Positive thinking

Leader: Despite what many may believe, depression is not a symptom of our modern consumer age.

‘I was 29 before I asked for help’

As a teenager, Stephanie Merritt suffered from depression. As an adult, juggling parenthood and work pressures, she reached crisis point. In a moving memoir, she tells of her long struggle to overcome the 'black dog'.

Voices in the dark

A month ago, in the Observer Magazine, Harriet Lane relived the devastating postnatal depression she suffered after the births of her children. Since then, she's been inundated with letters from mothers who also lived through the nightmare of PND. Here, she describes the reaction to her article, and we print a selection of your candid and moving responses.

Lost into post-natal depression

She had a supportive family and a loving husband, a contented baby and good childcare. So why did all the joy drain from Harriet Lane's life? Here, in a deeply personal and shattering memoir, she relives the dark months she lost to post-natal depression ...

How can I beat post-natal depression?

A mother who experienced terrible depression after the birth of her first child is now hoping for a second. How can she escape the misery of PND? Our panel of experts offer advice.