Mental Health Depression

Mental health is really about how we think and feel about
ourselves and the world around us, and about how we behave
and interact with others in our day to day lives. It isn't
easy to define exactly what it means to have good mental
health as people will interpret what it means to be
mentally healthy in different ways. On the other hand,
there are some signs and symptoms that can indicate when
someone has a mental health problem, when their mental
functions are not performing as well as they could, and we
see evidence of alternations in their thinking and
behaviour.

Take depression for example, even though there is no set
pattern and each person will be affected differently; there
are some simple clues that we can look out for.

What it means to be depressed

Depression is a lot more than feeling a bit fed up and down
in the dumps, which is something we all experience from
time to time and is a natural part of the ups and downs of
life. To be clinically depressed means that we cannot just
shake off our low mood and get on with our lives, the
depression persists and starts to interfere with our normal
daily routines and we can no longer enjoy activities and
pastimes that used to be pleasurable.

• We may find it hard to get up in the morning to go to
work or school, and we may have difficulty getting to sleep
at night and when we do get to sleep, our sleep might be
disturbed
• Our relationships with family, friends and work
colleagues can suffer and our self esteem may be low and we
don't feel good enough
• We could find ourselves worrying constantly and feeling
anxious and panicky for no particular reason
• Our eating patterns can change and we could see
fluctuations in our weight as we may eat a lot more or lose
our appetite
• Maybe we are tearful and cry a lot, or we may find we
cannot get in touch with our emotions and feel numb and
unable to express our emotion
• Some of us may become more aggressive and hostile or
irritable for no real reason
• Life may seem too difficult and so we struggle to cope
with even minor tasks
• We may feel guilty and worthy of blame and punishment
• Our memory and concentration might not be as good as it
was and we find it more and more difficult to make decisions
• Other physical symptoms such as headaches, and various
other aches and pains may convince us that we have
something else wrong with us

Regardless of the different ways that some of these
symptoms can affect us, the main factors that point to
depression are the same. Major depression is likely to be
diagnosed if the symptoms of depression have persisted for
more than two weeks accompanied by low moods and a lack of
pleasure in pursuits that were once enjoyed and the
symptoms are severe enough to interfere with normal daily
routines and activities.

Who gets depressed?

No one knows why some people become depressed and not
others and there is no single known cause of depression
either. Depressive episodes can be triggered by
biochemical, genetic, psychological, environmental and
social factors or a combination of these. What is known is
that certain groups of people appear more at risk of
developing depression than others. These include the long
term sick and disabled, those in poor living conditions,
those with a history of depression in the family, the
homeless, ethnic minorities and people in prison.
Sometimes life circumstances can trigger an episode of
depression such as redundancy, retirement, divorce,
bereavement, problems at work or financial difficulties.

However, no one is immune to depression and someone can
develop a depressive disorder even if they are not
considered at greater risk. The reality is that any kind of
mental health problem and depression can strike any one of
us at any time of our lives.

Getting well again

One of the biggest barriers to recovery for someone
suffering from depression or indeed any mental health
problem is a reluctance to seek help. Many people are
afraid of admitting that they cannot cope and so try and
deal with it on their own but the symptoms are unlikely to
just disappear and will continue possibly for years without
appropriate help and treatment.

Any kind of mental health problem can be an intensely
isolating experience as the individual concerned cannot
help how they are feeling so the understanding and support
of family and friends can be of enormous help for someone
struggling to cope with their depression. However, the most
important thing to remember is that depression is treatable
and it is also fairly common.

Your doctor is the best person to advise you on what
treatment options are available as he or she will be able
to make full medical assessment in order to obtain a
correct diagnosis and can take into account any other
contributory factors that might need dealt with. Usually,
treatment will consist of medication and perhaps some form
of talking therapy or a combination of both.

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Depression and anxiety are serious conditions that can
strike anyone at anytime. For more information about
depression and self help come and visit
http://www.fightingdepression.co.uk