How Common is Depression?
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Despite the fact that being depressed or being in a state of depression feels like one of the most loneliest experiences out there, depression touches a huge number of individuals on a day to day basis. The World Health Organisation estimates that over one hundred and twenty million people suffer with this illness, and with up to twenty percent of people showing symptoms of depression at any one time, this proves that you are not alone.
There are a staggering amount of people across the globe who suffer, and battle, various degrees of depression at one stage or another in their lives however, statistics show that depression itself is much more commonplace in today’s society, and nobody is exempt.#]
Feeling Depressed in 2020 – A Wider Recognition
We often ask ourselves why depression is more common nowadays than it used to be back in, say, the 1940s, and the most prevailing feature is possibly an acceptance of the condition. What with the creativity of social media, particularly over the last decade, there has been a wider acknowledgement of depression, and as such, the word ‘depression’ itself has much less of a stigma attached to it.
This wider recognition has also contributed to a greater understanding of depression, and the levels of depression a person may suffer; no longer is it an illness which is kept under wraps, rather than now, it is a condition which is discussed openly within families, communities, even on your favourite daytime television programmes and soap operas.
Secondly to this stronger affirmation, we have to take a look at society as a whole. With statistics suggesting that ten times more people suffer with major depression than they did some sixty years ago, and in particular, young adults, we cannot ignore the social factors behind the constant increase in diagnoses. This increase can of course be attributed to more people going to their doctor to discuss their feelings and symptoms however, it is the case that our emotional needs are perpetually demanding to be met.
As human beings we have emotional needs, and those who are depressed are usually not getting their emotional needs met and are not receiving the emotional support needed to thrive and prosper. We seem to be living in a society today where social acceptance plays a major role in our every day lives, and all to often individuals are basing their own successes on the successes of those around them. These comparisons, without doubt, can make any character feel as though they are not good enough, that everyone else is better than them, and so on.
While there are a number of factors that can cause depression, such as a bereavement, divorce, abuse, redundancy, or money worries, there are a number of triggers that can often combine to spark the symptoms of depression, and these factors have troubled individuals since the beginning of time.
It has often been said that society breeds depression, and the expectations placed upon us at a very early age is a major contributory factor . Growing on from that, the expectations we place on ourselves through our teenage years and into adulthood, as well as what society deems ‘successful’ is proving to have a huge impact on how we feel about ourselves, making us an anxious breed.
For many, depression can be an overwhelming force; it can force us into a corner, force us to retreat, and force us to close ourselves up to the very people who want to care and help us. These days, having a wider recognition of depression has undoubtedly played a huge part in the acceptance of it, and although depression is by no means a modern condition, the triggers are constantly evolving.
CBT Therapy is the most effective treatment for the symptoms of Depression and you can find more about how we treat Depression and many other common mental health difficulties at the home of CBT Therapy – The CBT Clinic London. www.cbtcliniclondon.com.[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column] [/et_pb_row] [/et_pb_section]
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Am I Depressed? 6 Signs You Should Know About
- You’ve been feeling low or irritable for most of the day, every day for two weeks or more. You might have found yourself worrying about past or future events for long periods of time, or simply feeling sad, cross or tearful. Sometimes it’s hard to recognize a gradual change – have others noticed that you don’t seem your usual self?
- You’ve lost interest in activities that you used to enjoy. Perhaps you have been seeing less of your friends or family recently, have stopped going to the gym, or cooking balanced meals. This is really about recognizing changes in what’s normal for you – no one is saying you have to exercise five times a week or eat your greens, but changes in your routine can offer concrete indications that your mood is changing.
- You are struggling to concentrate. You might notice that you struggle to focus when reading or watching television, for example, or to follow the thread of a spoken conversation. This could be affecting your performance at work, or limiting your ability to perform routine tasks such as food shopping. Again, we are looking for a change in what’s normal for you, so if concentration has always been something you find tricky there is little cause for concern.
In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on.
– Robert Frost
Depression: Which Therapy is Right for Me?
Depression: Which Therapy is Right for Me?
Everyone feels low from time to time, so it’s not always easy to know when it is part-and-parcel of daily life, and when it’s time to seek help. In most cases, it is short-term and self-correcting, but for a significant minority, this is not the case. For those individuals, it is important to seek treatment just as you would any other health condition. Here we discuss six warning signs which, together, might indicate that it’s time to seek professional help.
What are the signs you need Depression Therapy?
You’ve been feeling low or irritable for most of the day, every day for two weeks or more. You might have found yourself worrying about past or future events for long periods of time, or simply feeling sad, cross or tearful. Sometimes it’s hard to recognize a gradual change – have others noticed that you don’t seem your usual self?
You’ve lost interest in activities that you used to enjoy. Perhaps you have been seeing less of your friends or family recently, have stopped going to the gym, or cooking balanced meals. This is really about recognizing changes in what’s normal for you – no one is saying you have to exercise five times a week or eat your greens, but changes in your routine can offer concrete indications that your mood is changing.
You are struggling to concentrate. You might notice that you struggle to focus when reading or watching television, for example, or to follow the thread of a spoken conversation. This could be affecting your performance at work, or limiting your ability to perform routine tasks such as food shopping. Again, we are looking for a change in what’s normal for you, so if concentration has always been something you find tricky there is little cause for concern.
Bear in mind that no one of these signs is in itself indicative of depression, and there are other, perfectly good reasons for each of these symptoms occurring. It’s also important to know that there are several types of depression and each can present in different ways – read more about types of depression. A GP is always a good first port of call, as they can signpost you towards more specialist services if necessary. Otherwise, if you are sure you’d like to see a mental health professional, consider making an appointment to see a psychiatrist who will be able to give you a diagnosis and advise you on which treatment might work best for you.
In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on.
Robert Frost
Can depression be cured?
Depression, like many mental health conditions, follows ‘the rule of thirds’: One third of sufferers will make a full recovery, one third will partially respond to treatment, and one third will not benefit from treatment at all. Your age, the duration of your symptoms, having a family history of depression, and co-occurring mental or physical health difficulties might all affect your prognosis. Some researchers believe that there is evidence for a ‘scarring’ effect, where the likelihood of suffering from a relapse in depression increases with the number of episodes you have already had. There is also an increased risk of suicide associated with severe depression.
Depression Which Therapy is right for me?
A GP is always a good first port of call, as they can signpost you towards more specialist services if necessary. Otherwise, if you are sure you’d like to see a mental health professional, consider making an appointment to see a psychiatrist. To speak to a therapist and work out if our therapy sessions are right for you contact us here.
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- You’ve been feeling low or irritable for most of the day, every day for two weeks or more. You might have found yourself worrying about past or future events for long periods of time, or simply feeling sad, cross or tearful. Sometimes it’s hard to recognize a gradual change – have others noticed that you don’t seem your usual self?
- You’ve lost interest in activities that you used to enjoy. Perhaps you have been seeing less of your friends or family recently, have stopped going to the gym, or cooking balanced meals. This is really about recognizing changes in what’s normal for you – no one is saying you have to exercise five times a week or eat your greens, but changes in your routine can offer concrete indications that your mood is changing.
- You are struggling to concentrate. You might notice that you struggle to focus when reading or watching television, for example, or to follow the thread of a spoken conversation. This could be affecting your performance at work, or limiting your ability to perform routine tasks such as food shopping. Again, we are looking for a change in what’s normal for you, so if concentration has always been something you find tricky there is little cause for concern.
In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on.
– Robert Frost
Depression: Not Just for Girls?
- You’ve been feeling low or irritable for most of the day, every day for two weeks or more. You might have found yourself worrying about past or future events for long periods of time, or simply feeling sad, cross or tearful. Sometimes it’s hard to recognize a gradual change – have others noticed that you don’t seem your usual self?
- You’ve lost interest in activities that you used to enjoy. Perhaps you have been seeing less of your friends or family recently, have stopped going to the gym, or cooking balanced meals. This is really about recognizing changes in what’s normal for you – no one is saying you have to exercise five times a week or eat your greens, but changes in your routine can offer concrete indications that your mood is changing.
- You are struggling to concentrate. You might notice that you struggle to focus when reading or watching television, for example, or to follow the thread of a spoken conversation. This could be affecting your performance at work, or limiting your ability to perform routine tasks such as food shopping. Again, we are looking for a change in what’s normal for you, so if concentration has always been something you find tricky there is little cause for concern.
In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on.
– Robert Frost
The Signs and Symptoms of Depression
The Symptoms of Depression
One of the most common questions we ask ourselves when it comes to depression is ‘how do I know if I or a loved one is depressed’.
It’s true that we are all prone to mood swings and feeling low at times when things just aren’t going in the direction we’d hoped and dreamed however, recognising the signs of true depression in yourself, and of those around you is a vital.
Recognising the symptoms of depression in the early stages can lead to you, and other individuals, getting the help they need and for you to find the resources required to help yourself or your friend/family member through this difficult period in time.
The degrees of depression vary on an individual basis and while many are capable of hiding how they are truly feeling, spotting the signs in yourself or a loved one is crucial first step on the road to getting better and feeling better about your situation, and in understanding why you feel the way you do.
In this article we are going to look at the symptoms of depression and what kinds of emotional and sometimes physical changes you can expect to see in both yourself and in the people around you, so if you do have concerns about how you’re feeling or indeed, how your best friend, daughter, son, or grandfather is coping in their particular circumstances, you’ve come to the right place.
The first thing you may notice about yourself or your loved one is the fact that there seems to be a sudden lack of interest in the things they used to enjoy and this runs in conjunction with having little or no interest in basic daily activities. Stemming from the complex feeling of self loathing and the loss of energy those with depression experience, these symptoms can have an impact on friendships and social activity. With these perceptions of self loathing and overall worthlessness comes an amount of anger, irritability, and frustration as a person in distress tries to make sense of why they feel the way they do but are unable to pinpoint any direct causes.
These overwhelming feelings are something quite different from having ‘the blues’ and often spiral much deeper as an individual begins to find that sleep is difficult to come by, and a loss of appetite is also affecting them on a physical level.
One of the most difficult symptoms to spot in others is how they are constantly tuned in to negative thoughts. These negative thoughts usually show themselves in a ‘what’s the point’, or similar kind of inward attitude, forcing an individual to retreat into themselves as they begin to feel their contribution to the world simply isn’t good enough nor will it ever be.
If you or the loved one you have concerns for seems to be drinking more than they usually would, or indulges in any other form of reckless behaviour, they could be suffering with depression too. Alcohol tends to be viewed as a quick fix escape from the stress of a situation or as a sleep aid however, alcohol itself is a depressant and often drives feelings of negativity.
If you do have concerns about depression and think perhaps you or a loved one is afflicted with this illness, the symptoms can be relatively simple to spot if you know what you’re looking for. If you often find yourself questioning your abilities, and if you are trapped in a never ending spiral of negative thinking which is leading to a loss of sleep and appetite, then it’s time to seek the advice of a professional, and of course, if you recognise these or any of the symptoms we have mentioned today in someone else, you can help set them on the road to recovery with confidence and clarity.
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Depressed? Beware The Positive Thinking Trap!
That’s pricey for a pair of shoes! Her next door’s not bringing her kids up right. What does she think she looks like? That bloke on the news is definitely guilty. Does Mohair go with suede?
Well, we are human after all and as result we naturally judge and evaluate everything in our lives. We see things as good or bad, right or wrong and positive or negative. Our ability and desire to judge and evaluate everything is hard-wired into the human brain, without it our species would not be here today it’s literally what’s kept us alive. But sometimes as we’ll see it can also keep us trapped and cause us a whole range of other problems too.
And as is if we didn’t have enough in our life to judge, some clever soul way back in the 1940’s discovered a whole new domain that we ‘need’ to keep judging – our thoughts! Originating from the USA, early self-help books, started talking about the necessity for us to all think positively too.
This is a message that has been drip fed to us for so many years it is now been ingrained in our psyche. There appears to be no caveats, no exceptions, thinking positively is the right way to think, for everyone and in every situation in life.
When we are depressed though, this “positive thinking” mantra can easily backfire on us. Firstly, as any depressed person will tell you, just like doing the Hoovering, “Positive Thinking” is so much easier to do when you are not suffering with depression. Trying to constantly think positively when depressed is exhausting and we often end up depleting our already limited energy reserves. Secondly the idea that we must “think positively” when we clearly aren’t or we feel unable to do it, can make our depression worse as oops, now there’s another thing we’ve failed at.
Of course positive thinking can be highly beneficial when our psychological health is already in great shape. But what do we do when our psychological well-being has taken a real nose-dive?
In Cognitive Behavioural Therapy or CBT for short, we like to think differently. We ask our depressed and anxious patients to try to suspend the positive or negative judgement on what they are thinking and to ask themselves a different question– “Is my thinking helpful or unhelpful”. And when we say ‘helpful’ we mean:
- Does that thought or idea make you feel the way you want to feel?
- Does that thought get you to become the person you wish to become?
- Does that thought or way of thinking aid you in achieving your goals and where you want to be in life?
You see this way it’s up to you. You say whether that thought, idea or belief is helpful or unhelpful to you and your life. You evaluate the thought through your own criteria and not through someone else’s.
If we decide that the thought, idea or belief is unhelpful then the impetus to change it to a more helpful one (again you decide what is a more helpful thought) can come from deep within us. As a result we can often get a extra burst of self -generated motivation or energy to aid us in making the change. Also hopefully, like millions of other people around the world, you may find that the harshness and the intensity of the emotion you are feeling is also reduced.
Like everything in CBT we never ask you to blindly accept anything without trying it out first and experiencing it for yourself. So here’s a little assignment:
Select a week when you are going to try it out. Then on the Monday keep a diary of your thoughts. Look at them as you are writing them down and ask yourself are they helpful or helpful? Notice and record how you feel emotionally on that day *. On the Tuesday go back to harshly judging your thoughts as right or wrong, good or bad, positive or negative. Notice how you feel that day. Keep switching between the two different ways of thinking every alternate day until the week is up.
By the end of the week you’ll be in an excellent position to judge for yourself which way of evaluating your thinking works best for you.
*For a bonus to the assignment also write down a more helpful thought to substitute for the unhelpful ones and again record how you’re feeling.
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