Gareth awoke feeling fantastic. The sunlight shone through his window. His radio alarm clock rang with the voices of the morning DJs having an inane conversation. He heard birds outside singing their morning mating calls (which, in recent years, had begun to sound more and more like that one really annoying ringtone you got on a BlackBerry).

It’d been years since he’d felt this good, and he knew exactly why. Last night Gareth decided that, in two days time, he was going to kill himself.

It had been a long struggle for Gareth. Depression, anxiety, paranoia and a general sort-of unease had all stopped him from living his life. He was terrified of the world and the people in it. Taking the decision into his own hands to bring it to an end, setting a specific date and time, had left him feeling rather liberated. He’d even written it down in his Day Planner.

Wednesday, 6pm. Kill self.

He leapt out of bed, feeling a whole new form of anxiety – he was anxious to see what his last two days of life would bring.