Evidence, insight, and stories from Beside.
This report assesses a potential charity delivering a digital guided self-help program for adults with depression in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
Withdrawing from social contact is one of the most recognisable features of depression, and one of the most self-reinforcing. You cancel plans…
Difficulty concentrating is a recognised symptom of depression, anxiety, and several other conditions. It is also one of the most practically disruptive.…
When small tasks feel overwhelming, something has changed about how you are processing effort and demand. Replying to an email, making a…
Persistent irritability that seems disproportionate to its triggers is a common and frequently overlooked symptom of depression. It tends not to appear…
If your mood is consistently at its lowest in the morning and gradually lifts through the day, you are describing what is…
Waiting lists for mental health support are long in many countries. In the UK, NHS Talking Therapies wait times vary considerably by…
For mild to moderate depression, yes. Psychological interventions, structured self-help programmes, physical activity, and social support all have evidence bases that, for…
The reluctance to tell people you are struggling is one of the most common barriers to getting help for depression. It is…
Yes. Several options are available immediately, without a referral, without a waiting list, and without cost. Structured free programmes The strongest option…
Depression does not always arrive as sadness. For many people, the first and most confusing sign is a persistent feeling of emptiness.…
Losing interest in things you used to enjoy is one of the most common and least talked-about symptoms of depression. Hobbies feel…
Being tired all the time, regardless of how much you sleep, is one of the most common complaints in depression, and one…
Feeling nothing is, in some ways, harder to explain than feeling sad. There is no visible distress, no obvious reason to ask…
Feeling disconnected from your own life can be difficult to describe. You are physically present, going through the motions, doing what you…
Yes. Depression does not require sadness, and it certainly does not require crying. Many people with depression function reasonably well on the…
This is one of the most common questions people ask themselves before deciding whether to seek help, and it is a reasonable…
This question is worth answering directly: if you are asking it, the answer is almost certainly not laziness. Laziness, in the common…
Yes, it can be. Depression is not a flatline. Most people with depression have days or hours when things lift slightly and…
They are related but distinct, and the distinction matters for how you respond. Stress is a physiological and psychological response to demand.…
The gap between the number of people who need mental health support and the number who can access it is substantial. Private…
Deciding where to launch a global health program is one of the most consequential decisions an NGO leader makes. Launch in the…
Most nonprofits are founded by people who have lived experience of a problem, or who stumbled into a cause through circumstance. Kaya…
The arithmetic of mental health care in low- and middle-income countries is unforgiving. There are an estimated 300 million people worldwide living…