Depression

Depression is not sadness that has gone on too long. It is a specific state that affects thinking, energy, motivation, and the capacity to connect with life. These articles explore what depression actually is, how it differs from low mood, what recovery looks like in practice, and what the evidence says about working through it at a sustainable pace.

Two hands gently hold each other's in a close-up shot, one wearing a ring. Background is a soft, pale sky, conveying a tender mood.iluette of man sitting pensative

What does recovery from depression really mean?

Recovery from depression is not one thing. It is two: the lifting of acute symptoms, and the slower work of rebuilding meaning, connection, and identity. The two do not always move at the same pace, and understanding the difference changes how recovery is navigated.

Natalia Cajide

Apr 275 min read

Re-engaging with life when experiencing depression

Depression has a way of making life feel smaller. Why withdrawal happens, why motivation often follows action rather than precedes it, and what current evidence suggests about starting again, in small enough steps that the system can respond.

Natalia Cajide

Apr 66 min read

Depression vs sadness: how to tell the difference

Sadness moves through. Depression settles in. A psychologist's account of what makes them different in kind, where grief sits next to both, the time signature of each, and when the protective state stops protecting.

Matthew Hallam

Sep 16, 20256 min read