Book aims to banish myths

Leanne Warr believes in the power of stories and by telling hers and the journeys others have had through depression, she hopes to break down stigmas surrounding the mental illness.

The former journalist said while her depression was diagnosed a long time ago, her confidence to write a book about it has taken time to grow.

‘‘Years ago someone said to me, ‘You have such an interesting story, why don’t you talk about it and write a book?’ But I just thought I was no one special and how could I do that?’’

When she was giving a talk about a novel she had self-published that dealt with themes of suicide, ‘‘Someone asked ‘Why do people do it?’ . . . all I could say was that they are trying to ease their own pain. People think it is a selfish thing, but it’s not, it’s a mindset of thinking that ‘people would be better off without me’. We had over 600 cases last year reported of suicide and that needs to be looked at closely. It’s huge.’’

Huge enough for Warr to decide to start researching a book.

‘‘My depression had reared its ugly head when I first lost my job and I decided to take the initiative and see a counsellor. I felt like somebody finally got me and understood where I was coming from. I was encouraged to take action in my own healing and when I emailed some of the things I had been writing, she reinforced that I needed to write the book.’’

Warr said while she is writing about lessons she has learnt, other people’s stories are just as important.

‘‘I’m talking to others who help deal with their depression in different ways and I want to show people there are lots of ways to manage it. I don’t believe that you can beat it and I think it’s important to emphasise that. There isn’t a cure but there are things you can do.’’

Warr also wants to tackle the stigma that ‘‘everyone gets it from time to time’’ and one of the chapters in the book deals with depression myths.

‘‘Yes people feel depressed but depression is a complex set of behaviours and emotions that have nothing to do with feeling depressed. Instead of saying ‘get over it’ help them. This is real, it is not an imaginary illness.’’

Warr encourages those wanting to discuss depression to email her: leanne.warr.nz@gmail.com