Oscar Kightley says the ways we've been tackling depression hasn't been working or the rate wouldn't have been steadily increasing.

OPINION: This is another column on depression and suicide in New Zealand.

There has already been a lot written about these topics this week amid the outpouring of grief that followed the sudden death of one of TVNZ's best-ever journalists – and one of nation's coolest ever broadcasters – Greg Boyed.

The over-riding emotion from his friends, colleagues and many fans following the news of his death in Switzerland was shock that he was suffering to that extent. But I guess that's one of things about depression.

TVNZ Oscar Kightley pays tribute to 'one of nation's coolest ever broadcasters’ Greg Boyed

Mental health campaigner Mike King commented that one of the biggest problems is the myth that there are signs of depression: "There is one sign, and one sign only – and that sign is if I tell you."

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This week I've tried to listen more and be more aware of people close to me, and how much they may be suffering. Perhaps part of our problem when it comes to our treatment of mental health in this country is that we don't talk about it enough.

Maybe, if we did talk and write about these things openly every week – as opposed to just when there's been a high-profile casualty or statistics released – it would be considered a normal part of life, because it clearly is a part of normal life.

Ministry of Health figures reveal that when it comes to depression, some 16.7 per cent of the population are afflicted, which adds up to 640,000 of us.

Writing on Stuff, Philip Matthews broke down the demographic variations: that more women than men are affected; numbers are higher for Europeans and Maori, than Pacific and Asian populations; depression rises in line with levels of deprivation; and it seems to be a disease of the middle aged: one in five New Zealanders between 45 and 64 are affected. In women, it comes close to one in four.

This week, the country's suicide statistics were released by chief coroner Judge Deborah Marshall. 606 people committed suicide in the year to August. That's an increase of 579 people from the year before, which was an increase on 564 the year before that.

New Zealand, we clearly have a problem. And the ways we've been using to tackle this problem hasn't been working or the rate wouldn't be steadily increasing.

Mental Health advocates have been calling for more work to be done in the prevention area. King told Newshub: "More work needs to be done talking about normalising the inner critic, letting people know you're allowed to have a suicidal thought – this sounds really bad, but you're allowed to have a suicidal thought… Even worse, just because you have that thought you are classified as mentally ill. Having a suicidal thought doesn't make you mentally ill – it makes you human."

Even one death by suicide is too many. But if there is any glimmer of hope to be taken out of these statistics it's that when you consider that 640,000 in New Zealand have been told they have depression, that the vast majority of those people must find a way through.

At the very least, each of those 640,000 should know, that they are not alone.