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Welcoming a new baby often feels like a whirlwind of emotions that can be difficult to navigate. While many people expect constant joy, the reality can feel quite different for many new parents across the United Kingdom.
The first step to getting treatment is to see your GP. If your doctor thinks you have depression, they will talk to you about the treatments they can offer.
What is counselling?
Counselling is a type of talking therapy that provides a safe and confidential space for you to talk about the things you are struggling with. Your therapist will be trained to help you explore your thoughts, feelings and behaviours so that you can improve your understanding of yourself and others around you.
What is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)?
CBT is a psychological treatment that aims to help people understand why the problems they are experiencing began, and why they continue.
It’s a type of talking therapy which focuses on how thoughts, beliefs and attitudes affect feelings and behaviour.
It teaches coping skills for dealing with different problems.
Depression is one of the most common mental health conditions that affects millions of people around the world.
Often described as an intense and persistent feeling of sadness, depression has far-reaching effects on all aspects of life, from energy levels and sleep to interpersonal connections and the motivation to get through the day.
Depression is more common in women due to many reasons, including biological, environmental, social, and psychological factors. This blog explores these reasons and the importance of understanding and addressing the unique challenges women face.
Globally, about 332 million people suffer from depression. But what exactly is depression? We all have periods when our mood is low, and we’re feeling sad or unhappy about life. These feelings usually pass over time and we get back to being ourselves. Depression is a low mood that lasts for a long time, and affects your daily life. The feeling of depression is deeper, longer lasting and more unpleasant than the short periods of unhappiness that everyone experiences occasionally. Anyone can get low, but someone is said to be suffering from depression (or depressed) when these feelings don’t go away quickly or become so bad they interfere with their everyday life. People have depression in different ways. It can be mild, moderate or severe.
Clinical depression
Clinical depression means that a doctor has given you a diagnosis of depression.
Depressive episode
This is the formal name that doctors give depression when they make a diagnosis. They may say that you’re going through a ‘mild’, ‘moderate’ or ‘severe’ episode.
Nearly two thirds of British teenagers will suffer from a mental health condition or behavioural disorder by 2030.
A report by Zurich Insurance found that having a mental health problem had already become the norm for young people aged between 15 and 19. Its estimates suggest that 51% of people in this age bracket have a mental or behavioural disorder such as anxiety, depression or ADHD.
Depression is a complex mental health condition with symptoms like low mood, fatigue, guilt, irritability, and loss of interest or pleasure in activities.
It’s one of the most common mental health illnesses, affecting about 1 in 15 people in any given year.
A series of court cases alleging that major social media companies contribute harm to the mental health of America’s youth began this week in Los Angeles. The lawsuits named Meta, Snap, TikTok and YouTube, and argue that their platforms were deliberately designed to maximise engagement among young users in ways that plaintiffs say fostered compulsive use and psychological harm.
Depression is a complex and deeply personal experience. While almost everyone has periods of sadness, low mood or grief, depression is different. Major depressive disorder is persistent, interferes with day-to-day activities, and can affect work, life and relationships.
Academic pressure experienced by teenagers can have profound and lasting consequences on their mental health, a new study has revealed.
Researchers found that 15-year-olds subjected to higher levels of academic stress were more likely to suffer from depression well into early adulthood.
Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) refers to depression that occurs during certain seasons. It is sometimes called winter depression because it often happens in the winter and can be more severe during the winter months.
One in six adults in England are taking antidepressants. That’s eight million people, yet remarkably even doctors don’t fully understand quite how these drugs actually work. The most popular group of antidepressants are known as SSRIs and, for decades, they were thought to correct a deficiency of the ‘happy hormone’ serotonin. These drugs have not changed since their invention in the late 1980s, and exactly how they work is a mystery.
CBT, psychotherapy and counselling are terms you may hear a lot, but not always be sure of what exactly the difference is. Even in the field, professionals can disagree about definitions. Below gives you an idea of the differences and similarities between these terms.
Myths
Myth 1: Antidepressants are more effective than talking therapies
In fact, studies have shown no difference in effectiveness or drop-out rates between antidepressants and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for depressed adults, and NICE guidelines on depression recommend non-drug therapy, particularly for less severe depression, as first line therapy because it is less intrusive and more cost-effective than medication. Whilst this mainly includes CBT and related talking therapies, guided self-help and exercise have also been shown to be equally effective as medication in treating depression.
Most of us have felt low at some point – stressed, exhausted, unmotivated. But how do you know when it’s more than just a rough patch? When does feeling ‘off’ turn into something more serious, like depression?
Sexuality and gender exist on a spectrum that can be difficult to define, and this has resulted in historical persecution, fear, and misconception experienced by those who identify within the ever-evolving umbrella term of LGBTQ+. Due to this, many LGBTQ+ experience difficulties with mental health such as depression which is often mistaken as depression due to their sexuality or gender. An established expert in LGBTQ+ mental health and trauma-informed care, Dr Pavan Joshi breaks down the factors that can lead to depression in the LGBTQ+ community.
For many, these low moods will naturally pass on their own. But for 1 in 6 adults in the UK, depression can persist for weeks, months or even years at a time, and stand in the way of their careers, relationships and family lives.
