be eaten or they would push the blood pressure up so high it could cause death, so he had to be totally aware of what was in all foods and avoid those "mature" things, eg blue vein cheese and avocado. Then there were the tremors - terrible shaking not only in body but in mind. With an adjustment to medication, life for him became OK again.

Till now! His contentment has again been destroyed and his life been hell on earth. The demons came back, the turmoil started again, his workmates were unsupportive and uncaring, he was running out

If you have, or do, suffer from depression you will relate to the common response from friends, family and colleagues "Oh! get over it", or "It's all in your mind". How wrong they are! How terrifying is it when you see a loved one or friend heading on the downward path and no matter what you say or do, how much you care it doesn't seem to make a difference to them trying to destroy themselves. That is, if you even recognise they have a problem! Because sometimes you don't see, or can't recognise, some changes however slight that can contribute to the demise of your loved one and are shocked to the core at their "sudden" problem or even death.

It's true it's possible to tell from a person's voice over the phone what their mood is - particularly if you know that person. How many times have you heard "smile when you answer the phone" - people can tell you are happy or contented through that unseen smile. It takes a massive effort to conjure up a smile when seriously depressed and at some stage we forget to "produce" that smile; this could be a trigger to listen more closely to your friends/loved one's tone of voice and become aware of when they might be "down in the dumps", showing no interest in doing anything or excessively sleeping.

Just been there with a close member of my family (let's call him "Mat"). After enduring work problems, a relationship breakup and consequently very nasty verbal exchanges all falling on him at once, Mat hit the dirt. He could see no reason to keep going; he felt he was not worthy. His mind was a turmoil of conflicting emotions, with the demons seemingly winning.

We'd been through something similar to this before in his younger days ... when (thankfully) he allowed us into his inner thoughts, fears and feelings so we were able to listen to his negatives and try to provide a positive. We sought the advice of a Psychiatrist then, and found through his various tests, a chemical imbalance in his body and other contributing factors. With the help of some medication we got through that and assumed life was on again as normal . But that medication was strong and had some awful side effects; foods that couldn't be eaten or they would push the blood pressure up so high it could cause death, so he had to be totally aware of what was in all foods and avoid those "mature" things, eg blue vein cheese and avocado. Then there were the tremors - terrible shaking not only in body but in mind. With an adjustment to medication, life for him became OK again.

Till now! His contentment has again been destroyed and his life been hell on earth. The demons came back, the turmoil started again, his workmates were unsupportive and uncaring, he was running out

ute to the demise of your loved one and are shocked to the core at their "sudden" problem or even death.

It's true it's possible to tell from a person's voice over the phone what their mood is - particularly if you know that person. How many times have you heard "smile when you answer the phone" - people can tell you are happy or contented through that unseen smile. It takes a massive effort to conjure up a smile when seriously depressed and at some stage we forget to "produce" that smile; this could be a trigger to listen more closely to your friends/loved one's tone of voice and become aware of when they might be "down in the dumps", showing no interest in doing anything or excessively sleeping.

Just been there with a close member of my family (let's call him "Mat"). After enduring work problems, a relationship breakup and consequently very nasty verbal exchanges all falling on him at once, Mat hit the dirt. He could see no reason to keep going; he felt he was not worthy. His mind was a turmoil of conflicting emotions, with the demons seemingly winning.

We'd been through something similar to this before in his younger days ... when (thankfully) he allowed us into his inner thoughts, fears and feelings so we were able to listen to his negatives and try to provide a positive. We sought the advice of a Psychiatrist then, and found through his various tests, a chemical imbalance in his body and other contributing factors. With the help of some medication we got through that and assumed life was on again as normal . But that medication was strong and had some awful side effects; foods that couldn't be eaten or they would push the blood pressure up so high it could cause death, so he had to be totally aware of what was in all foods and avoid those "mature" things, eg blue vein cheese and avocado. Then there were the tremors - terrible shaking not only in body but in mind. With an adjustment to medication, life for him became OK again.

Till now! His contentment has again been destroyed and his life been hell on earth. The demons came back, the turmoil started again, his workmates were unsupportive and uncaring, he was running out

to your friends/loved one's tone of voice and become aware of when they might be "down in the dumps", showing no interest in doing anything or excessively sleeping.

Just been there with a close member of my family (let's call him "Mat"). After enduring work problems, a relationship breakup and consequently very nasty verbal exchanges all falling on him at once, Mat hit the dirt. He could see no reason to keep going; he felt he was not worthy. His mind was a turmoil of conflicting emotions, with the demons seemingly winning.

We'd been through something similar to this before in his younger days ... when (thankfully) he allowed us into his inner thoughts, fears and feelings so we were able to listen to his negatives and try to provide a positive. We sought the advice of a Psychiatrist then, and found through his various tests, a chemical imbalance in his body and other contributing factors. With the help of some medication we got through that and assumed life was on again as normal . But that medication was strong and had some awful side effects; foods that couldn't be eaten or they would push the blood pressure up so high it could cause death, so he had to be totally aware of what was in all foods and avoid those "mature" things, eg blue vein cheese and avocado. Then there were the tremors - terrible shaking not only in body but in mind. With an adjustment to medication, life for him became OK again.

Till now! His contentment has again been destroyed and his life been hell on earth. The demons came back, the turmoil started again, his workmates were unsupportive and uncaring, he was running out

been through something similar to this before in his younger days ... when (thankfully) he allowed us into his inner thoughts, fears and feelings so we were able to listen to his negatives and try to provide a positive. We sought the advice of a Psychiatrist then, and found through his various tests, a chemical imbalance in his body and other contributing factors. With the help of some medication we got through that and assumed life was on again as normal . But that medication was strong and had some awful side effects; foods that couldn't be eaten or they would push the blood pressure up so high it could cause death, so he had to be totally aware of what was in all foods and avoid those "mature" things, eg blue vein cheese and avocado. Then there were the tremors - terrible shaking not only in body but in mind. With an adjustment to medication, life for him became OK again.

Till now! His contentment has again been destroyed and his life been hell on earth. The demons came back, the turmoil started again, his workmates were unsupportive and uncaring, he was running out

be eaten or they would push the blood pressure up so high it could cause death, so he had to be totally aware of what was in all foods and avoid those "mature" things, eg blue vein cheese and avocado. Then there were the tremors - terrible shaking not only in body but in mind. With an adjustment to medication, life for him became OK again.

Till now! His contentment has again been destroyed and his life been hell on earth. The demons came back, the turmoil started again, his workmates were unsupportive and uncaring, he was running out of money. His will to work flew out the window and so did his will to live. But he struggled on with the love and support of some close friends and his parents - but the conflicting emotions and thoughts constantly bombarded his mind until he could stand it no longer. The hopelessness of living with this every day and night was just too much. He made the decision, after indepth discussions with his psychiatrist and knowing the risks, to have ECT (electroconvulsive therapy) or shock treatment.

First two treatment were relatively mild with no reaction; but sitting in a small recovery room with other patients ranging from young to older men and women who were also having similar treatment, was like being in a room full of zombies. One could only hope that they received benefit from the trauma they'd been through. At the third treatment Mat felt absolutely fantastic! But, three treatments, said the Psychiatrist, is not enough for long term benefit - he would need six. And we couldn't know at that time what hell was to follow. At the fourth treatment Mat was one of the zombie-like patients. Crying, confused in the head, couldn't make a simple decision, didn't know where he was and where he was supposed to be going. He couldn't be left on his own because we didn't know what he might do next. The headaches were unbearable and the conflicting thoughts positive and negative kept fighting inside his head. At the fifth treatment nothing changed the way he felt, except that he (Matt) made the decision that five treatments was enough - he couldn't go through any more.

For 5 days after that final treatment Matt was out of this world with fear, pain, anger - you name it he had it. During one particularly bad day he phoned us and said nothing's changing, he couldn't go on, his supportive friends could not help him any more. Frightened of what he might do next, we rushed over to him and in a great moment of "sanity" he knew he had to go back to his Psychiatrist. We went immediately to the comfort and security of his Psychiatrist's rooms where he would see us quickly. This Doctor was amazing - so many times he'd seen this before; he understood what w