The Many Shades of Depression
02 of 07Depression doesn’t look the same for everyone, and it doesn’t always have one cause.
But you don’t need a diagnosis to explore what’s here.
Depression after something happens
A loss. A breakup. A diagnosis. A redundancy. Moving away from everyone you know. Sometimes depression follows a painful life event, and it can be hard to know where natural grief and struggle end and depression begins. Sometimes there’s no reason at all.
Your pain makes sense. And if it’s swallowing your days, it deserves support, even if you can’t point to exactly why it started.
Major depression
When getting through the day can feel impossible.
Major depression involves symptoms that persist for at least two weeks and significantly affect daily life. It can happen once or return in episodes. At its most debilitating, getting out of bed, showering or eating can feel beyond reach.
This level of struggle deserves compassion, care and support. If you’re here, you don’t have to prove how hard it is to deserve help.
Long-lasting, lower-level depression
Some people live with a low, grey mood for years. It may not be severe enough to stop them functioning, so they assume it’s just their personality. This is sometimes called persistent depressive disorder, or dysthymia.
If you can’t remember the last time you felt genuinely okay, it’s worth talking about.
Depression during pregnancy and after birth
Perinatal and postnatal depression can affect mothers, and fathers and partners too. It can be frightening and isolating, especially when everyone expects you to be overjoyed. Explore our Women’s Health and Men’s Health pages for more on this.
Depression with highs as well as lows
If you’ve also had periods of unusually high energy, needing very little sleep, racing thoughts, or feeling invincible or very irritable, please mention this to your GP or integrative doctor. It may point to bipolar disorder, which is treated differently.
Depression alongside other experiences
Depression often travels with anxiety, trauma, addiction, burnout, chronic pain or grief. It can also be affected by physical health. Thyroid problems, hormonal changes, side effects from medications, sleep disorders and other health conditions can all play a part, so it’s worth exploring everything.
Nothing about you exists in isolation. Good care looks at the whole picture.
