Depression lasts longer and spreads wider. A flat few days usually lifts when the cause passes, and you can still enjoy things in the meantime. With depression, low mood and loss of interest are present most of the day, most days, for two weeks or more, and they pull down sleep, energy, concentration and relationships together. If you are unsure which you are dealing with, an assessment answers it.

Yes, and the two are often used together. Medication can lift mood enough to make therapy easier to engage with, while therapy builds skills that medication cannot. Your psychologist does not prescribe or adjust medication, but can communicate with your GP or psychiatrist, with your consent, so both parts of your care work from the same information.

Because depression is not only a mood state; it changes sleep quality, appetite, concentration and energy regulation. Many people notice the physical weight of it, such as heaviness, slowed movement or waking unrefreshed, before they name the low mood. That is one reason a GP check-up is useful alongside therapy, to rule out other causes of fatigue such as thyroid or iron issues.

Behavioural activation is one of the best-supported therapies for depression. It works on the finding that depression shrinks activity first, and mood follows. Rather than waiting to feel motivated, you and your psychologist schedule small, specific, values-based activities and build up gradually. Action comes first and motivation tends to return behind it, which is the reverse of how most people expect recovery to work.

Listen without trying to fix it, keep inviting them to things without pressure, and help with practical steps like getting to a GP appointment. Avoid “snap out of it” framing; depression is not a choice. It also matters to look after your own wellbeing, and a psychologist can guide family members on this as part of care.

Seek help now rather than waiting for an appointment. In an emergency call 000. Lifeline (13 11 14) and the Suicide Call Back Service (1300 659 467) are available 24 hours. Tell someone you trust, and tell your GP or psychologist, because these thoughts are a symptom that treatment addresses directly, not something you need to manage alone.

And the missing ACF block for the very end of the Doc: