Depression
Understanding Depression
When feelings of unhappiness and sadness become severe and lasts for several weeks, you may be experiencing depression. Clinical depression is a medical disorder that can impair a person’s daily functioning persistent feelings of emptiness, worthlessness, extreme sadness, and disappointment. Depression can affect your thoughts, mood, behaviour and interaction with others and may be caused by biochemical imbalances.
Signs of Depression
Signs and symptoms of depression may be different for everyone so these are only guidelines. You may experience some or all of the following:
§ Feeling persistently sad.
§ Feelings of guilt, hopelessness and helplessness.
§ Feeling irritable, anxious, and restless.
§ Difficulty concentrating, making decisions, or remembering.
§ Loss of pleasure and interest in activities.
§ Crying a lot.
§ Lack of confidence, poor self-esteem, and self-dislike.
§ Lack of motivation and energy.
§ Decreased sex drive.
§ Increased use of alcohol, tobacco, or other drugs.
§ Poor appetite or overeating.
§ Sleeping excessively less or more than usual.
§ Withdrawal from family and friends.
§ Suicidal thoughts or intent.
Causes of Depression
Depression can be triggered by any number of factors, such as:
§ Loss of a friend, family member.
§ Daily stressors.
§ Experiencing failure in school.
§ Work.
§ Relationships.
§ Significant changes in life (i.e. starting a new job, or new school and feeling socially isolated in your new environment, etc).
Frequency of Depression
§ Two times more common in women than men.
§ Three million Canadians have serious depression at any given time.
§ Can occur for short or long periods.
§ No definite cycle; each person is unique, and frequency can change.
§ Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a reaction to lack of sunlight during winter months and changes in season.
o 2-3% of the general population experience SAD.
o 15% of the population experience a less severe form of the “winter blues”.
Coping Strategies
§ Talk with a trusted friend or family member.
§ Express your emotions through activities you enjoy: art, music, writing, etc.
§ Make a schedule and break larger tasks into smaller ones.
§ Eat a balanced diet daily.
§ Eliminate stressful situations and create pleasant surroundings.
§ Refrain from making major life decisions.
§ Avoid consumption of alcohol, tobacco or other drugs.
§ Think positively and expect your mood to change gradually.
When to Get Help
Depression is the most treatable of mental illnesses. Treatment can come in many forms such as medication, psychological counselling and/or other forms of therapy, support from friends and family and being part of self-help groups.
Further consultation with a professional may be needed if:
§ Previous coping techniques have not helped you feel better.
§ Daily activities and tasks are too overwhelming.
§ No pleasure in things you normally enjoy.
§ Self-esteem and mood are becoming worse.
§ You are preoccupied with the stressor and you find that things are not getting better.
§ You develop constant pessimistic thoughts about self, others and your situation.
§ You have recurring thoughts about suicide, harming yourself and others.
Early Intervention for depression can limit negative consequence and have a significant impact on person’s functioning and well-being. It can strengthen an individual’s ability to cope with future challenges. Considering professional help is not a sign of weakness, but rather a sign of wisdom and strength to realise you cannot do everything on your own.
www.beyondblue.org.au. Australian organisation which provides information about depression to consumers, carers and health professionals.
www.blackdoginstitute.org.au .The Black Dog Institute is an Australian educational, research and clinical facility offering specialist expertise in mood disorders including depression and Bipolar Disorder.
www.depressionNet.com.au. Site run by non-health care professionals, who describe their web site as for 'people like us’ - people from a variety of backgrounds who live with depression.
www.bluepages.anu.edu.au. This website provides information, resources and links about depression for consumers. It is produced by the Centre for Mental Health Research (CMHR) at the Australian National University (ANU) and CSIRO Mathematical & Information Sciences (CMIS) with the assistance of an Advisory Board and feedback from consumers and health professionals
www.mentalhealth.asn.au. The Mental Health Association NSW Inc is a non-government organisation and registered charity funded by NSW Health; while it is based in NSW it provides links to resources in all other states.
http://www.healthinsite.gov.au/topics/Postnatal_Depression An Australian Government initiative by the Department of Health and Ageing. This specific link will take you to a range of articles on postnatal depression. Note the further links on the right of the page to depression and the mental health of women specifically.
www.crufad.com. The Clinical Research Unit for Anxiety and Depression is the website of a group of researchers and clinicians from St Vincent's Hospital Ltd and the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia who are concerned with anxiety and depression.
www.depnet.com.au. Depnet is an interactive depression website providing information and support for people with depression and aims to assist in improving the everyday life of people affected by depression.
http://www.aolhealth.com/condition-center/depression/latest-updates. America Online (AOL) hosts an entire page devoted to the latest news on depression, loads of links and articles
When feelings of unhappiness and sadness become severe and lasts for several weeks, you may be experiencing depression. Clinical depression is a medical disorder that can impair a person’s daily functioning persistent feelings of emptiness, worthlessness, extreme sadness, and disappointment. Depression can affect your thoughts, mood, behaviour and interaction with others and may be caused by biochemical imbalances.
Signs of Depression
Signs and symptoms of depression may be different for everyone so these are only guidelines. You may experience some or all of the following:
§ Feeling persistently sad.
§ Feelings of guilt, hopelessness and helplessness.
§ Feeling irritable, anxious, and restless.
§ Difficulty concentrating, making decisions, or remembering.
§ Loss of pleasure and interest in activities.
§ Crying a lot.
§ Lack of confidence, poor self-esteem, and self-dislike.
§ Lack of motivation and energy.
§ Decreased sex drive.
§ Increased use of alcohol, tobacco, or other drugs.
§ Poor appetite or overeating.
§ Sleeping excessively less or more than usual.
§ Withdrawal from family and friends.
§ Suicidal thoughts or intent.
Causes of Depression
Depression can be triggered by any number of factors, such as:
§ Loss of a friend, family member.
§ Daily stressors.
§ Experiencing failure in school.
§ Work.
§ Relationships.
§ Significant changes in life (i.e. starting a new job, or new school and feeling socially isolated in your new environment, etc).
Frequency of Depression
§ Two times more common in women than men.
§ Three million Canadians have serious depression at any given time.
§ Can occur for short or long periods.
§ No definite cycle; each person is unique, and frequency can change.
§ Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a reaction to lack of sunlight during winter months and changes in season.
o 2-3% of the general population experience SAD.
o 15% of the population experience a less severe form of the “winter blues”.
Coping Strategies
§ Talk with a trusted friend or family member.
§ Express your emotions through activities you enjoy: art, music, writing, etc.
§ Make a schedule and break larger tasks into smaller ones.
§ Eat a balanced diet daily.
§ Eliminate stressful situations and create pleasant surroundings.
§ Refrain from making major life decisions.
§ Avoid consumption of alcohol, tobacco or other drugs.
§ Think positively and expect your mood to change gradually.
When to Get Help
Depression is the most treatable of mental illnesses. Treatment can come in many forms such as medication, psychological counselling and/or other forms of therapy, support from friends and family and being part of self-help groups.
Further consultation with a professional may be needed if:
§ Previous coping techniques have not helped you feel better.
§ Daily activities and tasks are too overwhelming.
§ No pleasure in things you normally enjoy.
§ Self-esteem and mood are becoming worse.
§ You are preoccupied with the stressor and you find that things are not getting better.
§ You develop constant pessimistic thoughts about self, others and your situation.
§ You have recurring thoughts about suicide, harming yourself and others.
Early Intervention for depression can limit negative consequence and have a significant impact on person’s functioning and well-being. It can strengthen an individual’s ability to cope with future challenges. Considering professional help is not a sign of weakness, but rather a sign of wisdom and strength to realise you cannot do everything on your own.
www.beyondblue.org.au. Australian organisation which provides information about depression to consumers, carers and health professionals.
www.blackdoginstitute.org.au .The Black Dog Institute is an Australian educational, research and clinical facility offering specialist expertise in mood disorders including depression and Bipolar Disorder.
www.depressionNet.com.au. Site run by non-health care professionals, who describe their web site as for 'people like us’ - people from a variety of backgrounds who live with depression.
www.bluepages.anu.edu.au. This website provides information, resources and links about depression for consumers. It is produced by the Centre for Mental Health Research (CMHR) at the Australian National University (ANU) and CSIRO Mathematical & Information Sciences (CMIS) with the assistance of an Advisory Board and feedback from consumers and health professionals
www.mentalhealth.asn.au. The Mental Health Association NSW Inc is a non-government organisation and registered charity funded by NSW Health; while it is based in NSW it provides links to resources in all other states.
http://www.healthinsite.gov.au/topics/Postnatal_Depression An Australian Government initiative by the Department of Health and Ageing. This specific link will take you to a range of articles on postnatal depression. Note the further links on the right of the page to depression and the mental health of women specifically.
www.crufad.com. The Clinical Research Unit for Anxiety and Depression is the website of a group of researchers and clinicians from St Vincent's Hospital Ltd and the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia who are concerned with anxiety and depression.
www.depnet.com.au. Depnet is an interactive depression website providing information and support for people with depression and aims to assist in improving the everyday life of people affected by depression.
http://www.aolhealth.com/condition-center/depression/latest-updates. America Online (AOL) hosts an entire page devoted to the latest news on depression, loads of links and articles