One in four people will experience depression at some time in their lives. Depression can affect people in many different ways, both mentally and physically. There can be various causes of depression, differing widely amongst individuals, certain factors make it more likely to occur including ; genes, up-bringing, and how we react to life events.
Thoughts experienced may include; I’m rubbish, worthless, there’s no point, it’s my fault. These thoughts lead to physical sensations including; lethargy, losing interest in once enjoyed activities, and disturbance in sleep patterns. As a result behaviour is affected in that we do less and less, not going out or mixing with others, sometimes even the thought of getting out of bed is too exhausting.
When treating depression using Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, the client learns about the relationship between automatic thoughts and feelings, and to challenge negative automatic thoughts. Other cognitive and behavioural techniques will be learned while ultimately, behavioural activation, a favoured technique used, will help the client to regain enjoyment of previously enjoyed activities and then lift feelings of depression.