Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) Bundle (312 pages)

WHAT IS DEPRESSION?

Understanding Depression

The term depression or 'being depressed' is thrown around a lot by people every day. While we can have periods of 'depressed mood', meaning a sense of sadness, frustration and/or lethargy, clinical depression is a lot more than simply feeling a bit 'low'. Depression is what we refer to as a mood disorder. Put simply, it is a condition that profoundly affects our mood, thinking, physical sensations, and behaviours. What we generally see with depression as well is that it has a significant affect on our day to day functioning. When we consider depression and how this impacts on a person we often think of the mood changes alone. While depression certainly impacts our mood and motivation, it also has a great impact on how we think and behave, as well as on our physical sensations. Many people who suffer from depression experience almost an inability to gather the energy to face the day to day challenges in their lives. This could look like someone struggling to get out of bed, or finding it difficult to look after personal hygiene. It can also look like someone who withdraws from social interactions, or has a negative undertone in all of their thoughts or interactions. There is not one thing that causes depression, neither is there a single thing that will protect us from developing depression. Common underlying causes can include one or several of the following factors; genetics, hormone changes, experiencing distressing or traumatic events, loss, difficult life changes, or stress.