In the episode, Nickie revealed how after her pregnancy she suffered from a “couple of bouts of depression”.

Host Trudy Kerr then questioned Nickie about what it was like to “go through [her] darkest times under the scrutiny of everybody who has access to media”.

“I was always a public person because of my career,” the lawyer of 25 years replied.

She explained that for her, it was the norm to put up a type of public persona, saying that when she goes to court she has “an alter ego”.

When Nickie found herself in the public eye as her real and honest self and was open about her depression, she was “actually welcomed” by the public, she revealed.

She told Trudy that, however, since “politics is a very dirty game”, her “mild depression” was used against her.

“My depression was used as a tool to silence me,” Nickie said.

“Now, I am not a person to be silenced. I am very correct. And if I see anything that I feel which is remotely not on the ball or something is happening to me, which is totally unacceptable or to my Children, I will fight tooth and nail,” she continued.

She explained how she never fit into the political sphere, especially since it is “blue against red and red against blue”.

“I am not that kind of person,” Nickie added, “so I wasn’t welcomed in.”

When asked whether she feels that her depression was weaponised against her, she replied in the affirmative.

She then explained how some people would label her and say “you know, Nickie actually is bipolar”.

“This was done to weaken me and get me ejected,” she continued.

She then went on to say that she does not even like to use the term “mental health” since she doesn’t consider herself “mentally ill”.

“I consider myself as being depressed. I get so sad that it verges on to depression,” she continued. However, she admitted that she was “never suicidal” and that her depression is “mild”.

The She Word returns this Thursday. 

Have you ever related to Nickie?