About 1 in 7 young New Zealanders (aged 16 - 24 years) will experience depression in a serious way over the next 12 months. Girls are more likely to have a depressive episode than boys.

Risk factors include: - Family conflict or illness - Bullying - The loss of someone close - Stress, including loneliness, relationship problems - Drug and/or alcohol use - Unemployment - Physical illness or long-term health problems - Having a family member with depression - Some women experience depression after childbirth, especially if they have any of the risk factors above.

This depends on how serious the depression is. For mild depression, regular physical exercise has been found to be very effective. For more serious depression, there are effective psychological and drug therapies available. It’s important to find a treatment that works for you.

People with depression don’t usually get better on their own. They need help and support - from friends, family and health professionals. With the right kind of help, most people recover fully and get on with their lives.

- Listen to them. - Help them to get information about depression from a website or library. - Suggest they see a doctor and support them to do this by going with them. - Help get them involved in social activities. For more info, check out this Fact Sheet.

- Don’t tell them to ‘harden up’ or ‘snap out of it’. - Don’t avoid them or stop seeing them. - Don’t put pressure on them to socialise if they don’t want to. - Don’t give them alcohol or drugs.