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Experiencing and living with depression can be very difficult, but there are tools and strategies that may help. 

It鈥檚 normal to feel low in mood at times, particularly in response to adverse stressors and life events such as bereavement and loss.  
If you notice that you have been having the following experiences consistently for more than 2 weeks, it may be a sign that you have depression. Depression is a mental illness that is experienced differently by different people, however, there are common features: 

• Feeling low, sad, tearful and numb. 
• Avoiding people and situations (social isolation). 
• Low motivation, low energy and poor concentration. 
• Feeling worthless, useless or hopeless.  

• Thinking negatively and seeing the worst in things. 
• Change in sleeping patterns and eating habits. 
• Loss of enthusiasm, interest and enjoyment in things that you ordinarily enjoy. 
• Some people may experience thoughts of harming themselves or ending their life. 

Sometimes depression is the reaction to a life event or sometimes it feels like it comes from nowhere. It is estimated that one in six people have a depressive episode at some time in life. In its milder form, depression makes living life to the full seem difficult and less worthwhile. At its most severe it can be life-threatening. 

Managing鈥疍epression and Low Mood.

Experiencing and living with depression or low mood can feel very difficult, but it can get better. Start with small steps each day: 

• Look after your physical health- this includes practicing self- care routines, looking after your personal hygiene, eating a balanced diet at set, regular points throughout the day and practicing good sleep hygiene. Exercise also makes a big difference to our mood as it releases natural endorphins which help to regulate mood and improve sleep. It鈥檚 also a good release of emotion and can help to manage worried thoughts and feelings of stress and anxiety. 
• Notice the small things- Start to keep a record of achievements for each week. This can be as basic as: getting out of bed, tidying your room, brushing teeth etc. Maybe it鈥檚 something you did well and can be proud of, or maybe it鈥檚 a positive thing that happened e.g. you had a nice chat with a friend, had a nice walk outside or ate a nice meal. You can also make a list of 5 things that you鈥檙e grateful for that day. If this is difficult to begin with, start with something that is less personal or funny, e.g. 鈥淚鈥檓 grateful that the earth is far enough away from the sun that we don鈥檛 get too hot but close enough that we don鈥檛 freeze鈥�. 

• Take some time for self-compassion, self-care and mindfulness- depression can feel worse during more stressful times or when we may be in a particularly negative thinking pattern. Mindfulness is a well researched practice that is proven to help regulate our mood and thought patterns. Apps like Headspace are really useful and offer guided mindfulness and meditation programmes. There are also lots available on YouTube.  
• Talking to someone you trust鈥痑bout how you are feeling may鈥痟elp- this can be difficult at first but it鈥檚 important to speak with someone that you trust. If you can鈥檛 speak to someone close to you, Wellbeing and Student Support are here to support.鈥�, 鈥痑苍诲鈥�鈥痑lso have people available to speak to by text or phone 24/7. 

Managing鈥疦egative Thoughts

 Catch, Check and Change negative thoughts: 

• When we are feeling low in mood or experiencing depression, we are more likely to assume the worst, see things in a negative light and struggle to find the positives. 
• It can be helpful during these times to be mindful of our negative thoughts, and to try and challenge and change these. 
• 鈥淐atch鈥� the thoughts by keeping track of them, what they are, and how they impact your mood and how you feel. 
• 鈥淐heck鈥� them by asking yourself is there any evidence against or for this thought?鈥疕ave I made an assumption? Is there another way of looking at this? 

• Finally, change the thought by trying to consider what alternative options and counter thoughts may be. What would you say to a friend thinking this?鈥疉m I being overly critical of myself, if I try to consider the opposite, more positive option, what would that be?  

See the activity below to help practice this: 

Event/ situation	Thoughts	Feelings/ emotions/ physical sensations	Behaviour/ consequence	Alternative thought/ could there be another explanation/ is there factual evidence to support my thought/ will you still feel as strongly about this in 6 months time	Coping strategies/ distraction/ alternative behaviours
Person B has read my messages but hasn鈥檛 responded for 6 hours	鈥淭hey鈥檙e ignoring me, they don鈥檛 care about me, I鈥檓 bothering them鈥�    鈥淗ow dare they ignore me!鈥�	Sad  Lonely  Angry  Rejected  Tense jaw and muscles  heavy  Emptiness	Sent them more texts asking why they鈥檙e ignoring me.    Ignoring them when they finally text back.	They could be busy/ studying/ overwhelmed/ have their own issues.    There鈥檚 no real evidence for my thoughts, it鈥檚 just what I think.    Probably not	Go for a walk  Study  Self- care  Mindfulness

Moving Out of Depression

Most people do recover from depression. It鈥檚 important that you seek support from you GP if you are struggling to manage your symptoms or they are not getting better.  

It can sometimes be tempting to try to find release from depression by abusing drugs or alcohol but this can bring its own problems - it is important to look after yourself physically. It can be useful to challenge negative thinking that feeds depression - talking out thoughts and feelings can be useful. Sometimes medication can be helpful in managing depression; medical support and information on medication can be obtained from your GP 

If you are experiencing thoughts to harm yourself or ending your life, it鈥檚 very important that you speak to a health professional about the way that you are feeling. Wellbeing Support Service are available to speak to straight away during Monday- Friday 10am-3pm. Go to our website and request a brief consultation. 

In life threatening emergencies, call Community Safety (on campus) on 22222 or 999 (off campus) 

Useful resources

Understanding depression
	Gives a general overview
	Facts about depression
	Free online course on depression, anxiety and CBT
	Overview of Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder, a mood disorder linked to the menstrual cycle
Managing depression
Learn how your behavior can directly affect your mood, for better or worse, and how to use skills to put yourself in situations that will make it most likely to improve your mood.	Self-help booklet on managing depression A Behavioural Activation workbook
	A free downloadable book to help change negative thought patterns and behaviour
	Campaign Against Living Miserably: movement against male suicide
	A helpful workbook about depression
	Article from the Boar on mental health and support
	Student depression website
	Self help sites
	NHS site
	NHS wellbeing
	Forum for support
	Information and videos on dealing with mental health difficulties
	Video on experiences of depression. With thanks to NUI Galway (please note that resources referred to in this video are not available to students and staff at 糖心TV)
	Helpful workbook for dealing with the cycles of behaviour which can be part of depression
Apps
	Track your mood with this NHS mood app
	App for stress, anxiety and depression
For immediate support
	24 hour helpline: 116 123
Available from the University Library:
		Barnes
		Dennis Greenberger & Christine Padesky
	Combining CBT and mindfulness techniques, aimed at preventing relapse of depression	Segal
		Bates
		Dorothy Rowe
	Combining CBT and mindfulness techniques, includes CD with meditations	J. Mark G. Williams
	Popular self-help book, good overview of CBT techniques for depression	Paul Gilbert
	General overview of depression and treatments, including practical tips	Cembrowicz, Stefan.; Kingham, Dorcas.
	Focuses on the importance of relationships and explores evolutionary explanation of depression	Bob Murray; Alicia Fortinberry
	Explores biological causes of depression, the impact of nutrition on mood	Syd Baumel>
	Explores where depression may stem from, and how to overcome it	Dorothy Rowe
	Cognitive behavioural focus - practical steps to help manage negative thoughts, emotions and anxiety	Helga A. H Rowe
	Ebook	James R Phelps
	A guide to the causes and triggers of bipolar disorder and the treatment options available for sufferers
	Useful for family members of those experiencing mood swings or bipolar disorder	McKeon
	Easy to read, looks at role of sleep/dreaming in depression	Griffin and Tyrell
		Atkinson
	Uses case studies to explore how beliefs and thoughts maintain depression.	Windy Dryden, Sarah Opie
		J. Glenmullen
		Romme and Escher
	Describes how you can manage your moods by eating the right foods and living a healthy lifestyle	Robert Thayer
	Recipes containing foods that may help depression, PMS and anxiety and enhance mood and brain power	Natalie Savona

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