The black clouds of depression have haunted us since humans first trod the Earth.

Thankfully, our understanding of it has increased. If it hadn’t, starvation, lunatic asylums and exorcisms might be offered as treatments on the NHS! Melancholia was the rather poetic name once given to those suffering from it. Fictional characters such as Shakespeare’s Hamlet and the eponymous French Lieutenant’s Woman were afflicted with it, while even Winston Churchill was oppressed by what he called the Black Dog as he led the nation through its darkest hour.

If the emotional cost is incalculable, the bead counters of the government have unearthed some sobering statistics. Depression costs us over £7.5 billion a year – its damaging effects impact negatively on absenteeism, productivity, mortality, and community life. This figure rather helps focus the government’s mind on helping us beat the blues!

Nowadays, depression is viewed in a more hopeful light. Its many causes and symptoms cover a wide spectrum. Its basis may be biological or situational, or related to a past trauma or current illness. Its effects often include low mood and poor concentration, sleeping and eating problems, and a sense of worthlessness amongst others. If self-harm tends to be attributed more to women, this traditional stereotype ignores how its manifestations vary across genders and individuals. For example, depressed men often resort to drink, drugs and overwork. Suicide is obviously the most extreme response to depression and now one of the leading causes of death in young and middle-aged men. But there are no hard and fast rules for how it affects any one person.

Feeling sad temporarily is a natural response to a difficult emotional event such as the death of someone close or a relationship break-up. These challenges are part of normal life. Depression is usually diagnosed when we struggle to lift ourselves out of these slumps. This can be prolonged by the corrosive effects of an unhealthy lifestyle such as drowning one’s sorrows in alcohol or resorting to the numbing consolation or artificial high of street drugs. Then these negative feelings may be amplified and slip harmfully into other areas of life – such as work and relationships. It’s a good time to seek help.

Chasing away the Black Dog

Happily, greater awareness and investment has led to professional services to help people feel heard and better understood. Counselling can help you work through deeper issues that underlie much negative thinking and address areas of your lifestyle that may be contributing to you feeling depressed.

Practical changes to our lifestyles may help us lever ourselves out of this emotional trough whether it is through exercise and better diet, or a concerted effort to find a solution to something lacking in your life. This might be a change of direction, a new job or dealing with relationship problems.

Depression may be attributed to a chemical imbalance that can be helped with medication. Such imbalances might be triggered by the confusing rushing of hormones during periods of change such as during adolescence, the menopause, or pregnancy. Or you may have inherited this disposition through the genes and behaviour of a parent. It is also an understandable response to a long-term and debilitating illness. In such cases, the cause may remain, but its effects can often be better managed. It’s such a wide-ranging state that it’s worth discussing your symptoms with a professional doctor or counsellor to pin-point the cause and treatment that best suits you.

While professional help is the best recourse for those suffering full-blown symptoms, we can all ease this burden on society by looking out for those currently struggling on the slippery slope downwards. Preaching the value of the Still Upper Lip is a ‘solution’ that is well past its sell-by date! Like a fever that needs sweating out, the roots of depression are better flushed from the system than being left undisturbed to fester.

Simply being understood and heard can make a big difference for those feeling alone even if it’s only to direct them to help. Identifying and engaging friends, families and colleagues who exhibit the signs may bring some sunshine to those lost in the gloom.