Depression will affect one in three people at some point. It is a complicated illness with many different symptoms and causes.
Often the first symptoms of depression are changes in eating habits and sleeping patterns and overwhelming feelings of despair.
Sufferers often become emotionally detached from their personal contacts and withdraw into themselves. This is often likened to being in a prison, which leads to friends and relatives being alienated, thus increasing the sufferers isolation.
Frequently observed symptoms can include any of these:
- Sleep pattern changes; interrupted sleep or over-sleeping
- Tiredness and loss of energy
- Eating pattern changes: appetite loss or overeating
- Headaches, stomach upsets or chronic pain
- Feelings of guilt and worthlessness
- Persistent thoughts of death or suicide
There are 3 different types of depression, such as:
Bipolar Disorder/Manic Depression
Postnatal Depression
Seasonal Affective Disorder
There is no one cause of depression – it is often an interaction of genetic factors, body chemistry and life events.
For most people depression follows some kind of loss; the death of a loved one, redundancy, divorce, illness or else it follows a period of stress. This is knows as reactive depression. Grief and sadness are natural responses to such loss but depression is an illness and has major differences which can be difficult to spot.
Other sufferers have a tendency to become depressed from time to time for no apparent reason. This is sometimes described as endogenous depression which appears to arise from changes within the sufferer, often hormonal.
When is the right time to seek help?
If a low mood has lasted for more than two weeks or is starting to interfere with your life it may be time to seek help.
The earlier help is sought for depression the better – many of the symptoms are similar to other illnesses.
Counselling for depression
Counselling is effective in treating mild to moderate depression, and may be combined with medication in more severe cases, which is sometimes known as clinical depression.
Counselling can assist with understanding depression and its triggers and so can be helpful for sufferers trying to manage the condition. Counselling can help address low self-esteem, or relationship issues or persistent negative thinking.
