Anna, 25, NSW

I have suffered depreesion since i was 16 years old has i struggled with teenage issues going to school and with childhood sicknesses.

I was first dignosed with depression at the age of 16 which was only mild but it was still a struggle at the same time as i was a sick child growing up and missing a lot of schooling so i found it very hard to fit in with other kids and i use to get teased alot at school as i had to take medication at school and other kids seen me a "different". As time went on i rebelled against my life so i turned to drugs and alcohol so i didnt have to deal with the pressure of being classed as different.

My parents in the mean time were at a loss on what to do as i didnt talk about what was going on to anyone. anyways once i realised after about 12months of being on drugs and alcohol i realised what it was doing to me and my family - so i stopped.

I then went through the stage of just not caring what people thought of me and i ended up getting myself into unhealthy relationships and i even fell pregnant to twins and thats when i hit rock bottom and every time i would go to seel i just hoped to god that i didnt wake up and when i did wake up i felt even worse.

This went on for about two months and then i thought to myself i dont want to live like this no more so i decided i needed to seek help, so i went to my local gp and he refered me to a psychiatrist asap and from then on it has been 18months of professional help but now 12 months later after I have left professional help i am holding down a job, living independently, i have my license and just enjoying life even if i do have down times.