Depression

What is it?

Depression is a state of mind which causes people to lose motivation and struggle to perform simple day-to-day tasks. Depression is not the same as just feeling a little low, it is a deep resounding sadness that is very difficult to pull yourself out of, 'shaking it off' isn't that simple. It can begin to have a huge impact on our lives and can affect everything we go near, our jobs, relationships and health. If left untreated, extreme cases can lead to self-destructive patterns, self harm and even suicide.

Although it sounds like it would be easy to know if you have depression, in most cases it isn’t. Depression can come on gradually. Sometimes it’s so slow people don’t notice the change until they realise just how bad they've been feeling. People go to the doctors quite frequently complaining of physical symptoms like tiredness, problems sleeping or eating or just generally being run-down when it is actually depression that is causing these symptoms. It is for this reason that the doctor can sometimes find it difficult to diagnose.

Depression is very common, so fortunately we know a lot about it! There are a lot of great treatments to help people manage and overcome it.  If you feel depressed please do not feel ashamed of seeking help, it is very common and all doctors and therapists will have a good understanding and be able to help you out.

Who Gets Depressed?

Depression is hugely common, it can affect anyone at any time. Regardless of age, sex, race, even species, depression can affect you. At any one time around 6% of over 12 year olds suffer from depression and is suggested that females are 2 to 3 times more likely to develop depression than males. Regardless of your age, gender, or species, you should get help straight away. Depression can suck you in and keep a strong hold of you, you need to fight it and fight it now. Why not Chat to a Buddy? We're very friendly, helpful people, we've been where you are now and we know how to make you feel better again.

Why Do People Get Depressed?

People get depressed for different reasons. Sometimes it is easy to know why you might be depressed; for example, you may have had a bad experience such as abuse, the ending of a relationship or the passing of someone you love or care about. However, in some case there isn’t a clear reason; depression could be hereditary, passed down in the family and to do with the chemicals your body naturally creates. If this is the case then depression is still easily treatable. Difficulties lie when depression comes on as a result of alcohol or drug misuse because it is normally worsened by the effects of the drugs.

How do I know I’ve got it?

There are 3 main sets of symptoms, however, most people will not experience them all.

1. Mood – Our mood changes considerably, although sometimes we don’t recognize it friends and family members might. We decline into a miserable state, feeling constantly worthless and struggle to see the point in anything. Because of this, we stop enjoying the things we used to and struggle to find fun in anything. This makes the situation worse and heightens any loneliness that we feel at this time.
A lot of people say they feel ‘numb’ like they are just existing. Although things still bother you it can be like you don’t get happy, sad, or excited anymore, just one flat, deflated emotion. We might want to cry, and sometimes even this can be difficult. Our motivation completely disappears and simple, small tasks can feel like climbing Mount Everest with no shoes on.

2. Thinking changes – We get lost in a negative cycle. It’s like our mind is just constantly thinking for us, normally about our problems and difficulties. This makes normal thinking, such as ‘What am I going to do today’ really hard to process. Sometimes it’s like forcing thoughts through treacle, or like our brains have been stuffed with soggy cotton wool.

Concentration can be terrible and when people are talking we can just be zoned out and not listening. We’re constantly thinking negatively. Some people think everything that goes wrong around them is because of them, or think the worst about the situation. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy helps to overcome problems with thinking, to make you more positive and cope better with situations.

3. Physical – These symptoms vary for different people. You might have already been to the doctors about your physical symptoms without realizing that these are being caused by depression.

• Peoples’ appetite varies. For some people they struggle to eat, they just don’t feel hungry. Yet, others can overeat and become compulsive with food as though it comforts them and makes them feel better in the short term.
• Sleep may be difficult – often waking up in the middle of the night or very early in the morning. Occasionally people sleep much more than they used to.
• Everything gets really hard to do, we can’t be bothered, may feel really tired and lethargic all the time. If the depression is really bad we can hardly move or move only very slowly.
• Sometimes we can have assorted aches and pains that have no clear cause but still seem to 'be'. This becomes associated with being run-down and can cause ulcers, sore throats, coughs & colds etc.

It can be hard to get along with other people - they may get annoyed with us if we are angry or irritable or stop doing things properly. On the flip-side, we may get annoyed with them for little or no reason! Our studies/work can suffer (because we can’t concentrate), and sometimes it feels like everything is going wrong at once and there’s nothing we can do about it.

Fortunately, really severe depression is relatively rare. Most of us are able to continue with our day-to-day lives but sometimes it can feel like we are barely hanging on. 

What Should You Do Now?

Have a chat with your doctor about how you’re feeling, what you’re thinking and any troubles you may have. This might sound like a massively scary thing to do, but please remember your doctor is there to help, it’s all confidential and they won’t judge you at all, they will have met a lot of people that are going through what you are – all they will do is help you out.

When you speak to the doctor you may want to discuss with them whether you can see a clinical psychologist so that they go over “talking therapies” with you like CBT.

In the meantime you may want to Chat to a Buddy, or check out our Treatments and Self Help sections, try to take little steps everyday to make yourself feel better.

It would be worth you start trying to open up about your problems to people you trust. Sometimes it is good to get your problems ‘off your chest’, don’t try and overcome your depression alone. Although there are a lot of simple treatments you can worth with, it is much more effective to have someone support you and work with you towards getting better and enjoying your life again.

There are a lot of approaches a therapist can take, working with you to help you make changes in your life and to challenge your negative thoughts. Counselling can be very effective and even comforting, where you can just talk to someone about your troubles, helping you to get everything off your mind and stop it building up.

For some people, anti-depressants may be a solution, however they are not usually used without other things being tried first or at the same time.

Remember, 'It's the changes you make today, that make the difference tomorrow'