Depression is one of the most common mental health problems, and many people suffer from recurring episodes of this disorder.
Research has discovered that people who have had more than two bouts of depression often develop a habit pattern of negative thinking, which may lead to further depression.
A depressive episode is defined by the presence of five or more of the following symptoms, which have lasted for two weeks or longer: feeling sad or empty, loss of interest in activities that brought you pleasure in the past, a significant change in appetite (decrease or increase), insomnia or excessive sleep, feelings of restlessness or slowing down, fatigue or loss of energy, feelings of worthlessness or excessive guilt, impaired concentration or decision-making ability and pervasive thoughts of death.
If you have had more than two depressive episodes in your life and are interested in working on preventing further episodes, there is a program at mental health for you.
It is called mindfulness-based cogni-tive therapy, for prevention of depressive relapse. This program has proved to be effective. It is facilitated by trained mental health staff, and will run in the spring of 2012. Check it out by calling 604-885-6101 and asking for Eva.
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