A Case Study on the Impact of Depression on People in Great Britain

This essay examines the impact of depression on individuals in the United Kingdom, highlighting its prevalence, causes, and effects on daily life. It covers various aspects of depression, including its symptoms, types, and available treatments, drawing from literature reviews and statistical data. The research emphasizes the increased levels of depression and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK, particularly affecting young people and women. The study also addresses the economic burden and disability associated with mental health issues, recommending regular exercise, professional help, and improved access to mental health support services to mitigate the impact of depression on individuals and society in Great Britain. This assignment is available on Desklib, a platform offering a wealth of study resources and AI-powered tools for students.

The Impact of Depression on
People in UK
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Contents
TITLE: “‘The impact of Depression on people in United Kingdom”.............................................3
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Aim..................................................................................................................................................3
Objectives........................................................................................................................................3
Research Methodology....................................................................................................................4
Literature Review and Discussion...................................................................................................5
Recommendation and Conclusion...................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8
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TITLE: “‘The impact of Depression on people in United Kingdom”
Introduction
Depression can be stated as a mood disorder in which individual feel unhappy, sad and
experience mood swings. It can be experienced by people in distinct ways and interfere with
their daily life which resulted into lower productivity and lost time. It also influences personal
relationships of an individual and sometimes lead to chronic health conditions (Pile, Shammas,
and Smith, 2020). It directly affects the cognitive abilities and physical wellbeing of an
individual. In United Kingdom, depression is the most common form of mental illness
experiencing by people and impacts women more in comparison to men. This project aims to
assess the impact of depression on individuals in Great Britain and covers information including
understanding of depression, its causes and symptoms, types and the treatments available to
overcome this issue. Apart from this, it also covers different research methodologies and a brief
conclusion and recommendations are provided at the last.
Aim
The aim in relation to this particular investigation is “To assess the impact of depression on
people in Great Britain. A case study on United Kingdom.”
Objectives
The key objectives associated with this study are as follows:
 To understand the term “Depression”, its causes and symptoms.
 To identify different types of depression from which people may suffer.
 To analyse the impact of depression on people in United Kingdom.
 To ascertain the various treatments available for depressive disorder.
Research Questions:
The questions related to this study are mentioned below:
 What is Depression, its causes and symptoms?
 Which are the different types of depression from which people may suffer?
 What is the impact of depression on people in United Kingdom?
 What are the various treatments available for depressive disorder?
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Research Methodology
Research methodology involves some procedures which are utilized to determine, process
and evaluate data on the topic. it allows reader to evaluate the validity and reliability of study. It
consists of several methods which assist researcher in performing the research systematically.
Some of the research methods in context of this particular study are discussed below:
Research philosophy: it is a belief about the manner data is collected and used. There are
mainly two types of philosophies which researcher make use in the research involving
interpretivism and positivism philosophy. Interpretivism is based on interpretation of elements of
study and integrates human interest into it (Dodds, and Hess, 2020). Whereas, positivism is
associated with factual knowledge received through observation. Interpretivism is the
appropriate philosophy used in this research as it helps in gaining in-depth information on the
topic and based on qualitative research method.
Research approach: Mainly 2 types of research approaches are considered into the study
including inductive and deductive approach. Inductive approach utilized research question in
order to narrow down the scope of investigation while, deductive approach initiates with
hypothesis an emphasis on casualty. This investigation makes use of inductive approach as it
aims to emphasize on exploring a phenomena or looking at earlier researched phenomena from
distinct perspective.
Research design: experimental, exploratory and descriptive are the three types of research
design which is commonly used by researchers in the study. In relation to this investigation,
descriptive research design is the most appropriate one as this assist in gaining deep insights on
the topic and collecting more detailed information regarding the study area. Apart from this, the
investigation is based on qualitative research method in which non numerical information is
collected and analyzed (Perna, 2020).
Research strategy: there are some research strategies including case study, interview,
survey, systematic literature review, questionnaire etc. In this study, researcher make use of
systematic literature review for performing the investigation appropriately and systematically. It
helps in reviewing the viewpoints of authors in descriptive manner.
Data collection method: the sources through which data can be collected includes primary
and secondary source. In primary source of data collection, the information which is never exist
before is gathered. Whereas, for collecting secondary data, previously published books, articles
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and journals are used. This investigation is based on secondary data collection method in which
different books, journals, articles and previously published reports are used to gather information
regarding the topic (Bacon, and Corr, 2020).
Literature Review and Discussion
As per the view point of Timothy J. Legg, (2018), Depression is a critical mental health
condition which causes an individual to have mood swings and may leave them experiencing
loneliness, persistently sad and hopeless (What is depression? 2018). It is the most common
form of mental disorder which affect individuals in distinct ways and can cause variety of
symptoms including feeling tired, having suicidal thoughts, lack of interest, sleeping too little or
too much, gaining or losing weight over short time, feeling guilty and being self-critical, losing
confidence, physical agitation, trouble in concentrating or taking decisions etc. It can impact the
physical health of individual in terms of weight loss or gain, inflammation, chronic pain, heart
disease, worsening chronic health conditions, trouble sleeping, sexual health issues,
gastrointestinal problems etc. It has been found that the main cause of depression includes
disability or poor health, financial issues, housing issues, relationship or family issues,
bereavement, early childhood trauma, brain structure, drug use, family history etc. The diagnosis
of depression can be based on the psychological evaluation and symptoms. Sometimes, Health
Care professionals conduct blood test in order to determine the issue (Maun, Glaser, and Corna,
2020).
As per the viewpoint of author, there are various forms of depression including major
depression, bipolar disorder, persistent depression, depressive psychosis, premenstrual dysphoric
disorder, perinatal depression, situational depression, seasonal depression and atypical
depression. The most common type of depression among all these are major depression and
persistent depression (Rehman, Lopes, and Jaspal, 2020). It can be treated through medications,
psychotherapy, alternative therapies, exercise, avoiding use of drugs and alcohol, light therapy
etc. Talking therapies like cognitive behavioural therapy is most effective treatment for the
people suffering from depressive disorder. Apart from this, medications also prove to be
effective in treating the disease.
According to news published in The Guardian, (2020), during the state of corona virus
pandemic, restriction to movement has driven stress, depression and anxiety in United Kingdom
for above normal levels. A major study performed on mental health influence of pandemic found
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that in initial stages of lock down, around 57% of those people who took part reported anxiety
symptoms, with 64 percent people record common signs of depression. Based on thresholds
which qualify individuals for psychological assistance on National Health Services, around 26%
of volunteers had anxiety and 31.6% head depression at moderate-to-severe levels (Stress,
anxiety and depression levels soar under UK Covid-19 restrictions, 2020). It has been found that
young people, women and those individuals who are in high risk categories for corona virus were
most affected from depression.
In year 2014, people who are aged 16 and above showed symptoms of depression and
anxiety in United Kingdom - 1.5% increase from year 2013. In comparison to males, this
percentage was high among females in United Kingdom. Mental health issue who is experience
by one in four people in England. The amount of individuals with mental health issue went up by
20 percent between year 1993 to year 2014. The most affected people by mental health issues
includes people who have overlapping issues including substance misuse, homelessness and
contact with criminal justice system (Mental health facts and statistics, 2020).
According to the report published by Mental Health First Aid England, (2020), poor mental
health influence on people and their families. Around 792 million people are impacted by issues
associated with mental health all over the world. It is the second largest burden source of disease
in England and is impactful and long-lasting in comparison to other health conditions. Mental
illness is responsible for around 72 million working days lost as well as costs around 34.9 billion
pounds every year. Individuals suffer from mental illness for long term lose their jobs each year
in around double the rate. In United Kingdom, highest suicide rates are found among men who
are aged between 40 to 49 years. Apart from this, around 70 to 75% of individuals with
diagnosable mental health disorders receive no treatment (Mental health statistics, 2020). Half of
the mental illness initiate by the age of 15 as well as around 75 percent develops by age of 18.
On the other hand, according to the survey of 15 years old conducted by OECD in year
2018, United Kingdom ranked 29th out of all OECD countries. In Great Britain, there were
around 602000 cases associated with work related depression, stress or anxiety. Around 9% of
workforce who disclosed issues associated with mental health to their line administrator reported
being demoted or dismissed (Bernardi, and Johns, 2020). Depression is one among the main
causes of disability all over the world and is highly contribute to coronary heart disease and
suicide. It often co-occurs with the issues associated with mental health. Around 2.1 percent
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young people who are aged 5 to 19 are suffering from depression. In year 2017, approximately
0.3% of children aged between 5 to 10 years met clinical criteria for depression and around 2.7
percent of children aged between 11-16 year, 4.8% of 17 to 19 year olds met the criteria. It is
more common among females in comparison to males (Mental health statistics, 2020).
In addition to this, according to the report published by Office for National Statistics,
(2020), some form of depression was possibly to be experiencing by one in five adults during the
spread of corona virus pandemic. This had doubled from before the pandemic. Moderate to
severe depressive symptoms were developed in 1 in 8 adults, i.e., 12.9% during the pandemic
and 6.2 % of people continue to experience those kind of depressive symptoms (Coronavirus and
depression in adults, Great Britain: June 2020). Feeling anxious or stressed was the common way
in which adults experience depression and their well-being was impacted.
Recommendation and Conclusion
As per the above mentioned report, it can be concluded that depression is a serious mental
health issue which highly impacts on the personal and professional life of an individual. It
impacts their cognitive abilities and make the individual feel difficulties in concentrating and
decision making. In United Kingdom, many people suffer from depression. It is mainly found
among the adults and women. There are several symptoms of depression including lack of
interest, having suicidal thoughts, trouble in concentrating, feeling tired etc. And the main causes
associated with depression includes poor financial condition, poor housing, early childhood
trauma, drug use etc. Depression is among the main cause of disability worldwide and contribute
in coronary heart diseases. So, in order to overcome this issue, it is necessary for the people to do
regular exercise and yoga. Apart from this, they must take help from the professionals if they feel
depression. Professionals help them in improving their thinking abilities and overcoming the
issue in an effective way. In addition to this, proper access to mental health support services will
also help in reducing the number of people suffering from depressive disorders.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Pile, V., Shammas, D. and Smith, P., 2020. Assessment and treatment of depression in children
and young people in the United Kingdom: Comparison of access to services and
provision at two time points. Clinical child psychology and psychiatry, 25(1), pp.119-
132.
Bacon, A.M. and Corr, P.J., 2020. Coronavirus (COVID‐19) in the United Kingdom: A
personality‐based perspective on concerns and intention to self‐isolate. British Journal of
Health Psychology.
Maun, E., Glaser, K. and Corna, L., 2020. Co-resident care-giving and problematic sleep among
older people: evidence from the UK Household Longitudinal Study. Ageing &
Society, 40(6), pp.1195-1222.
Rehman, Z., Lopes, B. and Jaspal, R., 2020. Predicting self-harm in an ethnically diverse sample
of lesbian, gay and bisexual people in the United Kingdom. International journal of
social psychiatry, p.0020764020908889.
Bernardi, L. and Johns, R., 2020. Depression and attitudes to change in referendums: The case of
Brexit. European Journal of Political Research.
Perna, L.W., 2020. Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research. Volume 35. Springer.
233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013.
Dodds, S. and Hess, A.C., 2020. Adapting research methodology during COVID-19: lessons for
transformative service research. Journal of Service Management.
Online
What is depression? 2018. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/322395>
Stress, anxiety and depression levels soar under UK Covid-19 restrictions, 2020. [Online].
Available through: <https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/sep/16/stress-anxiety-
and-depression-levels-soar-under-uk-covid-19-restrictions>
Mental health facts and statistics, 2020. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/
statistics-and-facts-about-mental-health/how-common-are-mental-health-problems/>
Mental health statistics, 2020. [Online]. Available through: <https://mhfaengland.org/mhfa-
centre/research-and-evaluation/mental-health-statistics/>
Coronavirus and depression in adults, Great Britain: June 2020. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/wellbeing/articles/
coronavirusanddepressioninadultsgreatbritain/june2020>
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