The Little Blue Book

SOME NOTES ON DEPRESSION Look around you; do a quick count of the people you’ve chatted to or interacted with today. Given that one-in-eleven Australians (8.9%) suffer depression or depression symptoms in any given year, and that one-in-nine will suffer anxiety (11.2%) 1 , there is every likelihood that you may be working alongside someone who is affected. Australia has one of the highest rates of depression and related mental illness in the world. Clinical depression, as opposed to the up-and-down mood swings we all experience from time to time, is a debilitating mental illness that affects all ages. And because it has such strong links to other mental health disorders such as anxiety and compulsive drug and alcohol use – and, in its depths, can lead to self-harm and suicide – it is in everybody’s interest that we can recognise the signs and give appropriate help when needed. “I AM SUFFERING DEPRESSION… BUT I DIDN’T KNOW.” It is true that many suffer depression without realising that the bleak cloud that has descended over their days and turns their nights to torment is a clinically recognised, and treatable, mental disorder. It is a real illness and can be severely disabling. Depression changes the way you think, the way you feel, and the way you respond to the normal activities that come with every day. It interferes with nearly everything – your ability to work, your relationships, sleeping, eating, and your ability to enjoy life. Some who suffer from this illness may mistakenly think that being chronically tired, always feeling ‘out of sorts’, always angry and restless, is just part of their lives, a part of ‘who they are’ and something they simply have to get used to. In fact, we’ve invented a whole lot of words and phrases which obscure the illness behind the symptoms – terms like “burn-out” and “cracking the sads” – as though a good lie down and a bit of rest and recreation is all that’s needed. For sure, rest, leisure, and time to unwind (some ‘mental health time’) is something we all need to remember to give ourselves. But depression, when untreated, can be very dangerous. (1) www.abs.gov.au/ausstats; National Survey Of Mental Health & Wellbeing (2) www.abs.gov.au/ausstats; Mental and Behavioural Conditions (2014/15) RECOGNISING DEPRESSION, ANXIETY, AND OTHER DISORDERS 68