What is depression?

At times we can all feel a bit low or even downright miserable. Clinical depression is very different. People with depression may experience a range of symptoms, including lack of energy and motivation, loss of concentration and poor memory, feelings of hopelessness, irritability, agitation, sleeping problems and loss of appetite.

Depression is often accompanied by persistent tiredness and sometimes by unexplained pains, particularly headaches and abdominal pains. For these reasons, many people assume they have a physical illness and it is often this that makes them consult a doctor. Sometimes depression affects behaviour - sufferers may become aggressive, start shoplifting or get up to sexual misbehaviour.

There are different kinds of depression:

• 'Seasonal affective disorder' or SAD occurs in the winter months when daylight hours are short.
• Manic/bipolar depression, which is rare, is characterised by swings of mood from very low to elated.
• A 'depressive illness' is the term used to describe most people's condition. Such clinical depression, if untreated, may last for months or even years, or, in severe cases, may drive people to suicide.

Depression may be triggered by bereavement, distressing events or anxieties, or may simply come out of the blue. As many as 60 per cent of people who have a stroke develop depression afterwards. There may also be links between other illnesses and depression; conditions like Parkinson's, heart or lung disease and dementia may trigger it.

Depression is not a personal failing, it is an illness. The good news is that it can be successfully treated, so don't hesitate to see your doctor. One problem with depression in later life is that it may go unrecognised and untreated, leaving many people to suffer needlessly. It's vital to realise that with help you can recover. Regardless of whether depression occurs out of the blue, or follows an illness such as stroke, it usually responds well to treatment.