How We Got Happy is the brain-child of Eve and Jonathan, two friends who met through competitive rowing in 2012. Eve is 26 years old and comes from North Canterbury. Jonathan is a 28 year old from Kaipaki.

They are both happy, healthy Kiwis and have both beaten depression in the past.

The original idea for this project is that they think their respective paths to recovery taught them some good, constructive lessons on staying well and staying healthy. In talking with other young New Zealanders who’ve also built happy lives after depression, they learnt that others had some great lessons as well.

When they looked for help in books and websites, they found it was really well-documented about how depression made people feel and how bad NZ’s national statistics were; but there didn’t seem to be much information about what paths people took to recover.

The aim is to now share peoples stories of recovery in a constructive, engaging and positive style to provide relatable information for those currently going through their own struggles, as well as anyone with an interest in staying well.

They want to explore the answer to this question:
What are the things (habits, tools, beliefs, exercises etc) people have done that helped them move from the bottom of the bell-curve forward, into happy, healthy lives once again?

It won’t be a ‘how-to’ guide, but rather, a collection of stories about the things that have worked to help a collection of young Kiwis get and stay well.

Eve and Jonathan are not experts on mental health, but simply, young Kiwis who believe it can be talked about in a constructive, open manner. They've interviewed every-day Kiwis from all walks of life in the hope that readers will find someone they relate to because, as we've experienced, when it comes to developing empathy and understanding, relatability is key.