I kept putting this off until I eventually had a breakdown at uni. My mentor sent me to the doctor and I had an appointment with a different one this time. she immediately talked to me about depression and was so lovely that I always see her now. She put me on anti-depressants and has been checking on me regularly.

I thought counselling would be a quick fix so when I didn’t seem to be getting anywhere, even after the 3rd or 4th session, I thought it wouldn’t work. But gradually it did and I now realise that a quick fix couldn’t possibly deal with everything that was wrong – I needed to take my time to get it right.

My advice for anyone thinking about counselling would be:
1. Stick with it, the results aren’t immediate but when it starts to work you’ll know it.
2. Allow ‘blips’. It’s not a constant improvement and setbacks are ok. It just means there’s something else you need to look at.
3. Open up. It took me a while but unless you’re honest, you won’t get anywhere.

I would never have thought that anti-depressants and counsellling would be enough to get me over the depression, especially since I suffered from it for so many years. But now that it’s sorted out, I feel like a whole new person and I’m confident that I’ll not get into that state again.

Be brave and take the plunge guys, you’re worth it! :)