If you feel like you cant cope anymore

You wouldn’t think twice about telling people you’ve got flu. So why is it so hard to say that you’re depressed?

Do you ever have days where you don’t want to get out of bed? Well, imagine that, day after day after day. About a quarter of us suffer from mental health problems at some time, yet most of us are too ashamed to admit it. We feel it's somehow our fault and we could get over it if we tried.

Yet the things that lead to depression and other mental health problems are usually out of your control, such as the death of someone you love, rape, harassment, your family background, things that happened to you as a child. Some find mental illness can make life so difficult that it feels unbearable. And it can affect the people close to you too.

Mental illness covers a range of problems in the way people think, feel or behave including:

Depression
A common condition in which you feel very, very low and hopeless about life. Anxiety, worrying endlessly about ordinary things, can be part of it too. If you are unhappy most of the time, feel irritable, moody and exhausted, start avoiding people, lose your confidence or interest in sex, or feel hopeless about life — and all this has been going on for at least two weeks you could have depression. It is vital you seek help because, when depression becomes so severe that you feel life isn’t worth living and have suicidal thoughts, it can be life threatening.

Manic depression
One in 10 people with serious depression also have times when they are elated and overactive.

Panic attacks and phobias
Most of us have probably experienced times when, for no apparent reason, we are suddenly overwhelmed by a sense of terror, leading to palpitations and sweating. A phobia is an unreasonable fear of something that isn’t frightening to most, such as agoraphobia (fear of going out) or claustrophobia (fear of enclosed spaces).

Schizophrenia
One of the most debilitating mental illnesses, this affects thoughts and perceptions, which can become distorted, and sufferers may also hear voices.

The sooner you get help the better
Whatever the mental illness, the most important thing to realise is that the sooner you get help the better. If you battle on, dragging yourself through each day without help, things will inevitably go downhill. Don't just let things slide. Talk to your doctor who might suggest seeing a counsellor or that you take antidepressants, or both. Antidepressants work on chemicals in your brain to lift your mood. They don’t cure depression, but can help you feel better so you can deal with your problems more effectively. In fact, 60 to 70 per cent of sufferers’ symptoms improve when taking them.

Counselling can be helpful as, sometimes, talking to a trained professional can be easier than talking to friends or family.