The following blog posts are written by people with personal experience of depression. By talking openly, our bloggers hope to increase understanding around mental health, break stereotypes and take the taboo out of something that – like physical health – affects us all.

Sticks and stones: talking about mental illness

May 21, 2012

Sticks and stones photoI’ve got a diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder. It’s not a very common diagnosis so I’ll explain that it is given when a mood disorder (in my case depression) coincides with symptoms of schizophrenia, such as hearing voices or having strange ideas.

Everyone in the office now knows about my mental illness

May 18, 2012

Photo of a woman stood in front of the seaI had been working for my current employer a few years when one day my depression spilled over into a breakdown right there in the office in front of everyone. No one really knew what to do but they calmed me as best they could and got me home safely.

The effects of company culture on mental health

May 17, 2012

Black and white photo of a woman on the beachWhen anyone asks me why I gave up working for myself I tell them it was mainly the stress of having an unpredictable income and the sense of isolation that came from working on my own, which pretty much sums it up.

Body Dysmorphic Disorder: "I am glad that I can now talk openly about it"

May 15, 2012

I first became unwell as an adolescent. At age 14, I started experiencing severe depression, panic attacks and obsessive tendencies. The obsessive behaviours included compulsive skin picking, a disorder also known as dermatillomania. I began to pick at areas of skin on my face.

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