Feeling sad, low in mood, disconnected or unable to see improvement in your current situation is a normal response to things like; relationship breakdown, bereavement or generally being unhappy. When these feelings persist for a long time or happen without a cause it is called depression, which is a mental health condition.
Feeling depressed can look very different for each person who has it. For people who experience mild depression it can mean feeling low in spirits but although harder it doesn’t impact on your ability to go about your normal life. Those who experience more severe depression, or clinical depression, can find it makes it impossible to go about their normal life. It can lead to people being unable to take pleasure from any activity (even ones they normally enjoy), feeling hopeless or worthless and in some cases people feel unable to leave their bed or tend to their basic needs; eating, drinking, exercising and sleeping (some people may become fatigued and sleep lots whereas others may suffer insomnia).
Although depression is a very common mental health condition, it should be taken seriously as prolonged periods of depression can lead to other serious conditions such as psychosis or suicidal thoughts. There are different treatments for depression depending on how severe it is and how it impacts your life. Often a combination of self help, talking therapies and antidepressants are used to help combat the symptoms of depression.
The Samaritans offer a downloadable session to help people recognise when they might need to ask for help and understand more about depression.
