Real Life: How I beat depression

May 2 2011 by Zoe Chamberlain, Sunday Mercury

Last week, we revealed one woman’s life-long battle against bipolar disorder. Today Mary Smith, 25 and from West Bromwich, reveals how she beat the crippling depression which began in her teens...

I’VE heard that depression can be in your genes.

I’ve suffered with it since the age of 15, but for no particular reason.

I initially put it down to hormones, but it got worse as I became older.

It certainly wasn’t due to exam stress because I didn’t really care about my GCSEs.

My sister and my dad are similar to me, so I think it could be a family trait.

Some people might be overweight due to their genes, but I believe I was prone to depression.

Yet it is a condition that is so hard to explain to people. It’s like an inner loneliness.

After school I went to St Martin’s College in London to study media but I continued to battle wdepression.

I’d overcompensate and come across as confident but underneath I wasn’t. I’d often sit in my car, unable to get out.

One minute I’d be a social butterfly and the life-and-soul of the party, the next I’d not want to see anyone.

My emotions were up and down like a rollercoaster and I found it exhausting trying to be outgoing when I wasn’t being myself. It was a nightmare and I’d worry about everything.

I started comfort eating and would crave sweet things and carbohydrates.

I’d have chocolate spread on bread then eat cake – then devour a whole packet of biscuits.

I put on a stone and a half and started getting spots because I was so unhealthy.

After college, I got a job in advertising but my depression continued.

I wasn’t sleeping well and I’d wake up several times a night, feeling anxious.

Eventually, a friend I confided in suggested I went to see the doctor.