Carol Vorderman has opened up about suffering from depression whilst going through the menopause
Carol Vorderman has bravely revealed that she has suffered from depression which was caused by going through the menopause.
The I'm A Celeb! runner up spoke to Lorraine Kelly on her show this morning about her mental health issues caused by "the change".
The 56-year-old, who recently revealed that her mother has devastatingly been diagnosed with terminal cancer, admitted there were times when she struggled "to carry on".
She said: "I was powering on doing this and that and building houses and flying a plane and bringing up my kids by myself and all of those different things.
"And then this depression hit me and I don't use the word depression lightly, this was a blackness where I would wake up - nothing else in my life was going wrong.
"I'm a very lucky woman, no money worries or nothing like that - and I would wake up and I thought, 'I don't see the point in carrying on. I just don't see the point in life. I don't see it'."
Carol then explained something that many sufferers of depression find themselves feeling: "There was no reason to feel that way and the only reason I didn't do anything, and I've not admitted it before, is because I had two children."
She bravely continued: "I thought, 'I just want this feeling to stop, I'd do anything for this feeling to stop because I can't sort it'. And this went on for a number of months."
Thankfully, Carol was able to get help - but at her lowest point, things could have taken a drastic turn. Lorraine asked her what might have happened if she hadn't reached out, to which Carol worryingly said: "I suspect we wouldn’t be talking today."
The TV star explained that she found it became worse during two particular weeks of the month, and wondered whether her feelings may be linked to her hormonal cycle.
She was able to get help from her doctor, who put her onto medication to help: "From the moment I took the medication I have never ever felt that way.
"I've been fed up, and obviously at the moment my mum is not well so I'm upset. But there is a reason for all of those things whereas before there was no reason for it and it was absolutely, categorically to do with hormones."
Well done to Carol for speaking out!
Watch Lorraine on ITV every weekday at 8:30am.
If you have any concerns about your mental health, visit the Mental Health Foundation's site.
Have you or a loved one ever suffered from depression caused by the menopause? Let us know over on Facebook and Twitter.
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