Depression Awareness

About this course.

Depression is one of the most common mental health conditions in the world, and at some point in their lives a great many people will either experience it themselves or support someone close to them who does. Yet despite how widespread it is, depression remains widely misunderstood. It is often confused with ordinary sadness or a passing bad mood, dismissed as a sign of weakness, or surrounded by an unhelpful stigma that stops people from talking about how they feel and from asking for the help they need. This course sets out to change that by building a clear, compassionate and accurate understanding of what depression really is.

The course covers the difference between low mood and clinical depression, how common depression is, the different forms (major depressive disorder, persistent depressive disorder, postnatal depression, seasonal affective disorder), what causes depression, why stigma matters, the emotional, cognitive, physical and behavioural signs, professional treatments including talking therapies and medication, self-help strategies, and how to support someone — including what to say and what to avoid.