Depression is a complex mental health disorder that affects your emotional, cognitive and even physical health. While it does often come with feeling sad, there’s lots more to it than that.

On the emotional front, depression can include feelings of emptiness, hopelessness, guilt, or a lack of interest or pleasure in activities. Some people describe it as feeling “numb” or “empty” rather than specifically sad.

Physically, depression can significantly impact your appetite and sleep patterns. Some people may find they can’t sleep or eat, while others will do nothing but sleep and eat. The mental weight of the condition often results in very low energy, making you feel constantly exhausted or “slowed down.” Depression is often linked to various physical pains and conditions that you may not think to associate with it.

Cognitively, depression can make it hard to think, concentrate, or make decisions. People often describe it as a thick fog that fills their head. In some cases, people with depression may also have recurring thoughts of death or suicide.

The effects of depression are persistent and can’t be simply brushed away or ignored. They significantly interfere with your ability to function in daily life, which is what differentiates depression from normal bouts of sadness.

Being told to “snap out of it” not only invalidates your experience but also perpetuates harmful misconceptions about mental health. This phrase implies that overcoming depression is simply a matter of willpower or personal strength, when in reality, it’s a complex condition that’s thought to involve multiple factors including genetics, brain chemistry, hormones, and life circumstances.

Depression is a medical condition, and like many medical conditions, it often requires treatment to get better. It’s not something that you can simply decide to stop experiencing. There is hope though! Psychotherapy, along with lifestyle adjustments and possibly medication can significantly reduce your symptoms and help you live a happier, more fulfilling life.

People experiencing depression don’t always express it in the same way. Because of this, you may not even realize that depression is what you are experiencing. While the symptoms mentioned above are the most common signs of depression, they can vary in severity to the point that you can brush them off as “occasional sadness”.

“High functioning depression” or “smiling depression” is when a person seems completely fine on the outside, (successful and thriving even!), but inside they are struggling with feelings of hopelessness or worthlessness. It’s common for people to hide their feelings of depression due to stigma or a desire not to burden others.

It can also manifest differently depending on age or different personality types. A teenager struggling with depression may come across as irritable and irrational, for example, while in men it often shows up as anger, aggression or reckless behaviour.

Because depression symptoms include: difficulty concentrating, changes in appetite or weight, or feelings of fatigue, they can sometimes be mistaken for other issues or conditions, making it less apparent that the root cause is depression.

If you suspect that what you are feeling may be “smiling depression”, we can help you figure it out and get the support you need.

This is one of the most common and harmful misconceptions about depression. Hearing this, or having the thought run through your head can lead to feelings of guilt and shame that are not yours to carry.

Anyone, regardless of their strength or resilience, can experience depression. It is influenced by a variety of genetic, biochemical, environmental, and psychological components. You don’t need more willpower to overcome depression. In therapy, we can identify the root cause of your depression, help correct any imbalances and give you the tools you need to feel better.

The cause of depression cannot be boiled down to one specific cause or trigger. It’s true that certain events can trigger the symptoms of depression, such as the loss of a loved one, pregnancy and childbirth, or a significant life transitions, but symptoms can also appear when no obvious triggers have occurred.

Studies have shown that a person’s inherent brain chemistry or genetic predisposition can make them more vulnerable to developing depression.

It can also develop slowly over time, to the point where you may not even realize it until your symptoms are severe. It’s common for people to tell us that they have no idea when they even started to feel depressed.