showed that over 50 per cent of people were at risk of having a lifetime mental disorder with the onset in adolescence. More than half of the mental problems in  adulthood will start in a person’s teenage years. The charity, YoungMinds focuses on three important elements to help those suffering from a mental illness; prevention, early intervention and treatment. From these statistics, it seems young people in today’s generation are much more susceptible to encountering mental illness early on.  

 

Nick Harrop, Campaign Manager for YoungMinds explains: “Young people are under a lot of pressures such as family breakdowns, schools like exam factories, body image, sexualisation and bullying online and offline. There’s a whole world online where young people on social media need reassurance with likes and comments.” 

 

But what’s the difference between clinical depression and just feeling low? How do we distinguish between an illness, which can lead to terrible circumstances, and someone who is feeling really down? 

 

Harrop says that many of us, especially young people feel sad. Mental health is just like physical health; sometimes we don’t feel good but other days we feel fine. Everyone can feel sad and everyone experiences it. But there is a difference between feeling sad and being clinically depressed and charities have an important role to play in breaking down stigma and helping people. Harrop explains how “talking about their feelings marks the important first step”.  

 

Psychologist Tami Avis says there is far more pressure placed on young people today: “Young people are under increasing demand to be switched on all the time and present themselves a certain way on social media, which can come with other pressures and concerns, such as cyber-bullying.”

 

 

 

Let’s go back to miserable me crying in my bedroom. Sometimes we all get sad, maybe you got a bad grade on an assignment you tried really hard on, maybe your friend said something to upset you, or maybe something even more significant happened, such as the death of a family member. In the majority of cases, we know we have the weekend to look forward to and we know we will make up with our friend eventually and we know tomorrow will be a better day. Sadness is a completely normal human emotion. 

 

But what if we feel sad for no reason, or maybe there is a reason but everything is totally exaggerated in our minds. What are the key differences between sadness and depression that we need to be aware of?

 

Sadness is a transient feeling that passes when a person comes to terms with a situation. Depression can linger for days, months or even years. A sad person feels bad but they can continue to cope with the rest of their life. A person with clinical depression may feel so overwhelmed that they see no way out from their dark feelings. 

 

Typical symptoms of depression are:

 

• Feelings of helplessness and hopelessness. A bleak outlook- nothing will ever get better and there’s nothing you can do to improve your situation.

• Loss of interest in daily activities. No interest in former hobbies, pastimes, social activities or sex. You’ve lost your ability to feel joy and pleasure.

• Appetite or weight changes. Significant weight loss or weight gain—a change of more than 5% of body weight in a month.

• Sleep changes. Either insomnia, especially waking in the early hours of the morning or oversleeping (also known as hypersomnia).

• Anger or irritability. Feeling agitated, restless, or even violent. Your tolerance level is low, your temper short and everything and everyone gets on your nerves.

• Loss of energy. Feeling fatigued, sluggish, and physically drained. Your whole body may feel heavy and even small tasks are exhausting or take longer to complete.

• Self-loathing. Strong feelings of worthlessness or guilt. You harshly criticise yourself for perceived faults and mistakes.

• Reckless behaviour. You engage in escapist behaviour such as substance abuse, compulsive gambling, reckless driving or dangerous sports.

• Concentration problems. You have trouble focusing, making decisions or remembering things.

• Unexplained aches and pains. An increase in physical complaints such as headaches, back pain, aching muscles and stomach pain.

 

 

 

 

 

The likelihood is if you cannot explain why you feel sad, you may be experiencing a form of depression. Don’t worry though because you really are not alone. A YouGov survey of 2,300 adults in Britain carried out for Mental Health Awareness Week in 2014 revealed that almost one in five people feel anxious all or a lot of the time. 

 

Psychotherapist and councillor, Eleni Michael, says that our current generation has become addicted to constant technology. We fail to take the time to self-reflect or ask ourselves how we feel about something. She says that this constant stimulation prevents us from having our own choice but instead: “Self-reflection means we can ask ourselves what doesn’t make us feel okay and why.”

 

Although we all go through universal emotions, every person is individual in the way they experience the world around them. In Eleni’s therapy, she likes to use an analogy that likens depression to a pit of soil. 

 

Depression comes in many levels; with very serious depression a person cannot see over the pit instead they only see soil. If you suffer from medium depression you may see some light but not know how to get there. Finally with mild depression a person can see both soil and light above it; they may know how to get to the light but just need a push and some guidance. 

 

Many of us can associate with this analogy and may feel that we have experienced seeing both soil and light at some point in our lives and just needed some help to get into the light. 

 

There is a preconceived idea that everyone should be happy and often in order to achieve that happiness we must fulfil social expectations. When you are dealing with feelings of depression there is a clear clash; in one sense you’re meant to be happy but inside you are feeling overwhelmingly sad. It is essential that we take the time away from the pressures of the Internet, social media and work and examine why we feel a certain way and avoid falling into the trap of accepting things that don’t make us feel good. No matter how big or small the problem may seem, it is essential to find someone you feel comfortable talking to about it. 

 

So next time you find yourself feeling low or sat in your room crying, reach out to someone before the problem has you buried deep in a pit of soil.