Depression is more than just a low mood or extreme sadness, it is a very serious illness that can have serious consequences. While we all feel sad, moody, or low from time to time, people with depression experience these feelings more intensely, they last much longer, there may be no good reason, and usually there is a lot of negativity about themselves, their future, and the world around them. People who are depressed complain that they lack energy and motivation, feel down a flat much of the time, and have excessive negative thoughts about the world, like they are living with a black cloud with them most of the time. It is difficult to experience any pleasure when depressed.
Many people who are depressed experience thoughts of suicide at some point during the depressive experience, and it is this thinking that makes this illness so serious and urgent help is required if a depressed person is seriously contemplating self harm or ending their own life.
Contrary to popular belief, depression is not a chemical imbalance in the brain, and a person cannot just “snap out of” depression.
Depression is now viewed as an illness of “perspective”. That is, a person’s thinking patterns drives the illness, and leads to patterns of behavior such as avoidance, apathy, and withdrawal that maintains the depressive experience.
Depression is one of the most common of all mental health problems. According to Beyond Blue, around one million Australian adults and 100,000 young people live with depression each year.
On average, one in five people will experience depression in their lifetime – one in five females and one in eight males.
While each person’s experience of depression is unique, there are a number of signs and symptoms to watch out for that are common for many people suffering depression. They include:
Here at Go Psychology you will receive cutting edge evidence based treatment for depression at a very affordable price.
The main treatment approach for depression is a therapy known as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).
Most people are well on their way to gaining the knowledge and skills to assist them to recover from depression within the 10 sessions that are permitted under Medicare each calendar year.
Psychological treatment is totally natural and non-harmful in any way. You will learn about your condition, learn ways to change your thinking patterns, and develop ways to change your unhelpful patterns of behavior that have been created in your life. Let’s face it, if you knew what to do, you would have done this by now.
