Depression is a common mood condition and any one of us, irrespective of age, gender or background can be affected.
It is characterised by a persistent low mood that can last a long time or keeps returning and affects your day to day life.
Depression can affect your thinking, energy, feelings and behaviour. It can vary from mild to severe and for some people, has a profound impact on every aspect of the individual, their relationships, family and work life.
What are the symptoms?
When it comes to remembering things, it can be helpful to have a memory technique such as an acronym or rhyme. With that in mind, at Aware we use the acronym F.E.S.T.I.V.A.L. to help us remember the eight main symptoms of depression;
- F eeling – sad, anxious, guilty
- E nergy – low energy, feeling tired or fatigued
- S leeping – under or over-sleeping, any change to normal sleep pattern
- T hinking – poor concentration, thoughts slowed down
- I nterest – loss of interest in hobbies, family or social life
- V alue – low self esteem
- A ches – physical aches and pains with no physical basis
- L ife – loss of interest in living, thinking about death, suicidal thoughts
What to do?
If you find yourself experiencing five or more of these symptoms, lasting for a period of two weeks or more, as a next step we recommend to speak to your GP or mental health professional.
It is helpful to speak to a professional to ensure you to get the correct diagnosis.
It’s important to note, everyone’s mental health journey is unique, but together with a health professional, you can decide which approach to treatment is best for you.
If you would like to read more resources on depression click here.
What resources does Aware offer?
Aware provides support, therapy and education for people effected by depression, bipolar and anxiety.
- Support
Aware provides free support services to individuals experiencing depression, bipolar and anxiety as well as to people who are concerned about a loved one. Support services include Support & Self Care Groups and a Support Line and Support Mail service.
- Therapy
Aware provides psychological therapy, also called ‘talking therapies’ including cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and counselling free of charge to people who are seeking support for mild to moderate depression and anxiety, read more about this service here.
- Education
Aware also offers a broad range of free evidence informed mental health education programmes, learn more about these here. The Aware Family Support Programme is designed specifically for those supporting a loved one who is experiencing depression and focuses on the self care of the supporter. The Living Well With Bipolar Programme is an information and support programme, designed for people with a diagnosis of bipolar.
- Information
Aware provides content relating to depression, anxiety and bipolar throughout the Aware Website . The Aware Webinar Series takes place on the first Wednesday of each month on a range topics connected to mental health and the back catalogue of webinars is available on Aware’s YouTube channel.
This post is part of the 2026 Aware Mental Health Week