Books can be great old friends when feeling low. The book on this video - 'I had a Black Dog' by Matthew Johnstone and the sequel 'Living with a Black Dog' are books that I come back to when I'm ill. They remind me I'm not alone and that the things I'm thinking and feeling are due to my depression. They are particularly good as they are mostly pictures so I can read them even though my attention span is shot to hell.

I would recommend these books for people to use to gain an understanding of depression, or for others like me who find them a useful companion on the dark days.

 
So after goodness knows how long, I remembered I have a blog. I'm off work with depression (again) and one of the things that is helping me through the days at the moment are the honest blogs of other people living with mental illness. So I thought I might try and have a go myself at writing a bit about what living with depression is like, what helps and my thoughts about mental health.
It is a bit scary exposing myself and my illness to the world, the old fears of people not believing I'm really ill or not wanting to be around me are always there. But I have such good support from those close to me, I know nothing I write will affect how they feel about me. I hope that by writing a bit about how things are for me, it might help other people understand a bit better and make the world a more understanding place for others with the same difficulties.
I'm out of energy now, but I'll write more soon.