for granted again (8/14)

While I lost my last paying gig as a critic on @londontheatre (owing to a change of ownership/editor), I realised I don't need external publications to do what I do: I can and will go it alone. So I'm relaunching my personal website ShentonStage as a home for my work! (9/14)

I also used the lockdown as an opportunity to tackle my long-standing (or sitting!) issues with my back. and had another round of spinal fusion surgery in September: 3 operations in the space o 15 days. I'm not pain-free yet -- it'll take up to 18 months to fully fuse. (10/14)

And all through this, my husband has been a rock. We've weathered some storms together in the last 12 years (seven of them married); but I'm so blessed not to have had to face this alone. (11/14)

Although there is so much I miss -- I've not been to NYC all year, and we missed our annual visit to Provincetown, our favourite place on the planet -- we did manage one blissful break earlier this month, 8 nights in the Lake District. (12/14)

Although we are far from over the current health crisis -- it is still escalating as I write -- an end IS in sight. I went for a Covid test on Tuesday, which was negative; I now need to keep myself that way.... until it's my turn for a vaccine. (13/14)

Lastly, thank you all for being here. Twitter (and other social media) has so often been a source of aggravation, but it has become a place of solace. (And although the fat President hasn't finally sung just yet, the soap opera of @realDonaldTrump's reign is nearly over). (14/14)