N’t move.. n’t speak.. terrifying

Epression and how support posts led to her new book

didn’t d to selfyears. trauma ust the by or the ce I had ars. rippling, erminal e it still have it. one with l, you’ve you look bed.’ e of the We have slogans like ‘It’s good to talk’ but there are still people who won’t treat someone in the workplace with a mental illness the same way they would a physical one.

“Depression is not just being sad. It does what it says on the tin – it pushes everything down and you can’t feel any emotion.”

Many people turn to booze or drugs because of this. “Anyone who has depression will know that at times you will do anything to stop the pain,” says Denise. “Drinking just makes you 10 times worse. By numbing the pain for a short time, you’re lengthening the time it stays with you. It was a horrendous time.

“So I can tell anyone with depression they’ll be doing themselves a favour if they take alcohol and other substances out of their lives. Eight years ago

I got sober and it was the best thing I ever did. Giving up alcohol doesn’t cure clinical depression but it stops it being compounded.”

Denise, happily married to Lincoln Townley since 2013, adds: “Writing a memoir about depression makes it sound as if the last 30 years have been horrendous, which is rubbish. Life is full of joy and laughter when I’m not ill, all the usual ups and downs.

“But a lot of special days were spoiled by my Unwelcome Visitor.

“Putting them down in black and white in defiance of him proves he hasn’t beaten me and will never triumph. I want other people who suffer from depression to know they can get through it. I want to show them how bad it has been but that I’ve survived.”

The Unwelcome Visitor: Depression and How I Survive It by Denise Welch is published in hardback, ebook and audio on June 25 by Hodder & Stoughton.