What is Depression?
Depression is a pervasive emotion that affects the way that we think, feel (physically and emotionally) and act. It can be like seeing life through a gloomy lens, or feeling weighted down, and thoughts like "I'm worthless/useless", "it's all my fault" and "everything always goes wrong for me" are common.
All of us have periods of feeling sad or down, often in response to things happening in our lives or when we feel overwhelmed. But if this feeling sticks around, you might be experiencing depression.
Depression often starts or gets worse because of a cycle. Our thinking patterns affect our emotions, feelings or the things that we do. Our thoughts affect how we feel and what we do, which can then make us feel even worse. These thoughts keep coming back over time, and this can make it tough to ask for help because we might start to think that feeling this way is just part of who we are.
