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What is depression?
Depression is a mental health condition that affects the way you feel, think and behave. Feeling low and losing interest in things that used to bring you joy are common depression symptoms.
It can also affect your body, for example by changing your appetite, disturbing your sleep or causing you to feel tired a lot of the time.
Depression is more than feeling sad or down. With depression, the low mood doesn't go away and can have a big impact on your day-to-day life. It may be hard to carry on with work, keep up with your responsibilities at home or connect with other people when you have depression.
Types of depression
The most common types of depression include:
- Major depression or major depressive disorder – depressive symptoms last a long time and interfere with daily life.
- Melancholic depression – a subtype of major depressive disorder that has both physical and emotional symptoms.
- Psychotic depression – another subtype of major depressive disorder that includes hallucinations, delusions or paranoia.
- Perinatal and postnatal depression – many women experience depression during pregnancy or after giving birth.
How to know if you have depression
Depression is diagnosed by a mental health professional. Before the diagnosis, they may ask you about your symptoms and how they affect your day-to-day life.
It can be helpful to record your symptoms in a journal so that you can speak to your doctor about them during your appointment.
Common symptoms of depression include:
When should you get help?
Everyone feels down from time to time, but if you're experiencing depressive symptoms that don't go away, it's important to seek help.
When you have depression it may be hard to ask for help. It's important to remember that you're not alone – 1 in 16 people in Australia are currently experiencing depression. Depression is treatable, and getting help sooner can lead to better outcomes.
You should see your doctor when:
- You're feeling sad, teary or low most of the time
- You've been experiencing symptoms for more than 2 weeks
- You're finding hard to cope at home, work or school
- You're using alcohol or drugs to cope
Where to get support for depression
Talking with your GP is a good place to start. They may refer you to a mental health professional who can give you specialised support and tools to cope.
Staying connected with family and friends is important. If you don't feel comfortable talking to them about your symptoms, you could try calling a mental health helpline.
Support groups are a good way to meet others who are going through a similar experience to you.
If you're having trouble finding work or staying in your job because of depression, you can get support from APM. We specialise in finding jobs for people with an injury, illness or disability, including mental health conditions.
We can also help you with workplace accommodations, accessing mental health services and overcoming any barriers you might be facing finding work or holding down a job.
For more information about working and coping with depression, read our guide to finding a job with depression.
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