Thoughts on depression

Depression is something that has come onto my radar recently.

I seem to keep coming across people who have it and want/need help dealing with it. There are also many people who find themselves in relationship/community with someone who has depression and need help dealing with the fallout of that.

I find it surprising just how much of stigma is attached to depression, here some interesting facts to bring perspective:

- 20% of adults show symptoms of depression, the hotspot being people in their twenties (1 in 3 twentysomethings will face depression).
- Woody Allen, Baudelaire, Agatha Christie, Winston Churchill, Kurt Cobain, Charles Dickens, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, TS Eliot, Michael Foucault, Stephen Fry, Vincent van Gogh, Ernest Hemingway, John Keats, Soren Kierkegaard, Abraham Lincoln, Michelangelo, Isaac Newton, Friedrich Nietzche and Edgar Allen Poe are some of the more famous people who have suffered from depression. One can see, then, that depression is both very common and not the end of the world for sufferers (source for list).

- It has been called the 'common cold' of mental illness. Depression is not just 'feeling down' but is a very common illness that can be/needs to be treated professionally (whether through medication, counselling, dealing with the underlying causes, or a combination of all of these).


But what is it and how do we know if we, or someone we know, has it?

Psychological symptoms of depression commonly include continuous low mood/sadness (if for upwards of 2 weeks this is a strong indicator), feelings of hopelessness/helplessness, low self-esteem, tearfulness, feelings of guilt, feelings of irritability/intolerance of others, lack of motivation and loss of interest in things, difficulty making decisions, lack of enjoyment, thoughts of suicide/self harm, feeling anxious or worried and reduced sex drive.

Physical symptoms can include slowed movement or speech, change of appetite/weight, constipation, unexplained aches/pains, lack of energy or interest in sex, menstrual cycle changes and sleep disturbance (whether significantly more or less).

Social symptoms can include not doing well at work, becoming less sociable, reduced hobbies and interests and difficulties in home and family life. (source for symptoms)

If you, or someone you know, is facing several or all of these symptoms then it is very possible that depression is involved, even if that seems unlikely to the sufferer. In any case, a check up with a doctor/psychologist never hurt.

Depression is very common and, in bad cases, life-debilitating. A sufferer cannot simply 'snap out of it', as much as they would perhaps like to. It is an internal illness that can be extremely difficult to understand, and thereby irritating, to those who have not experienced it. It is, nevertheless, something to be taken seriously (but not feared); good help is available, if we have the courage to seek it and persevere with it.

To those of us who face depression, my prayer/hope would be that we have the courage to face depression as depression, seek what help we can get and find helpful ways of coping or resolving our depression.

Further reading
Creating Optimism by Bob Murray and Alicia Fortinberry
How You Can Survive When They're Depressed by Anne Sheffield
NHS' depression information page