Depression - by David McEvoy

Depression - by David McEvoy: "Depression is a broad term commonly used to describe a set of symptoms that can range from mild, requiring little or no treatment, to symptoms severe enough to interfere with a person's life on a daily basis and sometimes to the extent that life in itself can become intolerable. According to the Office for National Statistics Psychiatric Morbidity Report 2001, a quarter of all adults living in the UK will experience some kind of mental health problem during the course of any one year.

Depression is a mental health problem that can affect any one of us at any time of our lives. It is indiscriminate of age, gender, culture and background. The Patient UK website states that 2 out of 3 adults will experience an episode of depression at some point and the Mental Health Foundation quote that that 10% of children up to the age of 15 have a mental health disorder.

So how do we know if we are suffering from depression? Milder symptoms of depression include short bouts of low moods, lethargy, sadness and feeling a bit fed up and out of sorts, and these will often disappear after a few days or so. However, clinical depression is more serious in that it isn't possible to just 'snap out of it' and symptoms can persist for weeks, months and even years without proper help.

Some symptoms of depression"