Understanding Depression: More Than Just Feeling Sad

"Just cheer up." "Think positive." "You have so much to be grateful for."

If you've experienced depression, you've probably heard well-meaning advice like this. And you've probably noticed that it doesn't help—because depression isn't simply sadness, and it can't be fixed by trying harder to be happy.

Depression is a complex condition that affects your thoughts, feelings, body, and behaviour. Understanding what depression actually is can be the first step toward finding effective help.

Depression Is Not Just Sadness

While sadness is certainly a component of depression for many people, the experience is far more varied. Depression can also manifest as:

Emptiness or numbness: Rather than feeling sad, you might feel nothing at all—a grey flatness that makes it hard to connect with anything.

Irritability: Depression often shows up as a short temper, frustration, or feeling easily overwhelmed by minor annoyances.

Physical symptoms: Fatigue, changes in appetite, sleep disturbances, headaches, and unexplained aches can all be signs of depression.

Difficulty thinking: Concentration problems, indecisiveness, and memory issues are common but often overlooked symptoms.

Loss of interest: Activities that once brought joy may feel pointless or require enormous effort to engage with.

Why Depression Happens

Depression doesn't have a single cause. It typically results from a combination of factors:

Biological Factors

Brain chemistry plays a role in depression, though it's more complex than the "chemical imbalance" narrative suggests. Neurotransmitters, hormones, and inflammation can all contribute to depressive symptoms.

Life Experiences

Difficult experiences—particularly in childhood—can shape how we respond to stress and regulate emotions. Trauma, loss, chronic stress, and significant life changes can all trigger depression.

Thought Patterns

The way we interpret events affects how we feel. Depression often involves patterns of negative thinking that can become self-reinforcing: we feel bad, so we interpret things negatively, which makes us feel worse.

Social Factors

Isolation, relationship difficulties, work stress, and lack of support can all contribute to depression. Humans are social beings, and our connections (or lack thereof) profoundly affect our mental health.

Different Types of Depression

Depression isn't one-size-fits-all. Some common presentations include:

Major Depressive Disorder: Episodes of severe depression lasting at least two weeks, characterised by persistent low mood, loss of interest, and other symptoms.

Persistent Depressive Disorder: A longer-lasting but sometimes less intense form of depression that continues for two years or more.

Seasonal Affective Disorder: Depression that follows a seasonal pattern, typically worsening in autumn and winter.

Postnatal Depression: Depression occurring after childbirth, affecting both mothers and sometimes fathers.

How Therapy Helps

Therapy is one of the most effective treatments for depression, often working as well as medication and with longer-lasting effects. Here's how it helps:

Understanding Your Depression

In therapy, we work together to understand your particular experience of depression. What triggers it? What maintains it? What has helped in the past? This understanding forms the foundation for change.

Addressing Underlying Causes

Rather than just managing symptoms, therapy can help address root causes—whether that's processing past experiences, healing attachment wounds, or resolving ongoing life stressors.

Changing Unhelpful Patterns

Depression often involves patterns of thinking and behaving that keep us stuck. Therapy helps identify these patterns and develop alternatives that support wellbeing.

Building Resources

Depression depletes our inner resources. Therapy helps rebuild them—developing self-compassion, identifying sources of meaning, strengthening relationships, and creating sustainable self-care practices.

Providing Support

Perhaps most fundamentally, therapy provides a consistent, supportive relationship. Having someone who truly listens, understands, and believes in your capacity to heal can be profoundly powerful.

Recovery Is Possible

If you're experiencing depression, please know that recovery is possible. It may not happen overnight, and the path isn't always linear, but with the right support, things can get better.

Depression lies to you. It tells you things won't improve, that you're a burden, that there's no point in trying. These thoughts are symptoms of the condition, not reality.

If you're struggling with depression and would like support, get in touch to discuss how therapy might help.