Health: Dealing with the black dog when it descends doesn't mean you can't be happy lots of the time

ICE-cream for breakfast, running in the park, a good film? A failure to include positive highlights such as these in your daily routine can be one of the factors that lead to us feeling that there's no light at the end of the tunnel and trigger the depression to which so many of us are predisposed.

According to the Office for National Statistics, one in four of us will experience some kind of mental health problem in the course of a year, with anxiety and depression the most common. All too often depression can lead to tragic consequences.

In the face of the appalling statistics mental health workers and campaigners are determined to remove the stigma that surrounds the issue and get the message across that help is out there.

See Me, Scotland's national campaign to end the stigma and discrimination of mental ill-health, hopes to address the issue with the launch of its first creative writing competition. Taking a theme of support, because seeking this from others can be a real turning point, the competition is split into three categories; a short story, poetry and tweet.

Judging the short story section will be Edinburgh-based children's writer Lari Don, who admits to having a whole list of things that keep her contentment quota levels topped up to ensure that she is one of the happiest people she knows.

As well as reading with her children and meeting other youngsters through her work as an author - she has five children's books to her name - she admits to ice-cream at breakfast treats to celebrate a new book.

Despite Don's positive outlook and zest for life, she has also battled depression for nearly half of her 41 years.

"People would be surprised to learn that I cope with depression because I'm a very positive person and come across as cheerful and enjoying life," she says. "I am happy most of the time. I'm a half-full kind of person and sometimes I'm surprised when another part of me copes with depression. But that's just as much me as the cheerful side. It's who I am. I'm a positive, determined, enthusiastic person who enjoys everything about life. It's just that sometimes I have depression and you wouldn't necessarily be able to tell.

"Just because we're coping with depression doesn't mean we can't be very happy most of the time."

Don wouldn't describe herself, or others, as "suffering" from depression, preferring instead to use the term "coping". "I have had bouts of depression since my teens and now I have it nailed," she says. "They happen every two or three months but now I recognise it and deal with it the way I have discovered works for me.

"They last an incredibly brief time and don't affect my life the way they did when I was in my twenties. I'd rather not have depression but it's made me who I am and the tools you develop to cope with mental health issues are what you need for other parts of your life too.

"I have a personal toolkit that works for me, but by no means am I saying it would work for others. I stopped drinking ten years ago as it masked both the symptoms and the recovery and it was important for me to recognise when I was depressed so I could deal with it.

"I also run and try to keep fit as I'm a big believer in the medicine your own body produces, such as endorphins.

"And being a performer and storyteller is good for me - having deadlines and workshops - and I find that talking to friends and family who understand is crucial."

For Don, the power of the word provided a way of dealing with depression, which is why she's keen to endorse the See Me writing competition.

"You need to understand your own story and working out how you got to where you are is an important part of learning to cope with your life, whether you have mental health problems or not.

"And that's why it's important that children grow up into people who are comfortable with words. Not everyone is going to become a writer but if they can become comfortable with their own stories, they can be healthier people."

The See Me competition is open to everyone in Scotland, of any age, not just those with mental health problems, and the entries can be fact or fiction. The prize is 250 of Amazon vouchers, a place on the See Me website and in an anthology out next year.

So along with ice-cream breakfasts and running, Don has now added the anticipation of the postbag containing the short story entries in the New Year. "It's something that's going to make me very happy." n

• The See Me Creative Writing Competition closing date is 10 December. See www.seemescotland.org for full details of the contest.