Maggie | Prebbleton, Canterbury

“For the past two years I’ve been battling depression and anxiety, and I just recently pulled myself out of that hole at the start of this year and for me, being able to get out of that space, I had to be brave and courageous, and show strength, and be strong because you can’t wallow in that mental space.

Sometimes you just have to pick yourself up, and that is definitely one event for me in my 18 years of living, that I’ve had to really show some strength, and it’s taught me a life lesson that I’ll carry with me.

I’ve learned that I’m stronger than I thought I was, that I can battle anything that comes my way, and so can anyone else. I am brave and I am courageous, and I do have a lot of strength in me, and so do a lot of other people, you just have to find that within yourself, no matter how young or how old you are.

If you’re depressed, if you’re going through something, if you’re battling mental illness, there is always a way out of it. There’s a lot of help available in New Zealand for people that have mental health problems. There’s a bunch of helplines, and the suicide rates are very, very high in New Zealand. We’ve got the highest suicide rates in the world, so just know that you are loved and you are cared for, and that people are here for you, and they want to listen to you. Also that you have the strength and the courage within yourself to get yourself out of a bad place.

I want to acknowledge first-off, my parents, Jan and Pete. They have definitely pulled me out of a dark area, and sometimes without even knowing. Then definitely just a group of my friends. They all know who they are, and I probably wouldn’t be here without them. They’ve picked me up on my worst days, and really showed me the love and support that I needed. 

I found that sometimes you just have to push yourself, go for walks, hang out with friends, definitely reaching out to family members that could spend some time with you, and also attending therapy and counselling is okay. It’s normal, and you shouldn’t be ashamed to go to therapy, because it’s more help than you’ll ever realise.

So, I grew up in Burwood, in Christchurch. The earthquakes hit, so we moved out to Rangiora, and then in May this year we moved back out to Christchurch to Prebbleton. I left school in 2018. I’ve kind of just been all around the place, and now I’m working with people that have disabilities three days a week voluntarily and next year I’m planning to study to be a social worker.

The realisation for me, when I first started battling depression and anxiety, was when I was 16,  when the hard stuff really hit. I was attending school at the time, and one of my teachers said, you’d be a great social worker. And, it was kind of a big wake-up call for me that I realised after I got help and felt better within myself, that I really wanted to go and do that. Working with people that have disabilities is a great first step to that, and I realise that in my future career and job, that I definitely want to help people.”

**If you, or someone you know, needs help you can text or free call 1737 at anytime to talk to, or text with, a trained counsellor.  For free support for young people, or people supporting young people, contact Youthline 0800 376 633 or free text 234 **