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Can you tell us a little bit about depression?

Depression is a huge subject. It is experienced by a very great number of people. I think people are often not aware that they are depressed. It is good that they are aware at that time because they can go to their GP and get some help, but often they find that their lives have been affected by something and they are not quite sure what it is. Depression can be connected to physical illness. It can be part of a diagnosis. It can be a change in home circumstances. It can be a result of bereavement or loss of any sort. It can be of relationship issue. In short, it's anything that people are not coping with, can lead to depression.

For example, in the workplace, you knew that a colleague was going through a difficult point in their marriage, for example, and they seemed to be very unhappy. What would you recommend you do at that point?

I think I would take them aside in the traditional quiet room, confidential atmosphere and say that you have noticed that things were different for them, could you help with anything? And hope that they would talk about this. It would really depend on what they felt they were coping with it, as you say, it was difficulties in the relationship, not necessarily marriage, it could be a relationship with a parent or a child, they would perhaps feel that they just were not coping with the situation as well as they could. Maybe their self-expectation was too high and they were not meeting it, and that would make them feel depressed in any way. There's mild to moderate depression or there's really severe depression, and that requires a very precise psychological or psychiatric diagnosis.

But mild to moderate depression is really common and there are a great number of people who have a low level of depression, all of the time. It can spike with issues that arise. Unless they're dealt with, then that spike will go back down. If they are not dealt with, then it will only go partially down and the next crisis or issue will build on that until, at the end of it, you have got a real sort of bonfire of depression or anxiety, that needs to be dealt with. And the more it goes on, the more difficult it is to cope with.

In some cases where if the depression is due to a specific happening, for example, a problem going through a rough patch in the rocky patches, they call it, in the marriage. Is it quite common for when that issue is resolved for the depression to go away completely without any treatment or is it something that that may linger?

I think it very much depends on the individual and how well the situation has been resolved. Some people feel that because depression has been linked with that issue, it will automatically be linked with the next thing and that is not the case, not necessarily so. Much depends on how well this has been dealt with, and where it has left people at the end of dealing with this issue. If they have been in counselling, for instance, it may have identified other areas that need it, but if they are coping with it on their own, then they may feel a line has been drawn and they can get back to what they would call a normal life.