MasterChef winner Julie Goodwin ‘grateful to be alive’ after battling depression

MasterChef’s Julie Goodwin has opened up about her battle with depression. 

After checking into a mental health facility for five weeks in February, the 49-year-old told 9Honey Celebrity on Tuesday she was very ‘grateful to be alive’.

She had sought professional health as her depression worsened, and after quitting her Star 104.5 breakfast radio show.

‘It was a very difficult decision to leave radio. It was a wonderful job with colleagues that I adored,’ she said.

‘But I had reached a point where I just could not continue with everything I was doing and the decision was made. It was more of a gradual erosion of the joy in life, the sense of energy and happiness that each day used to bring. I was just worn down. It became very clear that I couldn’t continue what I was doing.’

Julie felt ‘shame’ at first when she entered the mental health unit, but now hopes that speaking out publicly will reduce the stigma surrounding depression and inspire others to ‘go easier on themselves’.

‘It’s shame that probably shouldn’t be there, making everything worse. What I hope is that, by sharing a part of my story, others may recognise the need to take stock, go easier on themselves, and reach out if they have hit that downhill slope,’ she said.

In February, Julie bravely revealed how she had spent five weeks in a mental health unit after stepping away from her radio career. 

‘Disappearing like this has created difficulty for a lot of people. I have essentially disappeared from my scheduled life, failed to meet my obligations, and I owe an explanation,’ she wrote in a heartfelt Facebook post.

The author revealed she had struggled with depression and anxiety ‘on and off’ for years, but had put in a lot of effort to conceal her problems.

‘I have never been one of those brave people who can lay these things out in the open for others to look at and comment on. But this time around the happy façade didn’t just slip a little bit, it fell off and smashed,’ she wrote.

Julie explained that running her Julie’s Place cooking school and working in breakfast radio had stretched her too thin, giving her no time for herself.

As she struggled to balance her work commitments and home life, the mother-of-three was diagnosed with depression and anxiety and put on medication last year. 

But a ‘whole list of things went wrong’ around Christmas and she ‘didn’t have the resources to deal with any of it’. She checked into the mental health unit weeks later.

For confidential support, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14