What is depression?
Everyone has the potential to experience feelings of despair, some manage to avoid it, but others become completely overwhelmed by it. When feelings of despair become intense and begin to interfere with your ability to function and enjoy life, it’s known as clinical depression.
Depression can refer to a mood or a clinical disorder. It’s a combination of emotional (feelings), cognitive (thoughts) and behavioural (actions) symptoms. While everyone will experience sadness at different stages of their lives, depression is more long-lasting and it’s important to know the difference between the two. 
How to differentiate clinical depression from sadness
There are various ways to differentiate clinical depression from sadness. Some of the key factors of depression are:
- A person’s mood will remain the same in different situations and this is persistent, over time. With depression, your mood will not improve, even temporarily, when engaging in activities that are pleasant;
- You can become depressed, even if nothing appears to have caused it. Depression also doesn’t need to be caused by your circumstances;
- You’re less able to function in your usual social, family, school and work settings;
- The change in mood comes with several other signs and symptoms (refer to below); and
- Your mood may feel different to normal sadness. It could feel strange and like you’re being swallowed by overwhelming feelings of darkness.
Typical symptoms of depression
- Depressed or dysphoric (unpleasant) mood for most of the day, nearly every day. You may feel gloomy or miserable
- Lost interest or pleasure in all (or almost all) activities that you may have once enjoyed
- Losing a lot of weight, or putting on a lot of weight, or big changes in your appetite
- Not being able to sleep, or sleeping way more than you need to, nearly every day
- Your movements becoming either restless (agitated) or slowed down. This has been objectively noticed by other people
- Feeling tired, or like you have no energy
- Feeling like you’re worthless or feeling inappropriately guilty
- Difficulty concentrating and making decisions
- Thinking about death and suicide.
Other forms of depression
There are other mood disorders that involve depression.
Dysthymic disorder:
Is a long-term depressed mood that a person experiences most of the time. With dysthymic disorder, people experience some of the symptoms for major depression, but not enough to be experiencing a depressive episode.
Bipolar disorder:
If someone experiences a manic episode; a period of one week or more where their mood is persistently high or irritable. People living with bipolar disorder often experience other symptoms of inflated self-esteem, decreased need for sleep, highly distractable behaviour, racing thoughts and are far more talkative than usual. Many people who experience a manic episode have also experienced a depressive episode.
Some people who experience depressions can also have symptoms of anxiety. It’s not uncommon for people to drink alcohol or use other drugs to try and manage their feelings.
What causes depression?
Major depression is a severely debilitating and common condition. It usually presents itself in young adulthood, though can appear at any stage of life. Several factors are thought to contribute to sadness, which can transform into clinical depression.
Stressful life events
Research has found that people who become clinically depressed have generally experienced more stressful life events than people who don’t. The most common stressful events linked to depression involve the loss of someone important to you, or of a role that’s important to you (e.g. being fired from your job). One severe event can often be the trigger for a depressive episode. Read more about managing stress.
Vulnerability to stress
Not everyone who experiences a stressful life event becomes depressed. It’s thought that the way people think about and perceive events has an influence on the way they feel about them. If you think negatively about yourself or your life after something stressful happens, you could be more vulnerable to depression. Read more about unhelpful thinking patterns.
Social relationships
Isolation is a major factor that contributes to depression. People who’ve experienced depression have smaller and less supportive social networks; they know fewer people, interact with them less often and have more negative and argumentative interactions with family members. There is generally a long history of this leading up to, and following, depressive episodes.
Response style
The way a person responds when they feel depression coming on has an impact on the length and severity of the depressive mood. Some people respond to depression by turning their attention inward, thinking about the causes and results of their sadness. This is called ruminating.
For other people, they might distract themselves from their depression by focussing on hobbies, sports and other activities which draw their attention away from oncoming depressive episodes. These people typically have less severe and shorter episodes.
Experiences in childhood
People who’ve had sad experiences as children, such as being neglected or criticised harshly by their parents, are more likely to experience depression as they get older.
Genetics
People who have relatives who’ve experienced depression are more likely to experience it than those who don’t. It’s possible for people to inherit a susceptibility to depression (as well as bipolar disorder).
Brain structure and chemistry
There are parts of the brain and chemicals that play important roles in the development of depression. When the brain has a depletion of chemicals like serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine, it may cause depression in some people.
There are a range of factors that can contribute to the development of depression, rather than it being caused by a single factor.
Depression and suicide
People who experience depression may be at higher risk of suicide (and thinking about suicide). If they are, they need urgent help.
If you or someone you care about is thinking about suicide, try to arrange some support from trusted friends or family. Remove things that can be used to commit suicide and seek assistance from a health professional. You may call your local hospital or mental health service for support. They’re available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Mental health teams can see people who are suicidal at any time of the day, wherever they are. Read more about what to do in crisis.
Getting help for depression
If your depression or mood disorder is severely impacting your daily life, or causing concern for those around you, you might need to seek treatment. There are many types of support and assistance for depression. These include:
- Psychological interventions: It’s important to talk about your problems. Going to see a psychologist or counsellor to talk about your experiences can help you to develop new relationships with your thoughts and feelings. There are lots of different types of psychotherapy, but the most common ones for depression are:
- Cognitive therapy: Your counsellor will help you to identify thoughts and beliefs about your problem. They’ll then explore the relationship between your thoughts and your emotional responses. You learn strategies for changing this relationship and more useful ways of interpreting your environment.
- Interpersonal therapy: This type of counselling focuses on your current relationships with other people. Your counsellor will help you to get a better understanding of the interpersonal problems that can happen in relationships, and which possibly lead to depression. You will then work on improving your relationships by building communication and problem-solving skills.
- Medications: Many types of medications may be helpful in alleviating your depressive symptoms. Your GP will know which one is best for you to try. Sometimes it can be difficult to find the right one, straight away and your response to a medication can be dependent on your situation, symptoms and brain chemistry.
To figure out which treatment is right for you, it’s recommended that you visit your local GP and have a chat about your situation. Your GP can make some recommendations, which may involve both medication and counselling. Your GP can also refer you to a psychologist and/or psychiatrist under a subsidised mental health care plan.
What can I do myself?
If your depression is not very severe, then you may be able to make improvements on your own. Some general things you can do include:
- Ask for help and speak to someone you trust, whether it be a parent, teacher, school counsellor, family member or friend. Allow them to support you
- Practice self care. Try to eat healthily and get about 30 minutes of exercise a day. Exercise has consistently been found alleviate symptoms of depression
- If you’re not finding activities as enjoyable as they used to be, keep trying new ones. Try to remember something you used to enjoy that you haven’t done for a while. Spend time doing anything you find even slightly relaxing or pleasant, such as listening to music, reading, going for walks, etc.
- Express your feelings by writing them down, drawing or painting them, acting them out, talking out loud to someone you miss — anything that works for you
- Avoid alcohol and other drugs, as they often make depression worse by covering it up rather than dealing with it and can lead to addiction problems.
Remember that some days will be better than others. Overcoming depression can take time, especially if it’s been around for a while and has become a ‘way of life.’ Also keep in mind that you don’t need to go through this alone. Support and help for depression is available.
Further assistance
If you require emergency support, please call 000 or Lifeline on 13 11 14. They’re a 24/7 crisis service.
Anglicare Southern Queensland provides a variety of social services to individuals, couples, children, young people and families during challenging times. To learn more about these services, visit our ‘Social and Community Services’ page.