Depression Article

Article 1 - Depression

Title -‘Holla at me Girls!’

Sub heading – Nicola was a victim of Depression. Thankfully after a gruelling few months she over comes it. Depression affects so many people, it hurts and it kills. Here’s Nicola’s story.

“I was unhappy for 6 months; my children were always at me saying something is wrong with me, screaming you need help! After this I cried for days nonstop I didn’t go into work and I laid in bed all day and this is when I realised something was wrong and I really did need help”. Nicola is traumatised by her experience and said it could have ended badly, if she didn’t have her children. “After when I realised something was wrong I went to see my nurse, she then put me through to a councillor and she was so helpful I would recommend this to anyone. I am so glad I realised something was wrong sooner rather than later”. If people don’t do anything about depression they could hurt themselves, and have disastrous consequences. Nicola felt it was so hard to come over her depression, although she pushed herself so she could get better. When Nicola was put through to a councillor she gave her anti depressant drugs which helped for the first few weeks, although she was still unhappy and had no self esteem. She felt helpless and ended up having to quit her job, staying at home all day crying non-stop. Nicola then forced herself to go back and see the councillor as what the councillor had advised just wasn’t working. She put me through to a focus group with a mentor and other people who were just like me; we all sat around in a circle and shared their stories to each other. “It shows that I wasn’t alone, I wasn’t the only one and I wasn’t going crazy. It made me feel a stronger person and it really helped my confidence.”

Sub heading – What to do if you’re worried.

Before you seek help from someone, you have to identify that you have depression. The main symptoms of depression are losing interests in normal activities, hobbies, and everyday life. Feeling tired and having no energy, some people find it difficult to sleep, or waking up early in the morning. Having a poor appetite, losing weight or alternatively putting on weight. Some people find it hard to concentrate feeling restless and anxious. Loosing self confidence and feeling useless, resulting in avoiding people. Feeling hopeless and guilty about something you have done in the past. All of this builds up and the one thing that is really common with depressing is thinking about committing suicide. Don’t let yourself get in this position. Nicola had her fair share of symptoms... “I was so unhappy, I had no confidence in myself and I never wanted to leave the house. I stopped seeing all my friends and didn’t see to no one, I would even try to avoid my children; I just wanted to stay in bed all day.” Within her whole experience of depression there was something going on in her life that triggered off her depression. “When you’re that low with depression, you can’t be bothered with anyone and you forget who your loved ones are. When people asked me what caused it I couldn’t explain because it all happened so fast and I didn’t really know I was that depressed. When I sat with my mentor she really helped put a pin on what went wrong so I didn’t make the same mistake twice. For a start my husband became bankrupt losing all of our money in result of this we went through an awful divorce he took me to court many times. Then I had to pay for my two kids and me a house as he provided me with nothing it was such a struggle.”

“I am sharing my experience not to scar you for life, but to understand what depression can do, and make you aware that it is a serious cause, and to help you to get through this TOGETHER!”

Facts (Break out box)

-          In your life time you have a 20% chance of getting depression

-          Women are twice more likely to get depression than men

-          1 in 5 people get depression!

-          A life event could trigger off your depression

-          Most people don’t know that they have depression.

-           The most common side effect of depression is suicide.

-          Most people with depression can get on with their lives.  It doesn’t always end badly.

-          Two thirds of people suffering from depression do not seek necessary treatment. Font (article) – Times New Roman Font (Title) – Tabitha Font (sub-headings) - Lucida Calligraphy Colour of title, headings and breakout box - Purple