1. A Pecha Kucha presentation by:
Madeleine Bosnyak, Laura Duncan, Leah Rodvang,
Angelina Smith & Sean Surkan

2. What is Depression?
 Mental Disorder:
 Low mood
 Low self-confidence
 Loss of interest or pleasure
 Affects the entire mind and body

3. Depression
 One of the most common mental disorders
 Very treatable
 Can have fatal consequences
 1 in 4 Canadians will suffer from a depression serious
enough to require professional treatment over their
lifetime

4. Signs and Symptoms
 Inability to enjoy an activity that was previously enjoyed
 Person can feel worthless, helpless, hopeless, guilty, regret and self-hatred
 Sometimes psychosis
 delusions or hallucinations
 Poor concentration and memory
 Less involvement in social activities
 Reduced sex drive
 Insomnia (80%) or Hypersomnia (15%)
 Thoughts of death or suicide
 Physical Symptoms can include:
 Fatigue
 Headaches
 Digestive problems
 Decreased appetite (weight loss) or Increased appetite (weight gain)

5. Signs and Symptoms
 In children:
 Sadness, hopelessness, irritability
 Clingy, demanding, dependent, or insecure
 Lost interest in activities previously enjoyed
 Changed sleeping and eating habits
 Trouble paying attention and thinking
 Decline in academic performance
 Can coexist with ADHD
 Talk of death
 Onset could be due to grieving the loss of someone close to them or can even
occur when the child has experienced no loss
 In the elderly
 Forgetfulness
 Slowing of movements
 Often coexist with physical disorders such as stroke, cardiovascular diseases,
Parkinson’s disease, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

6. Causes
There is no clear cause of depression
HOWEVER
Several factors may contribute:
 Biological factors
 Psychological factors
 Social factors

7. Causes
Depression is more likely to occur in cases of:
 Substance abuse
 Long term illness
 Sleeping problems
 Stressful events

8. Nearly 2/3 of cases are not properly treated because of:
• The symptoms are not recognized as depression.
• Depressed people are seen as weak or lazy.
• Social stigma causes people to avoid needed treatment.
• The symptoms are so disabling that the people affected
cannot reach out for help.
• Many symptoms are misdiagnosed as physical problems
• Individual symptoms are treated, rather than the underlying
cause.
http://www.psychologyinfo.com/depression/

9. Treatment of Depression
 Counselling and behavioural therapy
 Requires a competent, well-trained therapist.
 Focuses on conscious modification of thought processes that lead to depressive
episodes
 Can be highly effective
 No damaging side effects
 Medication
 Various modes of modification to involved biochemical processes.
 Often highly effective
 Drug side-effects can be problematic
 Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)
 Very seldom used, save for entirely unresponsive cases
 Poorly understood mode of action, but often effective. Causes physical changes
in brain tissue
 In rodent studies, triggers physical changes (typically death) in brain neurons
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electroconvulsive_therapy

10. • 25% of students seeking medical
attention are suffering from
depression
• Students diagnosed with depression
are 2 times as likely to drop out of
University
• In Canada, suicide accounts for 24%
of deaths among 15-24 year olds

11. Where to Find Support
On-campus Support
• the Peer Support Center;
2-707 SUB
780-492-HELP
Community Services
• Overcoming Depression: (780) 420-6081
• Canadian Mental Health Association
10045 - 111 Street Edmonton, AB Canada
780-414-6300

12. References
http://www.ontario.cmha.ca/fact_sheets.asp?cID=3965
http://www.health.gov.on.ca/english/public/pub/mental/depressi
on.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_depressive_disorder
http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/cd-mc/mi-mm/depression-eng.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_depressive_disorder