Jack Stack describes his battle with depression and why he decided to write a book with the least-marketable name possible. When depression first hit, I was unprepared. I had never experienced anything remotely close to the isolation, joylessness, lack of motivation, and the sense of worthlessness that it brought. Over two long years it slowly … Read more
A personal memoir of mental health, by Paula Harris. Content warning: this essay discusses severe mental health issues, including suicidal ideation. On Tuesdays I go to the pharmacy. That’s the day when I pick up that week’s worth of antidepressants. Someone somewhere thought it’d be fine to manufacture an antidepressant that people can overdose on. … Read more
The Spinoff Parents is very proud to share this beautiful spoken word poem by Talyah Miller, a Year 9 student from South Auckland Middle School. Who am I? I am a person just like you. I get bored easily so if I am in a place too long I will wander off. I can get … Read more
An essay by Linda Jane Keegan about postnatal depression, coming out the other side, and the knowledge that you’ll forever be changed. Content warning: This post contains a descriptions of mental illness. It may be upsetting to people who are struggling with their own mental health. There are helplines at the bottom of the piece … Read more
May is Postnatal Depression Awareness Month. We’ll be sharing stories by mothers around New Zealand about their journeys with postnatal depression. If you need help, there is help. Please ask for help, because you matter. Content warning: This post contains a descriptions of mental illness. It may be upsetting to people who are struggling with … Read more
Shaun Robinson, the head of the NZ Mental Health Foundation, suggests 13 ways you can start a conversation with young people about the issues raised by the controversial hit show. Content warning: This post contains discussions of mental health and suicide. It seems like everyone is talking about 13 Reasons Why. Some people find it … Read more
‘This is what depression does. It feeds you lies.’ In this anonymous post, a mother talks about how her journey through postnatal depression and out the other side – and implores us to talk about it to save other parents going through the same thing. Content warning: This post contains a descriptions of mental illness. … Read more
Today is the final day of Perinatal Depression and Anxiety (PNDA) Awareness Week 2016. To mark the occasion, Anna Reed writes about anxiety in mothering, and the value of finding other mothers who are going through the same thing. Some days we don’t leave the house. My little boy whistles on my chest and bounces … Read more
Many people think only mums can get post-natal depression and anxiety. In a post to mark Perinatal Awareness Week, Alan Law sets the record straight and explains how to recognise the signs – in yourself, or the new dad in your life. We don’t talk about the fact that dads get post-natal depression too. We … Read more
The decision to use medication to treat depression is an individual one – what’s best for one person may not be so for another. Julia Kerr explains why antidepressants are the right choice for her, in a special post to mark Mental Health Awareness Week. It takes guts to talk about the things people don’t … Read more
We take a bizarre stroll around the early access survival/action/adventure We Happy Few. It’s a suitably original game, but Matthew Codd finds a glaring contradiction at its beating heat. The Compulsion Games team made their mark a few years ago with the beautiful Contrast, so it makes sense that their latest adventure, We Happy Few, should too … Read more
Saradha Koirala reviews two teen novels which both deal with girls who have “survived something horrific at the hands of a male classmate”. I will talk literature with anyone who’ll listen. Most recently the ones listening have been clinical psychologists. And yes, I’m sure it’s all very Freudian that my mum and my partner share … Read more