What to say to children to explain...

[Suzi]

My children are 17, 14 and 13. I've asked my two youngest as they are here and the eldest one is at his nans for the afternoon lol

She got very upset when she was left in charge of her Dad as he kept passing out with a panic attack in paeds A+E. He'd taken her to get her foot x-rayed. I was so cross with the hospital and they knew it by the time I'd finished.

I've asked her what she thinks as she's super awesome:

She says be super honest. Tell them as it really is, if you don't it only makes more questions and worries.
Remind them that depression is really common and it doesn't sound easy to deal with every day.
Suicide is the biggest worry she has, but Marc has been really honest about any thoughts he's ever had - but she says don't bring it up unless they do.

She has found some quotes really helpful:

"Depression isn't a sign of weakness, it's a sign of staying too strong for too long"
"The bravest thing I've ever done was continuing to live when I wanted to die"

Knowing that others have it and it's OK to talk about it.
Talking to pets really helps - they don't judge and are reassuring.

[Paula]

Suzi, your kids are awesome - but then they have awesome parents.

Grey Haze, I told my eldest when she was 7 because she had realised I was ill and thought I was dying. I figured anything would be better for her to think about than her mummy dying. I told her the truth - that I had an illness that mucked about with my head and made me very sad. I told her that the doctor was giving my tablets to help me and that I would get better, but that it would take time. Not long after that I was admitted to hospital and she visited me twice. She was awesome with me, she wasn’t scared of the other patients and she has now (at 20) got an incredibly strong sense of empathy