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I have struggled and battled with depression, for several years - albeit unbeknown to me. I took to drink to disguise what I was feeling inside.

I went down this path for many years - from the age of 17 until I was around 30. I am surprised that I am still alive.

I worked as a Nursing Assistant in Acute Mental Health, Elderly Mental Health & Forensic Mental Health since 1989 to 2007. Within this time I was seconded to university to study to become a Registered Mental Health Nurse. This is where my eyes began to open regarding my own mental well being.

Depression is an illness of paradoxes. The harder you fight it, the harder it gets. The more you think about it, the more convoluted the conundrum becomes. As soon as you think you're well again, bang, it hits you harder than ever.

Oh my god, am I mad? Probably, but I don't really care. I have made the decision to climb Ben Nevis next year, to raise money for MIND. My husband and son have been away fishing for the weekend, and I have just phoned him to tell him the news! Bless him, I think he's scared to leave me to my own devices for long as he never knows what I will come up with next!

Those words by the poet Philip Larkin have resonated with me for many years. They are so simple and yet so powerful.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: A man walks into a bar, there’s a bowl of peanuts next to him; just as he’s about to order a drink the peanuts speak to him, ‘Gosh you’re beautiful,’ they say. Bemused by this he walks away and stands by the juke box which, as he arrives, says, ‘Man, you’re ugly.’ Indignant and fully disturbed he goes back to the barman and tells him, ‘the peanuts have just told me that I’m beautiful and the juke box have said I’m ugly. ‘Yes’ the barman says, ‘the peanuts are complimentary and the juke box is out of order’

Acknowledging you have a mental illness can be difficult, even more so when you have spent your life working as a qualified mental health nurse dedicated to helping others. Herein lies the irony I suppose. In 2004 I experienced severe depression which had been insidiously creeping up on me for many months before.

My name is Sitara. I am 22 and live in the south west of England with some other girls. I love to drink tea, sing, and am currently training to be a teacher. I also have a mental illness. I suffer from anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. It’s something that I have found really hard: each day is different and each day is a challenge 

I’m going to write a  series of blogs focusing on the  "taboo" behaviours associated with differing mental health disorders. No matter whether the behavior is public or private it helps to talk. My main aim is to get things out in the open so people do not have to feel alone and experience guilt, shame and self-loathing during or after an episode of being unwell. Make no mistake these behaviours, if left in denial, can destroy lives.

In February 2009, I was sectioned, tranquilised and detained in a secure psychiatric hospital. Fortunately, my stay was short; after seven days, I was given a week’s leave at home, following which I was discharged.

Pauline Dall is Head of Mind's Legal Unit and leads on our Time to Challenge work, which provides legal support for people experiencing discrimination as well as information for employees and employers.  Here, she talks about the new Equality Act and how it affects your rights to disclose or not to disclose when applying for jobs.

Steady family, good career and no more money worries than most people, but none of this has stopped me falling victim to depression.

Winnie talks about returning to employment after a long period of mental ill-health - about how she has managed to be open with her colleagues and friends, and how her own mental health experiences have helped her in her work as a GP.

"I have had mood swings all my adult life - I think I'm cyclothymic. My periods of energy and enthusiasm meant I could achieve academically, be sociable and enjoy a wide range of interests. Unfortunately these good times were usually followed by downswings, when I would feel exhausted and lose all confidence - all I wanted to do was hide in a hole!

Patsy Palmer was watched by millions, but the pressure of life eventually took their toll.

“I had so much going on in my life at the time." On her way to work one day, Patsy had a panic attack. The next morning Patsy woke up in a clinic, not knowing how she'd got there.

“The clinic was probably the best thing that could have happened because I felt safe there. I had counselling and started to recover."

Stop me if you've heard this one before...no actually don't. Having a mental illness makes finding work hard. This might sound many things; astounding, sad, ridiculous, perverse, surprising, frightening, unlikely, justifiable, understandable or just blindingly obvious. You might secretly feel something you would not publicly air. It's nothing to be ashamed of, we all have overt or latent prejudices, but it is most certainly something to be aware of and to open your mind about.

Stevie got a big shock when he was diagnosed with schizophrenia. "People think it means you're going to be violent, and I can understand it in a way, because I didn't have a very positive image of it either. Thing is, for me it couldn't be further from the truth - I'm a total softy."

It was hard for Stevie to accept his diagnosis and hard for him to tell other people too. "It's a bit like coming out and telling people you are gay," explains Stevie. "Luckily I'm well now. I haven't had a day off work for four years."

"I'm Asian and I'm gay. I face discrimination every day, but not for the reasons you're thinking of."

You might think that Tom experiences stigma because of his race and sexuality. But it was after his brother's suicide, when he experienced stigma because of his mental health problems.

Tom says: "After my brother died, I was diagnosed with depression. My family has always been very supportive of each other and I was able to talk openly about my illness."

But at work, Tom's experience was quite the opposite.