depression

It is thought that depression can affect one in six people over a lifetime. It can take many different forms varying from the everyday feelings of sadness that we all experience at one time or another to full blown clinical depression which can lead to feelings that life is worthless and can eventually lead to suicide. 

There are also more specific types of depressive disorders such as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), Bi-Polar disorder (Manic Depression)
and Post-Natal depression. 

When a person is suffering from depression it can be extremely hard for their friends or loved ones to appreciate that they are not in control
of their emotions. It is not simply a case that he or she can be told to "snap out of it" and make themselves feel happy or valued. 

Depression can affect any person at any age although it would appear that more women are affected than men. However, this might be
explained by women finding it easier to express their feelings than men or in cultural terms in that men are more likely to find it
unacceptable to admit to feelings of unhappiness or of needing help. 

Typically, depression manifests itself with a bewildering variety of symptoms but feeling anxious, restless, waking up early, frequent inexplicable crying, lack of sexual interest, feelings of helplessness and low self esteem, self harm and suicidal thoughts are some of the more frequent feelings that a depressed person might have. 

Sometimes depression may have an obvious cause, such as a bereavement and sometimes it may just come out of the blue. There are no
clear reasons for it although it is thought that Bi-polar disorder may have a genetic cause but this is still unproven and depression generally
may be linked to an under active thyroid. It is most likely that a combination of our innate personalities and the environment when we
were growing up are the main contributory factors to whether we will experience depression in later life.