Incidence of depression has risen ten-fold since the end of the Second World War. This has been attributed to the breaking down of traditional social networks, higher levels or reporting and people having higher expectations from life but whatever the reasons, there can be no doubt what a destructive and painful effect the experience of depression has on the sufferer and those close to him or her. People who are may experience feelings of worthlessness and guilt, recurrent thoughts of suicide, lethargy and a lack of pleasure or interest in their lives.
The vast increase in the incidence of depression over the last fifty years indicates that it is not primarily a biological illness. It is brought on by life experiences and how we deal with them.
Sadness is a natural part of life and is as normal and human as happiness, anger or calm. A life entirely without sadness would be a very two-dimensional experience indeed. What distinguishes depression from sadness is its self-perpetuating nature. Depressed people will typically find themselves ruminating about a certain emotive issue or event. The surfeit of stored-up emotion causes the person to dream much more than usual as their unconscious mind tries to discharge these feelings. This active overdreaming deprives the depressed person of the deep slow-wave sleep the body needs to recuperate overnight, leaving them exhausted the next day. This exhaustion then leads sufferers to drop interests, isolate themselves from friends and family and become increasingly swamped by the negative emotional rumination, thus worsening the cycle. It is a seemingly never-ending cycle of pain and unhappiness.
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