Depression

Most people at some time in their life will feel down, low, sad or tearful and often these symptoms pass relatively quickly. However sometimes we find that we feel like this most of the time, during most days and over several weeks and it we may also find that we are:

• Losing interest and motivation to do things that used to be enjoyable
• Withdrawing socially and not wanting to see people, not picking up the phone or wanting to go out with our friends
• Finding it difficult to concentrate on school or college work or in our jobs
• Feeling tired with aches and pains
• Having difficulty getting to sleep or sleeping more than usual
• Feeling more hungry than usual or that we have lost our appetite
• Feeling useless, worthless and unloved
• Feeling hopeless and as if we have let our family down
• Thinking about  or attempting suicide and /or self harm

These symptoms can cause distress, or difficulty coping with everyday life and can affect relationships with friends and family. Sometimes it can feel as if it is a vicious cycle and that things will never change and this can cause us to feel even more depressed or hopeless.

Sometimes through counselling and therapy we can begin to explore the events and life experiences that have led to us feeling like this, this in turn can help us to recognise why we feel depressed as well as to think about strategies to move us out of our depression. This can sometimes happen very quickly or can take a long time, depending on what has led to our feeling depressed in the first place.