Depression is an illness - not a lifestyle choice.

I don't want to get all Kamahl on your arse but WTF are people so unkind? And that is a WHY not what.

I was on Facebook the other day (I'm an addict and I don't care) and one of my friends made a comment about depression and how it had affected her - rather than just the few customary 'likes' a LOT of friends opened up and publicly commented how they'd suffered from depression and their reasons (some of which were heartbreaking).

What really pissed me off though was how those who'd had bloody good reason to experience depression were being told by people to 'snap out of it'. How callous! Who are these people and what planet do they live on? If someone has cancer you don't tell them to 'snap out of it'. And depression can be just as deadly! I know from experience.

This week I'm struggling quite a bit; I miss my Mum, stepdad  and I miss my sister, I'm sleep deprived, I'm dealing with teenagers, a toddler and a 'newish' baby. FFS my world couldn't get busier/ stress inducing. And I'm feeling the pinch. I'm ratty, I couldn't give a flying one about what the kids 'want' this week because goddamn it I NEED a freaken break or I'm going to hit the button (the crazy button).

I don't think people actually even need a 'reason' to be depressed these days; life in itself is a friggen struggle some days. Add isolation, stress, lack of sleep and it's no wonder people go off the deep end.

And kids are susceptible to depression too - just look at a few cases in the media where the kids have been bullied, and they've taken their own lives. How can it get to a point where a 14 or 15 year old does that? Where they feel they have no-one they can talk to that they see that as their only way out? And adults get all up in arms an appalled by the situation; perhaps we as adults need to start showing we're more tolerant and accepting of others so our children feel safe enough to confide?

Despite fantastic advertising by the Beyond Blue people; it's still stigmatised enough that some 'non-sufferers' feel they have the right to make a person feel worse by showing absolutely zero empathy and understanding. If somone said that to me right now I'd punch them in the 'schnoz'. Seriously people - how about walking a day in the life of someone elses shoes? Show some kindness, understanding and empathy - or in the very least some social etiquette.

I can't believe I'm saying this (because I don't think i'm an airy fairy hug flowers/ trees type) ; but FFS people please start giving a damn about your friends, family and acquaintances. It costs nothing to ask those close to you; 'Are you ok?' and lend an ear, shoulder or heaven forbid a hanky!

You never know you just might save a life.

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My dad killed himself when I was 14; both my sister and myself spoke to him the night he did so. We were supposed to go and stay with him for the holidays 2 days later. But it wasn't to be.

The night we spoke to him he finished by saying 'I love you'. I didn't reply as my Mum and stepdad were in the room and I didn't want them to think I loved him more than them (I'd recently told my Mum I wanted to go live with him). The next day he was gone.

For years I thought it was my 'fault'. That if I'd just said 'I love you too'. I could have changed history. Who knows?

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Don't let a moment slip by without you telling your loved ones how you feel. It costs nothing to express love, gratitude and appreciation. But the payback is better than any lottery you could ever win.