Depression is an illness, which slowly starts to take over our entire lives. Fun things in our lives disappear bit by bit, and frustrations slowly pile up. It is a process which pulls you down bit by bit. Because these changes sometimes can be very subtle, we often do not realize what it is that is happening. Also, it of course is not fun to get the term depression thrown at you. You know that you have not been doing so well lately, but is depression not a bit of an exaggeration? Many people find this an issue, which is logical. Nobody wants to say that he/she is depressed. Still, depression is becoming more and more common, and the taboo regarding depression is slowly crumbling away.
Prevalence of depression
30% of the Flemish population will at some point in their lives experience depression. That are a lot of people! Women are more susceptible than men. For every men, there are two women with depression. The chance as a woman to get a depression is double the chance that a man will get one! In recent years, the prevalence of depression has increased a lot. This is logical when you consider that the pressure which is put on us has also increased a lot. An example is found in your job. Because of the economic crisis, many people have lost their job. This put extra pressure on both the people who had lost their job as well as those who are still working. The first group has financial worries while the second group needs to do work which people used to work on with several people at a time. In short, we live in a society where a lot of pressure and stress is present. We are stuck in traffic? We worry. There is a long line at the grocery store's cash register? We worry. We have to prove our worth during a meeting? We are stressed. Life is becoming more and more difficult.
You are not alone
When you read the statistics above, what do you then think? They namely mean that, if you would take a group of friends with 10 people, there would be 3 people in the group who are depressed. That are a lot of people. Look around your own group of friends or family for a moment. Do you recognize people with a depression? At the hand of these statistics we want to show to you that you are not alone. There are many other people who experience the same thing which you experience. It therefore also is not uncommon if you at some point succumb to the daily pressure and frustrations. The taboo around depression must be removed. There namely are many people with depression, so why do we not talk about it? You will feel better when you find someone who you can trust, and then tell them that you are depressed. This is often also the first step toward solving depression. It can also be so that your depression has developed to such an extent that talking to a person you trust alone does not help enough anymore. If this is the case for you, we can help you!
15 Minutes 4 Me
15 Minutes 4 Me is an online self-help program, developed by doctors. They focus on depression, anxiety, and burnout. This program helps you to take 15 minutes time for yourself every day. During these 15 minutes you will get questions and video clips, which will make you think. We try to make you think about what it is that helps and is positive in your life. This way we will find out together what it is that makes you happy. 15 Minutes 4 Me was based on scientific interventions. The effectiveness of 15 Minutes 4 Me was also already scientifically studied. From research it has namely been shown that participants are 40% happier after 3 weeks. Also, you do not have to decide between online self-help or psychotherapy. 15 Minutes 4 Me has proven itself as effective support for therapy.
Do you think that you might be depressed?
Before we can consider something to be an eventual minor depression, it is best to first fill out the free depression test. In this test you need to fill out about twenty questions first, after which you will get your scores. The arrow will then show to what extent you are depressed.
