John Key

Throughout your career have there been any low points and how did you bounce back from those low points?

One of the most difficult things about being Prime Minister is when national tragedies occur, you are close to them and that can be a very sobering experience. During the Christchurch earthquakes, we saw the impact it had on so many families. We felt their pain and heard the tragic stories of how people’s lives were ripped apart. That’s equally true of the Pike River

As Prime Minister, I have sent both our SAS and our regular forces to Afghanistan and Iraq. As a result of them being on deployment, 11 New Zealanders lost their lives. Where possible I’ve visited those families and talked to them about their loss.

The main thing is you deal with difficult situations and face up to them as best you can. There is no simple or easy answer but one thing you can do to help people who are dealing with difficult situations is provide support. For people who are dealing with loss, that won’t bring their loved ones back, but it does help those families and it is an important part of the grieving process

Your job is probably one of the most stressful in the world, how do you cope with the stress? When it gets too much what do you do to cope with it?

There’s certainly a lot of stress in my job. If you’re confident in the decisions you’re making, that helps. There will always be inaccurate or unfair claims made or false information presented about you. If you have confidence in what you’re doing, then you can learn to cope with those situations.

It’s also important to try to have some balance in what you do – eating reasonably well, getting some exercise, trying to get a reasonable amount of sleep, and having good friends and family around you.

If someone you were close to suffered from depression, what would you do to support them and help them?

The Government launched a youth mental health programmed in 2012 to give greater support to young New Zealanders in need. We have also tried to make it easier for young people to access that support, for example as part of the $64 million we’ve put into youth mental health initiatives, the Government funded an online tool sparx.org.nz to help young people learn how to better deal with feeling down, depressed or stressed.

If you’re suffering from depression, it’s important to realise you’re not alone. One in five young New Zealanders in school have mental health issues in some form, so you shouldn’t feel ashamed of it.

I’d also encourage those young people to get help either through counsellors at school, family, friends, their GP or anyone they feel they can trust. It’s important not to underestimate the benefit of help. Some high profile people like Sir John Kirwan have spoken about their own struggles with mental health issues and their most important message has been people shouldn’t be ashamed if they feel depressed. They should be open about it and get help.

When you were growing up as a teenager did you ever suffer from depression? If so, how did you get through it? If not how did you stay positive and cope with all the pressures of growing up?

I haven’t personally suffered from depression but I’ve certainly known and met people who have suffered from it and I appreciate how difficult it is. There are a variety of reasons for people to be depressed. Young people in particular are vulnerable and it’s hard for them sometimes to rationalize what’s happening. Unfortunately, some people go through terrible loss in their life or they just find it difficult to cope at times.

Today there are new forms of bullying which were not around when I was young – primarily online and through social media like Facebook and Snapchat. It’s not limited to high profile people like politicians and sports stars – people can suffer from that kind of bullying right across the community. The Government has passed laws to combat it and it’s now an offence to post harmful material online.

One of the ways to deal with this is to avoid reading it and to dismiss it for what it is – gutless behaviour from people who don’t have the courage to say things to your face.

In my experience when people write things online and are then challenged on it they hold quite a different view when they talk to you directly.

My advice to young people is to ignore the trolls and bullies on social media because it’s not worth dwelling on what they are saying.

Have confidence in yourself, know that no matter how bad things seem there is always a way through and there are lots of people around to support you. Reach out to them because you don’t have to deal with these issues on your own. The opportunities available to young people in New Zealand are limitless. Focus on the future and getting yourself right and know that better times are around the corner.