Depression is still a somewhat taboo subject. The easiest way to understand depression is to talk to someone who has had a first hand experience. Here, Liz Griffiths, talks to someone who who has suffered from depression since their late teens
I have always been aware of depression. Jane's mother had post-natal depression and Jane has had serious depression and anxiety since her late teens. Luckily, his family have always been close and therefore they would always freely talk about what Jane was going through. My reason for conducting this interview is to make people more aware of the seriousness of depression and try to make it a less taboo subject. Maybe this will help bring down the barriers that the term depression puts up in society
The term depression means something different to different people from feeling low and down to feeling completely desperate and alone. What does the term depression mean to you Jane
To me depression means feeling disabled from being able to control your positive thoughts. When you are very low it is terribly hard to understand that you will come out of it. You feel as though a demon or gremlin has come inside your mind and taken over. Your sense of humour disappears and you become a little paranoid. It is also easy to avoid situations that increase these feelings, such as being around lots of people, going shopping. For me a major part of depression was the feelings of anxiety.What do you think were the triggers of your depression
Well at school I was badly bullied by friends that I grew up with. I had to change my circle of friends and really hated school. I concentrated on music and did badly in my other subjects. My depression really began when I my GCSE retakes at college. Even then I can see it was brought on by anxiety. I had very low self esteem.At the very bad times did it feel like you were ever going to come out of your depression? I suppose at certain times I didnt feel there was anyway that I could get better. On two occasions I tried to end my life, obviously not succeeding. I know now that I feel better than I have ever done before and am more than capable of dealing with any anxious feelings that come my way.
If youve never had a form of depression, its very hard to understand how someone is feeling. I always found it frustrating feeling like I could not help you in any way. Did the fact that it was affecting your family and friends increase these levels of anxiety
For me I was always aware that I was affecting my family and friends. I would always try and monitor how they were feeling. The only time I didnt think about my family and friend was when I was suicidal.Youve had very bad times but you have always come out of them. Youre now engaged, have a good job, a beautiful house, have a supportive family some people would find it hard to understand how you could have depression when you have all this in your life I believe that anxiety/depression is just part of who I am. There are some very successful and very rich people in the world who have depression. I suppose it goes back to the little gremlin that gets into your mind and disables you from thinking positively.
Typical symptoms of clinical depression are feelings of sadness, loss, anger, or frustration that interfere with everyday life for an extended time. If you have these symptoms or you can relate to how Jane felt in the past, please contact your GP or visit www.mind.org.uk
Tagged in Health