Depression

Managing Depression

The Managing Depression series of info sheets will help you cope with a diagnosis of depression, help you be an active partner in your health care and build good working relationships with health care providers, and help prevent relapse of depression.

Mood Disorders

Moods are our emotions. They affect us every day. Sometimes we're sad, other times we're happy. We might even be sad and happy in the same day. But sometimes people's mood can get 'stuck' on sad. Or the moods might change a lot or become extreme.

Depression

Sadness is a natural part of being human and feeling this way for a few days is normal. In fact, many people hear people say "I'm depressed" in their day-to-day life when they are talking about that low feeling that we can all have from time to time. But if these sad feelings last for more than a couple of weeks and you start noticing that it’s affecting your life in a big way, you may be suffering from an illness called depression.

Going Mental in a Small Town

Michael found depression and anxiety harder to manage, and tried to book an appointment with a mental health clinic in town—the closest large town to his small community. The next appointment was a month away, an eternity for someone who needed help right away. Living in a small community has wonderful benefits, but it also means that help is not always easy to access when you need it. After a suicide attempt and short hospitalization, Michael was sent out on his own again with an address for a counselling clinic, and now must navigate a setback from COVID-19.

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