Can you cope with depression in the workplace?

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Depression is a mental illness that affects an extraordinary amount of people. In fact, you are very likely to suffer from depression at some point in your life. Therefore, given the fact that so many of us will be affected by this disease, how is it possible to cope with everyday life and stresses?

Chula Goonewardene, a depression counsellor at CM Therapy, says depression can be brought on by a number of life events such as trauma, stress and loneliness. The illness is more complex than this however he says it is possible to live with depression and learn coping mechanisms.

Recently, musician Lil Chris died at the age of 24. His family have said he was suffering from depression at the time of his death. Some twitter users have expressed their sorrow and shock at the news whilst others have shown lack of sympathy.

“Depression at its best can be socially isolating and prevent someone from fulfilling their potential in life, but at its worst depression can lead to suicide and there is obviously so much in-between these parameters,” says Chula, who is based in Cavendish Square. He believes it is crucial to treat depression with confidence and sensitivity in order to help the individual overcome the disease.

The counsellor says it is possible to maintain a career and cope with depression depending on the severity of the illness. It also depends on the circumstances the individual is living in. He says the person needs to have the appropriate level of support from both friends and family as well as work colleagues and any other person in their social network.

Depression has often been described as failing to see the
positive because of the negative surround the situation.
Photo Credit: Alden Chadwick

In order to help someone overcome depression; it is important to discuss the past and anticipate the future in order to bring the individual to a happy medium. This therapy is successful as long as there is not underlying medical condition or traumatic stress causing depression, according to Chula Goonewardene.

Depression still remains a somewhat taboo subject in our society, proven by the fact that celebrities, such as Lil Chris, provide a shock value to the news because their death was unexpected. It is unclear why depression has a stigma attached to it because it is so common.

One man, Dane Cobain, argues that depression does not deserve the negative stigma attached it to. “A lot of people have struggles with depression,” he says. The musician says a lot of the reaction to depression is natural because people do not know what to think about the illness.

Perhaps this is a sign that we, as a society, need to work to understand the illness because it has an impact on so many people. How can we help those in need when we do not fully understand this complex illness? Help is available to those who need it however it is clear there is more work to be done in order to provide full treatment.

It is not clear why depression has this stigma. However it is clear that this is a subject which many people will have an opinion about.