Depression

On this page:
Signs & symptoms
Treatment options
Print resources
Online resources

We all get sad after someone we love dies or another personal trauma touches us. This kind of sad or low mood is called reactive depression. It's not a mental illness; it's a normal response to something bad that has happened.

Sometimes, however, our sad or low mood significantly interferes with our ability to function normally. When this last for more than two weeks, and is associated with other signs and symptoms, it's something more and it's called clinical depression.

Clinical depression is a medical disorder, just like diabetes, high blood pressure or heart disease. It's not a sign of personal weakness or something you can just snap out of.

Clinical depression can affect your thoughts, feelings, physical health and behaviours. It can seriously impact your personal relationships, your ability to perform at work, and your ability to just get through the day.

Personal voices
"The mornings are the worst - I wish it would stay night forever. I hear the whine of a plane landing and my clock makes that click that says its 7:30am. So I wait painfully for another sunny, horrid day to end so I can crawl back to bed with my novel. This is where I find some peace until I remember night won't last forever - morning will come."
(Ellen, 38)

Signs and symptoms of depression

Sad mood
Preoccupation with failures or inadequacies and a loss of self-esteem
Feelings of uselessness, hopelessness, excessive guilt
Slowed thinking, forgetfulness, difficulty in concentrating and in making decisions
Loss of interest in work, hobbies, people
Social isolation
Lethargy
Agitation/Irritability
Changes in appetite or weight (eating too little or too much)
Changes in sleep (sleeping too little or too much)
Decreased sexual drive
Suicidal thoughts

Treatment options

Depression isn't a weakness or character flaw. It's a medical illness and it's treatable. Between 80-90% of all people with depression respond to treatment and nearly all who receive treatment see at least some relief from their symptoms.

If you feel like you may be suffering from depression, talk to someone about it. There are many treatment options for depression because everyone's symptoms and reactions are different. Medications (e.g. antidepressants) and psychotherapy (e.g. cognitive behaviour therapy) are the most common combination of treatments. Don't get discouraged, it may take a while to find the counsellor and the medications that work best for you.

For a list of places where you can get treatment and/or find a doctor, click here.

If you aren't sure where to begin, you can learn more about your choices and figure out which treatments might be best for you. To learn more click here.

Personal voices
"For me, depression was all-consuming. Anguish and desperation were the only feelings I could experience, and were so intense at times, that I felt like I was in physical pain. This pain, with no relief for weeks on end, was what lead me to obsessing about ending my life."
(Carolyn, 23)

Print resources

1. Ending the Depression Cycle by Peter J. Bieling and Martin M. Antony. New Harbinger Publications, 2003.
2. How You Survive When They're Depressed by Anne Sheffield. Three Rivers Press, 1998.
3. I Don't Want to Talk About It: Overcoming the Secret Legacy of Male Depression by Terence Real. Fireside, 1997.
4. In the Jaws of the Black Dogs by John Bentley Mays. Penguin Books, 1995.
5. Living Without Depression and Manic Depression by Mary Ellen Copeland. New Harbinger Publications Inc., 1994
6. Mayo Clinic on Depression by Keith Kramlinger (editor). Mayo Clinic Health Information, 2001.
7. The Beast: A Reckoning With Depression by Tracy Thompson. Putnam's Sons, 1995.
8. The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression by Andrew Solomon, Scribner, 2001.
9. Undoing Depression by Richard O'Connor. Little Brown & Company, 1997.
10. When Someone you Love is Depressed: How to Help Your Loved One Without Losing Yourself by Laura E. Rosen, PhD. and Xavier F. Amador, PhD. Simon & Schuster, 1997
11. Willow Weep for Me: A Black Woman's Journey Through Depression by Meri Nana-Ama Danquah . W.W. Norton & Co., 1998

Online resources

Who gets depression?
Depression affects people from all walks of life and all religious, cultural and ethnic backgrounds.

At any given time, almost 3 million Canadians have serious depression
Depression accounts for 30% of all disability recorded at three of Canada 's best known companies

The World Health Organization (WHO) predicts that by 2020 major depression will be second only to heart disease as the leading cause of disability worldwide

Depression affects women almost twice as often as men (10-15% of men and 15-25% of women)

Clinical Guidelines for the Treatment of Depressive Disorders, Canadian Psychiatric Association and Canmat (2001) http://canmat.org/resources/depression/index.html

Online Depression Screening
Sponsored by National Mental Health Association
http://www.depression-screening.org

Depression: A Treatable Illness
http://nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/depression-a-treatable-illness.shtml

Understanding Depression
http://www.camh.net/

www.depressioncenter.net
This site offers a depression screen and free online 16-session CBT (cognitive behaviour therapy) course.

Sources: