‘whether it is a last effort or a first step, it is the determined life that lives’
©Lives for Living 2011
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Counselling, Psychotherapy & Hypnotherapy
Private Practice, Bolton, Greater Manchester
Lives for Living
What is depression?
Many factors contribute to depression
The word 'depression' causes much confusion. It's often used to describe when someone is feeling 'low', 'miserable', 'in a mood' or having 'got out of bed on the wrong side'.
However, doctors use the word in two different ways. They can use it to describe the symptom of a 'low mood', or to refer to a specific illness, ie a 'depressive illness'. This factsheet relates to depression, the illness.
This confusion is made all the worse because it is often difficult to tell the difference between feeling gloomy and having a depressive illness.
Doctors make a diagnosis of depression after assessing the severity of the low mood, other associated symptoms and the duration of the problem.
Depression is very common. Almost anybody can develop the illness; it's certainly NOT a sign of weakness.
Depression is also treatable. You may need to see a doctor, but there are things you can do yourself or things you can do to help somebody suffering from the illness.
What you cannot do is 'pull yourself together' – no matter whether this is what you think you should be able to do or what other people tell you to do.
People who have experienced an episode of depression are at risk of developing another in the future. A small proportion may experience an episode of depression as part of a bipolar affective disorder (manic depression), which is characterised by episodes of both low and high moods
What causes depression?
- We do not fully understand the causes of depression.
- Genes or early life experiences may make some people vulnerable.
- Stressful life events, such as losing a job or a relationship ending, may trigger an episode of depression.
- Depression can be triggered by some physical illnesses, drug treatments and recreational drugs.
It's often impossible to identify a 'cause' in many people, and this can be distressing for people who want to understand the reasons why they are ill.
However depression, like any illness, can strike for no apparent reason.
It's clear that there are definite changes in the way the brain works when a person is depressed.
- Modern brain scans that can look at how 'hard' the brain is working have shown that some areas of the brain (such as at the front) are not working as well as normal.
- Depressed patients have higher than normal levels of stress hormones.
- Various chemical systems in the brain may not be working correctly, including one
known as the serotonin or 5-
HT system.
Symptoms of depression
Stress can lead to you to feeling 'down' and 'miserable'. What is different about a depressive illness is that these feelings last for weeks or months, rather than days.
In addition to feeling low most or all of the time, many other symptoms can occur in depressive illness (though not everybody has every one).
- Being unable to gain pleasure from activities that normally would be pleasurable.
- Losing interest in normal activities, hobbies and everyday life.
- Feeling tired all of the time and having no energy.
- Difficulty sleeping or waking early in the morning (though some feel that they can't get out of bed and 'face the world').
- Having a poor appetite, no interest in food and losing weight (though some people overeat and put on weight – (comfort eating).
- Losing interest in sex.
- Finding it difficult to concentrate and think straight.
- Feeling restless, tense and anxious.
- Being irritable.
- Losing self-
confidence. - Avoiding other people.
- Finding it harder than usual to make decisions.
- Feeling useless and inadequate .
- Feeling guilty about who you are and what you have done.
- Feeling hopeless, that nothing will make things better.
- Thinking about suicide, this is very common. If you feel this way, talk to somebody about it. If you think somebody else might be thinking this way, ask them about it, it will not make them more likely to commit suicide.