The Archbishop of Canterbury's daughter has spoken about her 'unbearable' bouts of depression.
In an effort to dispel the stigma surrounding the condition, Katharine Welby, 26, said she has found herself consumed by a 'black veil of nothing' and could see 'no hope in the world'.
She is, however, critical about the support offered by the Church for people suffering mental illness.
Battle with depression: Katharine Welby poses with a Mitre-shaped tea cosy in an IKEA store
The Archbishop of Canterbury with his daughter, who has spoken about her 'unbearable' bouts of depression
Describing her own experience of depression she said she was told by some that she had failed to 'understand God's love' and that her faith was 'not correct.'
She writes that while she always believed 'God will stand by me with every step', it was a 'shame that so often his people will not'. She challenged the Church to 'eradicate the stigma' of mental illness.
Miss Welby, whose father the Most Reverend Justin Welby was enthroned as Archbishop last month, said she drew inspiration from the Bible, which is full of 'people who screw up, who get miserable, angry, who hurt and who weep'.
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These people, she argues, did not conform to the idea of perfect lives 'so why do we feel we need to?'
Miss Welby, who works for the Christian charity Livability, says she has used her faith to cope with her illness and argues the Church should accept that for many followers life 'is not always rosy'.
Writing in her blog, she said: 'I have depression. I get it quite badly on a regular basis and kind of cry and get tired and just generally see no hope in the world.
'When I am very low I still will see a black veil of nothing hanging in front of me, I will still find that point of hopelessness where there is no way forward.
Katharine Welby said she had been told that her depression showed had failed to 'understand God's love'
Justin Welby, centre, was enthroned as Archbishop of Canterbury last month and his daughter now says she is the ABCD - the Archbishop of Canterbury's Daughter
When her father, pictured during the Easter service at Canterbury Cathedral, was announced as the new Archbishop, Katharine tweeted: 'This is a very surreal moment!! Love this man!'
Katharine Welby's parents Justin Welby and his wife Caroline
'My brain gets full and I cannot possibly understand how to empty it or what the way forward is.' Arguing for improvement for those suffering poor mental health, she says too many currently 'suffer quietly and in fear of what their friends would say'.
Miss Welby adds: 'This is the time for change; if you look online you will find endless campaigns to end the stigma.
'I have a hopeful depression. I am unafraid of my illness, I know that at times it will be unbearable, but I know in it all I am not alone.
'I look forward to the time when this hope is shared by the Church and all those in it suffering quietly and in fear of what their friends would say.' When her father was named as the next Archbishop, Miss Welby tweeted: 'What the.....!!! My Dad is the new Archbishop of Canterbury?!! Nobody tells me nuffink. (grumbles to self in corner of office).'
She later added: 'My dad is the Archbishop of Canterbury to be. This is a very surreal moment!! Love this man!'
Referring to the shorthand for her father's new title – ABC for Arch-Bishop of Canterbury – she next tweeted: 'So this makes me the ABCD [ie Daughter]? I always wanted a title.'
Miss Welby also tweeted a picture of herself with what appeared to be a tea cosy on her head, joking that she was the 'first woman bishop'.
Her father has said he supports the ordination of women bishops. It is not the first time members of the Church of England have acknowledged the need to improve attitudes towards mental health.
Last year, a sermon written on behalf of the Archbishops' Council and the Time to Change mental health campaign suggested that Jesus himself may have suffered from mental health problems, alongside John the Baptist, St Paul and St Francis.
Last month Miss Welby's father disclosed that he avoids drinking alone for fear of following his father into alcoholism. He and his wife Caroline have five children.