What is depression and what causes it?

I started a course yesterday called Hope For Tomorrow: A Course for Dealing with Depression. I wasn't really sure what to expect, but I found it really encouraging. We listened to a talk about the speaker's experience of depression, and then drew a picture of our own depression and discussed it in groups. This is what mine looks like:














It's supposed to show the sun hidden behind a cloud of negative words. I think colours would have helped...

 We discussed our images in small groups, before sharing with the whole group. A lot of people drew very similar images, and it was affirming to hear that other people felt the same way as you. We then wrote down what caused our depression and shared that. One of my big things is a lack of routine, which is why I often fall off the band-wagon during the holidays. Another is stress, which seemed to be quite a common one. It was lovely talking and listening in such a supportive atmosphere, where other people understood where you were coming from. After we had finished talking, the speaker gave us a metaphor for depression: David and Goliath. We are David, and the depression is the huge giant Goliath. Combating him can seem like an impossible task, but we just need to arm ourselves in the right way- for David it was five smooth stones, and for us hopefully the five sessions of this course will be those five pebbles.