Bruce Springsteen

The Boss talked about his depression during interviews in 2016 to launch his autobiography. "It is something that has been a part of my life," he told the BBC's desert Island Discs. "It is usually OK, but like Churchill’s 'black dog'," he said, it still jumps up and bites you sometimes.

Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga says she’s dealt with both depression and anxiety her whole life. The pop star says she’s not ashamed to admit she  takes  medication for depression. In an interview with Billboard magazine, she said she thinks it’s important for people to talk about their mental health. "If we share our stories and stick together, we’re stronger."

Stephen Fry

Stephen Fry detailed his experience of bipolar disorder with a documentary in 2006 called The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive. He now campaigns on mental health issues as president of the charity Mind. On taking up the office, he said: "The mind, like the body, is prone to disease or disorder, and we must end the stigma of mental health problems."

J.K. Rowling

The woman behind Harry Potter brought joy to millions, but admits she felt despair while writing the magical novels. Her dark moods even inspired her series’ soul-sucking creatures known as Dementors. “It's so difficult to describe [depression] to someone who's never been there, because it's not sadness,” she told Oprah Winfrey in 2010. “But it's that cold absence of feeling, that really hollowed-out feeling.”

Alastair Campbell

The former 'spin doctor' for Tony Blair talked about his depression experiences in a documentary he called Cracking Up. He's also written about depression in his books All In The Mind and The Happy Depressive. He is an ambassador for Mind and says in a blog post: "Mental health remains the Cinderella service in healthcare because it remains misunderstood, and it remains the one nobody wants to talk about."

Jon Hamm

Just like his character Don Draper in Mad Men, Jon Hamm has battled some heavy stuff. He’s been open about his bouts with depression and says it was particularly rough after his father died when he was in college. He credits his friends and their families for coming to his aid. “I did do therapy and antidepressants for a brief period, which helped me,” he told the Observer magazine in 2010.

Sheryl Crow

The 9-time Grammy-winning singer battled depression even before she faced down breast cancer and a benign brain tumour. “I have a strong sense of melancholy,” she told The Telegraph in 2014. “I played piano at an early age out of a need to feel something.”

Denise Welch

The Coronation Street actress and TV presenter had postnatal depression after her first son was born, followed by bouts of severe depression over 24 years. "Unfortunately for me, postnatal depression opened up a lifetime of depression," she tells Mind, where she is an ambassador. She's talked about how depression is misunderstood: "'Snap out of it, pull yourself together'. People say it, or think it, a lot. It’s the most pointless comment, because if you could snap out of it you would, wouldn’t you?"

Freddie Flintoff

The former England cricketer was making a documentary about depression in sport when he realised he had the mental health condition himself. "I never knew what it was," he told the BBC. "You know when you feel a little bit down, you physically can't get up. Or you can't get off your bed. It's hard to explain, you have the weight of the world on your shoulders." Freddie says he's cut out drinking alcohol to help with his depression. Other famous sports people with depression incude former boxer Frank Bruno and former England footballer Paul Gascoigne.

Gwyneth Paltrow

This Academy Award-winning actress shone a light on postnatal depression when she opened up about her 5-month battle after the birth of her second child, Moses. “I felt like a zombie,” she told Good Housekeeping in 2011. “I couldn't access my heart. I couldn't access my emotions. I couldn't connect.” She dealt with clinical depression, too, after her father died in 2002.

Buzz Aldrin

Even walking on the moon couldn’t stop Buzz Aldrin from feeling low. In fact, the astronaut’s sudden fame after the 1969 moon landing led to his divorce, plus problems with alcohol and depression. Unhappiness runs in his family, he told The New York Times. His mother and maternal grandfather had depression, to the point where both committed suicide. Buzz sought treatment and became chairman of a mental health group.

Ruby Wax

Ruby Wax has told audiences about her depression in a stage show called Losing It. She's also a Mind ambassador and supports the Time to Change campaign for openness on mental health issues: "It used to be the 'C' word, cancer, that people wouldn't discuss. Now it's the 'M' word. I hope pretty soon it'll be okay for everyone to talk openly about their mental health without fear of being treated differently."

Jim Carrey

The man behind some of the craziest characters on screen, from the Grinch to Ace Ventura, says he’s had some dark days. He’s open about taking antidepressants and leads a very clean, spiritual life. “I rarely drink coffee,” he told the US TV show 60 Minutes. “I'm very serious about no alcohol, no drugs. Life is too beautiful.”

Robin Williams

His suicide in 2014 shocked millions, but to those who knew Robin Williams best, the signs were there. Along with depression and periods of extreme sorrow, the Academy Award-winning actor/comedian had a history with substance and alcohol abuse. In 2006, he described his highs and lows in a radio interview: “Do I perform sometimes in a manic style? Yes. Am I manic all the time? No. Do I get sad? Oh yeah. Does it hit me hard? Oh yeah.”

Winston Churchill

The wartime prime minister was also a busy writer. His biographer Boris Johnson says Churchill "wrote to keep the black dog of depression at bay". Other creative outlets he used to help his depression included painting and laying bricks.

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