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Know the facts

Depression isn’t just feeling sad or down. Everyone feels like that at times and it is often healthy; if we never felt sad we wouldn’t be human!

Depression is an illness of your mind. It is when you are so sad or so down for such a long period of time that it affects your life, and you find it harder to cope with everyday things like

School

Work

Friend

Interests

You may feel like this for weeks on end and your mood rarely seems to improve.

If this sounds like you, don’t be too hard on yourself! If you think you might be depressed:

it doesn’t mean you are a weak person
it doesn’t mean you are any less of a man or woman
you didn’t bring it upon yourself
it isn’t your fault.

Depression is the most common of all mental health problems.

1 in 4 people suffer from a mental health problem at some stage in life
Up to 1 in 5 young people suffer from depression during their teenage years
Teenage boys are slightly more likely than teenage girls to have a mental health problem.
Two teenagers in every classroom will have self-harmed at some point.

In a recent survey published by the Princes' Trust and YouthGov in 2009

1 in 2 teenagers said they felt stressed most of the time
1 in 1 teenagers did not believe life was worth living.

Other forms of depression include:

Manic depression:

Manic depression is where people can experience depression lasting for weeks or months, but also experience 'high' times. When people are in the 'manic' or high phase, they can feel really full of energy, without needing much sleep or food. Thoughts can start to race and people can feel impatient and irritable because they want things to happen quickly.

Post natal depression

Postnatal depression affects 3 in 20 women, generally starts within six weeks of giving birth and can last around three months. The most important thing in coping with postnatal depression is making sure you get the support you need. Your Doctor or Health Visitor will be able to give you information on what's available in your area.

Many celebrities have had depression at one stage or another in life. Here are some examples:

Richard Hammond