How will you address your negative emotions so that they do not turn into a ‘nest’? Write an action plan.

For example: The next time I feel a negative emotion, I am going to consciously take some time out to . . . This way, I can try and address the emotion before it lingers and creates a long-term negative effect. Remember, this needs to be done as soon as you first identify the negative feeling.

Studies suggest that over 40 per cent of us will suffer from depression in our lives.1 That means every other person you meet in the street will go through this disease. However, depression is poorly understood. Many people mistake depression for sadness and sadness for depression because they share many similarities. In both, people feel lost, complain of alienation from their normal lives and cry. However, the difference is that the person who is sad has a specific reason for their sadness, whereas the depressed person may not. It’s easy for the sad person to tell you what is bothering them: the death of a loved one, the loss of a job or the breaking of a relationship. The depressed person is just depressed; they can’t pinpoint what is causing their hopelessness.