Dealing with Depression
What is depression?
Depression is a very common problem. Very many adults will at
some time experience symptoms of depression. In its mildest forms,
depression does not stop you from leading a normal life, but the
most severe depression can be life-threatening, with thoughts of
death and suicide.
These are some of the signs or symptoms that you may experience
if you
are depressed.
Emotions of
• Feeling sad, guilty, upset, numb or despairing
• Losing interest and enjoyment in things
• Crying a lot or feeling unable to cry
• Feeling alone even if you are in company.
Physical or bodily signs
• Tiredness
• Restlessness
• Sleep problems, especially waking early or interrupted
sleep
• Feeling worse at a particular time of the day (usually
morning)
• Changes in appetite, eating and weight.
Thoughts of
• Losing confidence in yourself
• Expecting the worst and having negative or gloomy thoughts
• Thinking that everything seems hopeless
• Thoughts of suicide
• Thinking you hate yourself
• Poor memory or concentration.
How these feelings, physical signs and thoughts may
affect
your life
• You may find it difficult to do even simple things
• You stop doing your normal activities
• You cut yourself off from other people
• You may become inactive, just doing nothing for long periods of
time
• You may feel that you have to double check everything.
If this sounds familiar to you, it is time to get help. Have
a look at the guides and websites, but most importantly, see your
GP. If you don't have a GP, Veterans First Point can help you
with this.
Self Help Guides
L1 Depression
L1 Bereavement
L2
Depression and Anti-depressants
L3 Depression and
Low Mood
Organisations that can help:
Depression Alliance Scotland
Address:3 Grosvenor Gardens, Edinburgh EH 12 5JU
Tel: 0845 123 2320 (office hours)
Talk2gether - an NHS interactive website with screening
questionnaires, self-help material and details of local support
groups.
www.talk2gether.nhs.uk
Scottish Association for Mental Health
Address: Cumbrae house 15 Carlton Court Glasgow G5 9JP
Tel: 0141 568 7000 (information service Mon - Fri 1400 to
1630hrs)
Breathing Space (a confidential telephone helpline for
people to call when they are
feeling down or distressed)
Tel: 0800 838 587 (1800 - 0200 hrs every day)
Samaritans
Tel: 0845 790 9090 (any time)
email: jo@samaritans.org
If you feel you need a therapist, we have one on site at
Veterans First Point. Some GPs employ counsellors at their
practice, or you could ask your GP to recommend a local counsellor.
If your GP thinks you need to see a psychologist, they can refer
you to your local clinical psychology department.
Alternatively you could try the Yellow Pages under 'Counsellors
and Psychotherapists'. We would recommend that you ask about
their registration with the British Psychological Society (www.bps.org.uk) or the British
Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (www.bacp.co.uk).
Not forgetting about new parents, the following organisations
may also be of specific use:
Association For Post-Natal Illness - for women who are
experiencing depression following the birth of their baby.
Address:145, Dawes Road, London, SW6 7EB.
Tel: 0207 386 0868.
Cross Reach Post-Natal Depression Project – counselling for
families suffering from post-natal depression.
Address: Wallace House, 3 Boswall Road, Edinburgh EH5 3RJ .
Tel: 0313 538 7288.
Useful Websites
www.depressionalliance.org
www.bipolarscotland.org.uk
www.mind.org.uk (a
national charity that offers an excellent range of materials
on all aspects of depression and manic depression, and a useful
source of factsheets too)
www.dascot.org
(information about symptoms and treatment of depression)
www.edspace.org.uk (provides
useful information about resources in
Edinburgh)
www.livinglifetothefull.com
(self-help for depression and anxiety and related mental health
issues)
www.eastlothian.gov.uk/documents/contentmanage/directory
(a very useful directory of national and local East Lothian
services)
Some of the Austrailian sites are very good, such as:
www.moodgym.anu.edu.au/
(an interactive self-help site for cognitive
behavioural therapy for depression)
www.cci.health.wa.gov.au/about/index.cfm
(for free workbooks and resources for varied mental health
issues)
Video Stories
The mood gym website has some video case studies.
If you would like to take part in developing one of our video
stories about depression issues with veterans, please contact
us.
www.dipex.org/depression has
many personal experiences of health and illnesses which you can
watch or listen to.