Depression

Depression : Overview

Depression is more than simply feeling unhappy or fed up for a few days.

Most people go through periods of feeling down, but when you’re depressed you feel persistently sad for weeks or months, rather than just a few days.

Some people think depression is trivial and not a genuine health condition. They’re wrong – it is a real illness with real symptoms. Depression is not a sign of weakness or something you can “snap out of” by “pulling yourself together”.

The good news is that with the right treatment and support, most people with depression can make a full recovery.

Causes : Depression

Sometimes there’s a trigger for depression. Life-changing events, such as bereavement, losing your job or giving birth, can bring it on. People with a family history of depression are more likely to experience it themselves. But you can also become depressed for no obvious reason.

There’s no single cause of depression. It can occur for a variety of reasons and it has many different triggers.

For some people, an upsetting or stressful life event, such as

bereavement
divorce
illness
redundancy and job or money worries

can be the cause. Different causes can often combine to trigger depression.

For example, you may feel low after being ill and then experience a traumatic event, such as a bereavement, which brings on depression. People often talk about a “downward spiral” of events that leads to depression. For example, if your relationship with your partner breaks down, you’re likely to feel low, you may stop seeing friends and family and you may start drinking more. All of this can make you feel worse and trigger depression. Some studies have also suggested that you’re more likely to get depression as you get older, and that it’s more common in people who live in difficult social and economic circumstances.

Symptoms of Depression

Depression affects people in different ways and can cause a wide variety of symptoms.

They range from lasting feelings of unhappiness and hopelessness, to losing interest in the things you used to enjoy and feeling very tearful. Many people with depression also have symptoms of anxiety.

There can be physical symptoms too, such as feeling constantly tired, sleeping badly, having no appetite or sex drive, and various aches and pains.

The symptoms of depression range from mild to severe. At its mildest, you may simply feel persistently low in spirit, while severe depression can make you feel suicidal, that life is no longer worth living.

Most people experience feelings of stress, anxiety or low mood during difficult times. A low mood may improve after a short period of time, rather than being a sign of depression.

Diagnosis of Depression

If you experience symptoms of depression for most of the day, every day for more than 2 weeks, you should seek help from a GP.

It’s particularly important to speak to a GP if you:

have symptoms of depression that are not improving
find your mood affects your work, other interests, and relationships with your family and friends
have thoughts of suicide or self-harm

Sometimes, when you’re depressed it can be difficult to imagine that treatment can actually help. But the sooner you seek treatment, the sooner your depression will improve.

There are no physical tests for depression, but a GP may examine you and carry out some urine or blood tests to rule out other conditions that have similar symptoms, such as an underactive thyroid.

Possible Treatments of Depression

Treatment for depression usually involves a combination of self-help, talking therapies and medicines.

The treatment recommended will be based on the type of depression you have.

Mild depression

If you have mild depression, the following treatments may be recommended.

Wait and see

If a GP diagnoses you with mild depression, they may suggest waiting a short time to see if it gets better by itself. In this case, you’ll be seen again by the GP after 2 weeks to monitor your progress. This is known as watchful waiting.

Exercise

There’s evidence that exercise can help depression, and it’s one of the main treatments for mild depression. You may be referred to a group exercise class.

Self-help

Talking through your feelings can be helpful. You could talk to a friend or relative, or you could ask a GP or local psychological therapies service if there are any self-help groups for people with depression in your area.

You could try self-help books or online cognitive behavioural therapy

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)

If CBT is recommended, you’ll usually have a session with a therapist once a week or once every 2 weeks.

The course of treatment usually lasts for between 5 and 20 sessions, with each session lasting 30 to 60 minutes.

During the sessions, you’ll work with your therapist to break down your problems into their separate parts, such as your thoughts, physical feelings and actions.

You and your therapist will analyse these areas to work out if they’re unrealistic or unhelpful, and to determine the effect they have on each other and on you.

Your therapist will then be able to help you work out how to change unhelpful thoughts and behaviours.

After working out what you can change, your therapist will ask you to practise these changes in your daily life and you’ll discuss how you got on during the next session.

Counselling

Counselling is a form of therapy that helps you think about the problems you’re experiencing in your life so you can find new ways of dealing with them.

Counsellors support you in finding solutions to problems, but do not tell you what to do. You can talk in confidence to a counsellor, who supports you and offers practical advice.

On the NHS, you may be offered a single session of counselling, a short course of sessions over a few weeks or months, or a longer course that lasts for several months or years.

It’s ideal for people who are generally healthy but need help coping with a current crisis, such as anger, relationship issues, bereavement, redundancy, infertility or a serious illness.

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Depression

Depression : Overview

Causes : Depression

Symptoms of Depression

Diagnosis of Depression

Possible Treatments of Depression

Mild depression

Wait and see

Exercise

Self-help

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)

Counselling

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