Feeling Depressed

Feeling blue, feeling low and feeling down are all terms that have all become synonymous with the concept of 'depression'. The word 'depression' is used to describe a collection of symptoms a person may be feeling. At some point in our lives it is very likely that many of us will feel despondent, low or unhappy. For the majority of us these feelings are short-term and may be associated with periods of stress in our lives (for instance a relationship break-up, a death or an illness) for some people, however, these feelings don’t disappear but may be apparent for months or even years.

Just as the duration of a period of depression may be different between people so to may the intensity with which it is felt. The majority of people experience mild to moderate degrees of depression which whilst reducing the quality of their lives are not perceived as catastrophic. A smaller number of people experience feelings of depression that are severe and may affect all aspects of their lives.

We all experience depression differently but we will all experience it as a change from our normal emotional state, common changes that occur that we may recognise include;

• Thinking negatively; always seeing the worst in everything and everybody.
• Feeling irritable or short tempered.
• Finding everything we do a terrible effort.
• Sleeping too little or too much.
• Eating too little or too much.
• Cutting yourself off from other people including loss of interest in sex.
• Unable to stop crying or unable to release tears.
• Disliking or even hating yourself or people in general.
• The future may seem bleak or hopeless.

If you feel that your feelings of depression are severe it is important that you discuss how you are feeling with your family doctor or general practitioner to decide whether it would be helpful to have a consultation with a mental health professional (for instance a psychologist or psychiatrist). Often when people are experiencing severe depression they feel that life isn’t worth carrying on with and may consider suicide.

For those experiencing mild to moderate depression it is often difficult to arrange to see a professional to discuss your emotional difficulties with given the scarcity of trained therapists and the difficulty convincing your family doctor or general practitioner that you would benefit from seeing somebody. Increasingly self-help materials are available for people experiencing mild to moderate depression to help them help themselves to feel less depressed.

The Thinkwell Programme has the ability to help people help themselves and overcome their feelings of depression. It is based upon the well validated techniques of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT).

So sign up today to begin benefiting from Thinkwell. Thinkwell is amazing value at only £19.99 (was £24.99), joing now and we will help you overcome the blues.