Overcoming depression

When someone you love dies you feel the loss of them. There is no right or wrong way to respond and everyone responds in their own way. Your loss is like other people’s losses, just as your fingers are like others’ fingers. However, your loss is also your unique experience just like your fingerprint is different from everyone else’s.

Self-harm is a way of expressing very deep distress. It's a means of communicating what can't be put into words or even into thoughts and has been described as an inner scream. Self-injury can be understood as a coping mechanism so that an individual harms their physical self to deal with emotional pain, or to break feelings of numbness by arousing sensation. For those that self-injure the physical pain is often easier to deal with than an emotional pain because it causes ‘real’ feelings. Afterwards, people feel better able to cope with life again - for a while. However it’s not unusual for the person not to understand why they self-harm, nor for them to know what deeper feelings they are connected to.

Eating is normal and most of us enjoy food whilst normal eating habits vary enormously. Food becomes a problem when it is used to help cope with painful situations or feelings, or to relieve stress. Sometimes this occurs without the person even realising it. Not maintaining a stable weight or having a physical difficulty with eating or eating arousing distressing feelings are indicators that an eating disorder may be present or there may be a risk of one developing.

Pornography from the mildest to the most extreme is easily available on the internet to anyone who wants to find it. It can lure anyone who feels disconnected from regular support away from their normal sources of company into an addictive activity which can spiral out of personal control.

Many people like to play the lottery, have a bet or take part in a sweep stake for the Grand National. However a gambling addiction affects about 6 in 1000 people and is only a problem when you are out of control of your gambling behaviour and when it impacts negatively on other aspects of life.

Alcohol is a drug that has the immediate effect of altering a person’s mood. Some people find it can help them to be at ease, more talkative and active. For others it can help them to unwind at the end of stressful day.