Are you ill?

It is important to decide whether you are just sad or truly suffering from depression. This is because there is a difference between being sad about losing a close family member and being sad as a result of depression.

If you are grieving over a family member that you have lost, you may perhaps be experiencing a normal reaction of grief and sadness. Emotion like this does not have the same impact on your quality of life as compared to someone suffering from depression. Sadness and grief are temporary and not as severe as depression. If you have a reaction of grief which must be treated, the treatment will typically involve supportive discussion.

However, a serious life event such as a death in the family can sometimes lead to depression. Many people believe in such a situation, griefing is something that just has to be "lived through".

Nothing could be further from the truth. Therefore, it is important to realise: If you are unhappy for more than "a short period" after such an event, you should contact your doctor to discuss your condition.

Greatest pain

Depression in its most severe form has been described as the greatest pain you could ever suffer. But there are five things that you should know:

• Depression is an illness
• It will not pass over when you "pull yourself together"
• It is not something to be ashamed about
• Depression can and should be treated
• You will recover fully after your treatment

But you cannot cure depression yourself. We must make it clear that you cannot either "work your way out" of a depression or simply "pull yourself together" and simply snap out of depression. These are two of the most widespread myths about depression. They are simply untrue.