FAQ
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What are the signs of depression?
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How depressed should I be before I seek help?
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What should I do if I'm feeling (or someone close to me is
feeling) suicidal?
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Am I always going to feel like this?
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How long does depression last?
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How is depression treated?
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Where can I get help for depression?
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How should I behave with someone who is depressed?
1. What are the signs of depression?
The following are a list of the features that may be
experienced by someone with depression.
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Lowered self-esteem
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Change in sleep patterns
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Change in mood control
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Varying emotions throughout the day
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Change in appetite and weight
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Reduced ability to enjoy things
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Reduced ability to tolerate pain
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Reduced sex drive
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Suicidal thoughts
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Impaired concentration and memory
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Loss of motivation and drive
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Increase in fatigue
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Change in movement
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Being out of touch with reality.
Note that, having one or other of these features, by
themselves, is unlikely to indicate that someone is clinically
depressed. Also, having these features for only a short period
(of less than two weeks) is unlikely to indicate clinical
depression. It's also important to know that many of the above
features could be caused by or related to other things, such
as a physical illness, the effects of medications, or stress.
Help in coming to such decisions should be assisted by a
proper assessment by a trained professional.
2. How depressed should I be before I seek help?
Everybody feels down or sad at times. But it's important to be
able to recognise when depression has become more than a
temporary thing, and when to seek help.
As a general rule of thumb, if your feelings of depression
persist for most of every day for two weeks or longer, and
interfere with your ability to manage at home and at work or
school, then a depression of such intensity and duration may
require treatment, and should certainly benefit from
assessment by a skilled professional.
3. What should I do if I'm feeling (or someone close to me is
feeling) suicidal?
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See the list of emergency contact numbers (and add the
numbers of your General Practitioner and your local
Community Mental Health Service) and keep a copy handy
somewhere. Don't hesitate to call one of them if in need of
help.
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Recognise that having suicidal thoughts is one of the
features of depression, and seek help, either from your
General Practitioner or another mental health professional
such as a psychologist or a counsellor. Make sure you tell
them you have been having suicidal thoughts.
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If you have already received treatment for depression, and
you are having suicidal thoughts, contact the person who has
been giving you the treatment, or a close friend who you
trust, and tell them you are feeling suicidal.
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If someone close to you is suicidal or unsafe, talk to them
about it and encourage them to seek help. Help the person to
develop an action plan, involving him or her and trusted
close friends or family members, to keep him or her safe in
times of emergency
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Take away risks (e.g. remove guns or other dangerous weapons
and hold the keys of the car if the depressed person is
angry, out of control and wanting to drive off into the
night).
4. Am I always going to feel like this?
This is a common fear. It's important to know that depression
can
be successfully treated and that you will feel better
in time and with the right treatment.
5. How long does depression last
Sometimes depression goes away of its own accord, but,
depending on the nature and type of the depression, it may
take many months and possibly considerable suffering and
disruption if left untreated. Allow yourself to seek help in
the same way you might if you had a physical illness.
6. How is depression treated?
There are a large number of different treatments for
depression. At the Black Dog Institute we believe that
different types of depression respond best to different
treatments and it is therefore important that a thorough and
thoughtful assessment be carried out before any treatment is
prescribed.
Treatments can fall into the following categories:
Physical treatments, comprising
:
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drug treatments, of which there are three main groups:
antidepressants, tranquillisers, and mood stabilizers.
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electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) - a physical therapy that
may be relevant in a minority of cases of psychotic
depression, severe melancholia or life-threatening mania.
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transcranial magnetic stimulation - a treatment that
is still under development, but which involves holding a
coil near to a patient's head and creating a magnetic field
to stimulate relevant parts of the brain.
Psychological treatments, the most common ones being:
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Cognitive Behaviour Therapy
- a form of therapy that aims to show people how their
thinking affects their mood and to teach them to think in a
less negative (and more 'realistic') way about life and
themselves.
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Interpersonal Therapy
- a therapy that aims to help people understand how social
functioning (work, relationships and social roles) and
personality operate in their lives to affect their mood.
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Psychotherapy
- an extended treatment aimed at exploring aspects of the
person's past in great depth to identify links to the
current depression.
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Counselling
- a broad set of approaches and goals that provide problem
solving and learning skills to cope with difficult life
circumstances.
7. Where can I get help for depression?
A good first place to start in getting help is to visit your
local General Practitioner. Let him or her know if you think
you might have depression. Your General Practitioner will
either conduct an assessment of you to find out whether you
have depression, or refer you to someone else, such as a
psychiatrist or a psychologist.
Depending on the nature of your depression, your General
Practitioner may recommend some psychological intervention,
such as cognitive behaviour therapy or interpersonal therapy,
and might prescribe antidepressant medication to relieve some
of the symptoms of depression.
Because depression is a common experience these days, many
General Practitioners are used to dealing with depression and
other mental health problems. Some General Practitioners take
a special interest in mental health issues and undergo
additional training in the area. If you don't feel comfortable
talking to your own doctor, find another one with whom you do
feel comfortable. It is important that you feel comfortable
talking about how you are feeling with your doctor so they
have as much information to help you as possible.
If you are having trouble tracking down such a General
Practitioner, you could telephone general practices in your
area to find out whether any doctors in that practice have a
particularly strong interest in mental health and, if so,
whether they are taking on new patients.
8. How should I behave with someone who is depressed?
Someone with a depressive illness is like anyone with an
illness - they require our care. You can provide better care
if you are able to:
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Understand something about the illness
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Understand what the treatment is, why it is being given, and
how long the person is expected to take to recover.
An important part of caring is to help the treatment process:
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If medication is prescribed encourage the person to persist
with treatment (especially when there are side effects)
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Counselling or psychotherapy often results in the depressed
person 'thinking over' their life and relationships. While
this can be difficult for all concerned, you should not try
and steer the person away from these issues.
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A resolving depression sometimes sees strong emotions
released which may be hard on the carer. The first step in
dealing with these fairly is to sort out which emotions
really refer to the carer and which refer to other people or
to the person themselves.
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Treatment has a positive time as well - when the person
starts to re-engage with the good things in life and carers
can have their needs met as well.
Don't forget that as a carer you too are likely to be under
stress. Depression and hopelessness have a way of affecting
the people around them. Therapy can release difficult thoughts
and emotions in carers too. So part of caring is to care for
your own self - preventing physical run-down and dealing with
the thoughts and emotions within yourself.
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