I am a Scottish mixed breed. I grew up in a village in Fife, but my parents were working class in the Scottish Borders. My father worked in a textile factory and my mother had various secretarial jobs. They grew up in Glasgow council housing and left school at 16.

I was run over I was hit by a truck when I was five. I broke my leg, broke my pelvis, crushed my femoral artery and severed a nerve. I was like a lump of asphalt. When the paramedics arrived at the scene and asked how I was, I said, “Good, thanks”: that’s what I was brought up to say. When I look back now that I have a child of my own, I’m surprised my parents didn’t wrap me in cotton wool afterward.

Twenty years later, I was in another hospital bed after breaking my back in three places while on duty with the Territorial Army and jumping headfirst through a window frame. I thought briefly, “What an idiot. That’s the second time.” I had to wear a back brace for three months.

Knowledge is not the same as intelligence – and confidence is not a skill. It took me ages to understand that other people are not better than me; that the loudest person in the room is not necessarily the smartest.

Journalism was frustrating. It was a privilege to ask the questions people wanted answers to, but I got to the point where it was no longer enough to just watch what was going on. I wanted to make a difference. When I quit the BBC, my mother was horrified that I had given up a good job with a pension to be elected as a Tory.

I did it suffered from clinical depression all my adult life. When I led the Scottish Conservatives I made a conscious decision to speak out about it. Part of my depression was survivor guilt from a friend’s suicide. It would have really helped me when I was diagnosed if people in the public eye were willing to talk openly about such experiences. I thought my condition would be very limiting, I would never get a good job and people would think I was crazy.

I came out very late, Mid to late 20s. I didn’t like myself for a long time and struggled to reconcile my faith with my sexuality. It wasn’t until my mid 30s that I got to a calmer, less troubled place.

I would like to share I want to share with my five-year-old son what I’ve learned in life and help him build resilience. I want him to feel confident and know that you can find something difficult but you should do it anyway. And I want him to always know that he is loved.

An ex described me as a Labrador who has to be let off the leash every day. And that’s true. I absolutely have to. Going to bed physically tired – and not office tired or mentally tired – makes me happy.

People’s opinion outside of my immediate family is less important to me now. When you’ve been in the public eye for 15 years, you pay less attention to people calling you names online. I think that’s partly because you get older: you learn to trust yourself more.

I’m afraid of heights. I get butterflies in my stomach. It’s gotten worse as I get older. But I still climb a ladder. I think it’s good – important even – to force yourself to do things you’re afraid of.

The Sky News podcast ‘Electoral Dysfunction’ presented by Ruth Davidson and Beth Rigby is available every Friday on all podcast platforms.