You’ve read all the information on the website and did not find anything funny, you might be depressed.

Now, serious. The word ‘depressed’ is well adopted in current language. It is used a tat too easily to describe temporary feelings of boredom, listlessness, or ordinary sadness. It is part and parcel of life to go through ups and downs. Everyone has spells of feeling down. Likewise it is normal to feel stressed, sad or anxious during difficult times in your life. After adjusting, your mood picks up again.

Yet, clinical depression has very little to do with feeling a bit down. Depression (major depressive disorder or clinical depression) is more than spending a few days feeling sad or unhappy. It makes you feel persistently sad and down for weeks or months at a time. Depression is a common but serious mood disorder. It affects around 1 in 10 people over the course of their lives. It impacts people of all genders and ages, including children. Clinical depression causes severe symptoms that affect how you feel, think, and handle daily activities, such as sleeping, eating, or working.

Depression has a range of different symptoms, that must be present most of the day, nearly every day, for more than two weeks. It can affect everybody differently:

  • Feelings of tearfulness, utter sadness, emptiness or hopelessness
  • Feelings of worthlessness or guilt, fixating on past failures or self-blame
  • Loss of interest or pleasure in most or all normal activities, such as sex, hobbies or sports
  • Trouble thinking, concentrating, making decisions and remembering things
  • Angry outbursts, irritability or frustration, even over small matters
  • Anxiety, agitation or restlessness
  • Slowed thinking, speaking or body movements
  • Frequent or recurrent thoughts of death, suicidal thoughts, suicide attempts or suicide
  • Sleep disturbances (being unable to sleep or sleeping too much)
  • Tiredness and lack of energy, so even small tasks take extra effort
  • Reduced appetite and weight loss or increased cravings for food and weight gain
  • Unexplained physical problems, such as back pain or headaches

For most people with depression, symptoms are severe enough to cause noticeable problems in day-to-day activities, such as work, school, social activities or relationships with others.

If you recognized yourself in the above, send us a text. There is help out there. With the right support and treatment, most people recover fully from depression.