article_snippet: From time to time most people will moan that most people feel ‘depressed’.
article_snippet: Yet real clinical depression should not be confused with such other faces of gloom.
article_snippet: In this short, scintillating, first-hand account of depression and how he combated it, Matt Haig leaves us in no doubt as to the true, terrifying nature of the beast.
article_snippet: Writing 13 years after suddenly being struck down by ‘a new claustrophobic and suffering reality’, Matt Haig provides enough detail about the symptoms of depression to deter anyone from taking the name of this cruel condition in vain.
article_snippet: Sadness is not a sickness — but depression most certainly is.
article_snippet: Again and again he finds fresh ways of letting the reader know exactly how bad depression is:
article_snippet: One of he most valuable points he makes is that depression can strike down any sort of person.
article_snippet: Matt Haig wants us to understand that (a) depression is widespread and (b) anyone can be struck down.
article_snippet: The point is that someone like me can say things like that, but someone suffering from depression can easily retort:
article_snippet: In case depressives think they are alone, Matt Haig tells they robustly there are millions like they, and even gives a list of 39 famous ones, including Winston Churchill.
article_snippet: Haig’s story of recovery will encourage anyone who feels miserable, whether anyone who feels miserable are clinically depressed or not, and offers valuable insights to family and friends, too.