Monday's child is fair of face

Tuesday's child is full of grace

Wednesday's child is full of woe

Thursday's child has far to go

Friday's child is loving and giving

Saturday's child works hard for a living

But the child who is born on the Sabbath Day

Is bonny and blithe and good and gay

Is there one thing which distinguishes all people who suffer from depression? Do we all have hairy toes? Did we all have to sit next to a person we detested in our first year of school? Were we all born on a Wednesday?

Ash, the leader of our bipolar group, says that it is usually intelligent, creative people who are afflicted with depression and bi-polar disorder. I don't know. It does seem though, that many of my creative and intelligent friends do suffer. Just a few minutes ago I was chatting with a fellow writer I knew many years ago when we both lived in the same city. Our paths have diverged but we have recently reconnected on Facebook and got back in touch. I mentioned that I write for Moodscope. Oh, he knows all about Moodscope as he too has his own large "black dog" which sits on him from time to time; panting heavily and breathing foul doggy breath into his face.

But, can we say that this is inevitably the flip side of the coin? If one is intelligent and creative, must one automatically be predisposed to depression? If one suffers from depression, does that automatically make one intelligent and creative?

And, if so – why should that be?

I don't have any answers and I should be glad of your opinion on this, so please do comment, if you have a view.

I think a lot of it may depend upon the reasons for our depression. There seems to be a link with stress, especially with teenagers at school. It is the children who put themselves under pressure to perform who suffer most. I keep an eagle eye on my fifteen-year-old, who is predicted all 7s and 8s in her GCSEs next summer (that's the old As and A*s, by the way). For her, the prospect of getting a 6 (quite respectable), would equate to ignominious failure, and she drives herself to work more than I feel is wise.

Maybe it's the people who are too hard on themselves. Do you expect perfection of yourself and despair when you fall short of your expectations?

Or the people who are in stressful environments where there is no relief and no way out? The people who suffer bullying at work or in school?

Maybe our depression is caused by a combination of internal and external factors.

It may not help us feel better, but it may help us toward a more effective treatment if we can analyse what is external and what is internal.

And I can guarantee that one of the external factors will not be that we were all born on a Wednesday!

Mary

A Moodscope member.