Depression is a common illness.
It isn’t the same as the low mood or sadness that we all experience from time-to-time. Everyone feels sad or down at times. You might say ‘I’m depressed’ from time to time but that sort of everyday sadness is not depression: it passes after a short while and you just get on with your life.
Depression is a serious medical illness which leaves you feeling sad or miserable most of the time and finding it hard to cope from day to day. It can leave you feeling very numb and empty and can interfere with your work, and relationships. Highlight that depression affects how we feel, how we think, how we behave and can also affect us physically.
It’s important to remember that being depressed doesn’t mean you’re a bad person, weak, and poor at coping or less of a male/female. It means you are unwell and anyone can be affected by depression. It’s nothing to be afraid or embarrassed about.
- 1 in 4 adults will suffer from a mental health problem at some stage in life, and 100,000 people in N. Ireland suffer from depression at any point in time.
- The incidence of depression in NI is about 20% higher than England/Wales – why?
- Socio-economic factors and legacy of the troubles
Think on this, with regards to women being more likely to get depressed and also that in general more women will attend the GP. A diagnosis is given by a GP and they will complete an ICD10 form asking a series of questions.
