Pride of Guernsey: Darren Lilley

HAVING the courage to speak out about his depression has led Darren Lilley to be nominated for the Close Finance-sponsored Overcoming Adversity Award.

Mr Lilley, now a family man in his 30s, struggled with the debilitating illness on-and-off from his mid-teens.

An anonymous nominator admired how Mr Lilley took positive steps to ensure depression did not ruin his life and encouraged other men to speak out about what can be a difficult topic for them to discuss.

‘Taking up running, as he trained for the Father’s Day half-marathon to raise awareness for the condition, Mr Lilley took charge of his own recovery.’

Mr Lilley has also used mindfulness techniques and cognitive behavioural therapy. He now says he feels in a much better place and that he may have struggled in the past but is not ashamed of it and wants to counteract the stigma attached to depression.

‘It is no mean feat to take these steps when depression is swallowing you up. Depression affects so many more people than you may realise.’