Depression will affect 10% of all Australian men and a whopping 20% of Australian women. So there’s every chance you’ve suffered from it yourself or know someone who has. I read a beautifully eloquent and moving story on Babble.com recently, written by a mother who suffers from depression:

On a Friday morning in early November, I got up with my then twenty-two-month-old twin daughters, Elsa and Clio, as usual. My husband watches them most of the week while I’m at work, so on Fridays I always let him sleep in. But that morning I’d barely finished giving the girls their breakfast when I made my way back to the bedroom, curled up next to him and said, on the verge of tears, “I need you to take care of the girls. I can’t do it.”

I spent most of that day —and the next —in bed.

For more than a month, I’d been struggling with an episode of clinical depression. Until that point, I’d been able to muddle through at work, take care of the girls —with difficulty —and keep up with essential everyday tasks. But on that dark Friday, even just sitting on the sofa while Elsa and Clio watched Sesame Street hurt too much. I felt empty and detached from reality. I could barely bring myself to do or say anything. My whole body throbbed with unfocused dread. I had no thoughts of suicide, but I was lower than I’d ever felt before — low enough that I simply couldn’t handle taking care of my children. And it scared me.

You can read t he rest of this story here…. if you know someone who might benefit from it, send them the link…..