Blueprint for Hope is provided by Wyeth Pharmaceuticals. Click on a partner to learn more.

Paige Hemmis is a member of the design team on ABC's Emmy-winning Extreme Makeover: Home Edition^TM.  An accomplished, self-taught carpenter, Hemmis has been a part of the show for six seasons.  She has been diagnosed with major depression.  As the celebrity spokesperson for Blueprint for Hope, Hemmis is speaking about her depression publicly for the first time.  She hopes that her story will inspire others to learn more about depression and the importance of talking with a health care professional and creating a "blueprint," or treatment plan, to manage the condition.

Hemmis hid her struggle with depression, feeling at odds with her job of improving lives and making people happy on the show.  In 2004, during the shooting of season two, Hemmis could no longer mask her depression.  Sleeplessness and exhaustion from her depression was taking a serious toll, making her feel even more disconnected and sad.  If it weren't for the families who were truly counting on her to help build their dream homes, she probably wouldn't have gotten out of bed.  After a particularly emotional day on the set, she finally decided to talk to her doctor, who diagnosed her with depression.

Initially, Hemmis was surprised by the diagnosis because she thought depression meant sitting at home all day crying.  She soon came to realize that for her, depression was also characterized by sadness, exhaustion, sleeplessness, guilt, loneliness, and withdrawal from her family, friends, and favorite activities.

She worked closely with her doctor, with whom she has a trusting relationship, to find a treatment plan that worked for her.  For Hemmis, this meant not only trying several antidepressants, but remembering to take her medication.  When Hemmis didn't take her medication as prescribed, she knew that she wasn't helping herself get any better.  She made a conscious effort to be an active participant in managing her depression, which for her, in part, has meant sticking to a treatment plan.  

After her diagnosis, she learned that both her mother and grandmother were also diagnosed with depression, and now they support one another when they need it.  Today, she is back to feeling like herself and loving her job. While Hemmis understands that she may need to deal with her depression for the rest of her life, she's now confident that she can handle it.  She also follows her own home improvement advice to "start small" in order to not be overwhelmed.  As a spokesperson for Blueprint for Hope, Hemmis wants to inspire others with depression to find the courage to seek help and find a treatment plan that works for them — as she did.

Click here to learn more about Paige's DIY tips.