 Hello and welcome back. Today we're going to be talking about depression and in particular we're going to think about three common myths and misconceptions about depression that I hear all the time so I'm just going to take a few minutes to try and set the record straight. Maybe you've got some thoughts on this too if so drop them in the comments down below. First of all depression is a sign of weakness. Depression absolutely isn't a sign of weakness so we often hear people sort of suggest that maybe if someone were mentally or physically stronger that they'd be able to just kind of get over it or pull themselves together or might not have been affected by depression in the first place. That's absolutely not the case. Depression can affect absolutely anyone no matter how mentally or physically strong they are. It doesn't discriminate by gender, by age, by cultural background. There's no grounds on which depression discriminates so anyone can be affected. And the other thing I'd say is that I would counter the idea that people with depression are weak and actually say that many people who are struggling with depression are really really strong because actually when you're struggling with depression then often every minute feels like a struggle. Just getting up and out of bed in the morning can feel absolutely monumental and managing to somewhat engage with normal day-to-day life despite how depression makes you think behave and feel I think takes a huge amount of strength and managing to work towards a better place is also incredibly hard. So yeah a lot of people I would say are not weak but conversely incredibly strong. Number two you have to have a reason to be depressed. Again not true. So there are different kinds of depression and you can certainly develop depression in response to traumatic or upsetting events. So things like a bereavement can trigger depression but you could have the absolutely most perfect life and still struggle with depression because actually it can have a biological basis and so you might look at someone and say well what do they have to be depressed about? They don't have to have anything to be depressed about that doesn't make these feelings these thoughts these behaviors any less valid at all and actually sometimes people who are able to look at their life objectively and say it's really good I have a nice home a nice family and job I care about and not struggling for money or whatever can make it even harder actually to manage your depression because you feel like you should have a reason and as you have all these nice things that you should be okay and that can become like an extra stick to beat you with. So no you don't have to have a reason to be depressed it can be something that happens to you without having a trigger or a cause. Number three is she they look fine they can't be depressed. So the idea that someone is carrying on with normal everyday life they're engaging with family and friends with work so they must be absolutely fine. Absolutely again not true. Many people who are struggling with depression actively manage their illness and perhaps through talking therapy or through use of medication or through really careful self-care and management then they do manage to engage with everyday tasks they might carry on with family life and with their working life. For some people that's not possible but for many they do that doesn't mean to say that they're not struggling with depression and what you can't tell from watching someone from observing them in their normal day-to-day life is quite what's going on in their mind and quite how difficult it might be for them to carry out those normal day-to-day tasks. So someone appearing fine does not necessarily mean that they are fine. So there you go three common myths I hear all the time depression is not a sign of weakness you do not have to have a reason to be depressed and looking fine does not necessarily mean that you are fine. I'd love to hear your thoughts on these and other myths about depression take a moment to leave a comment below. Thank you and see you next time bye.