“Crippling depression and chronic anxiety are the biggest causes of misery in Britain today. They are the great submerged problem, which shame keeps out of sight. But if you mention them, you soon discover how many families are affected. According to the respected Psychiatric Morbidity Survey, one in six of us would be diagnosed as having depression or chronic anxiety disorder, which means that one family in three is affected.” "Professor Lord Richard Layard* The Depression Report - A New Deal for Depression and Anxiety Disorders** 

For many people, living with depression is a fact of life. It is not a new condition – it has been around for thousands of years, as have various theories about why it occurs and how to deal with it. We now have masses of research and scientific evidence about it’s different forms and variants, such as Clinical Depression, Bipolar Disorder (manic depression), Post Natal Depression and Seasonal Affective Disorder, and also about associated conditions such as Anxiety. Much of this is readily available on the internet. 

Far less research is available about the impact that living with a depressed person may have on those that care about them. Partners and families often feel a sense of loss and bewilderment. They may feel angry and resentful, and hurt.  Their lives may not have changed in other respects, but their relationship with the depressed person will be different – and that feels scary. So whilst coming to terms with the emotional roller-coaster that they find themselves on, they have to cope with the unhelpful behaviour and demands of the depressed person, as well as dealing with their own often busy lives. 

There need be no shame and no stigma around those whose lives are touched by depression. There needs to be support.

If you’d like to share your experiences of living with someone who is depressed, please click here

*Richard Layard heads the Wellbeing Research Programme at the Centre forEconomic Performance, London School of Economics and Political Science(http://cep.lse.ac.uk)
**The Depression Report was published online in June 2006 by the Centre for Economic Performance.  It can be downloaded from:
http://cep.lse.ac.uk/textonly/research/mentalhealth/DEPRESSION_REPORT_LAYARD.pdf

Published Sept 2008 by White Ladder Press. £9.99 More

To read an extract click here

If your partner is depressed, this book is for you.



Published Feb 2007 by White Ladder Press. £7.99 More

Recommended patient recourse by Independent Nurse magazine.

To read an extract click here

Available in all good bookshops.

“When my life partner of twenty years became depressed - it was a shock. I needed advice - but couldn't find the right kind quickly enough. So I wrote this book”