That's men for you/ Padraig O'Morain's guide to men's health:Have you been lucky enough to go through your life so far without suffering a serious depression? I do not mean the occasional bouts of the "blues" that we all experience from time to time.
What I mean is the sort of depression that has you on the floor, so that getting out of bed in the morning, eating, dressing and normal day-to-day activities seem impossible.
Even if you have never experienced this sort of depression, you may encounter it one day. It may come in response to a loss: bereavement, marriage breakup, the losses associated with serious health problems, or the loss of a job.
That, actually, is natural and normal. After a while, the depression lifts and you resume your normal life or, perhaps, you commence a new life but with the ability again to experience positive feelings. But there is the danger - and even if you have never been depressed, this is something you need to know - that further bouts of depression will now occur. If you know this, then you can do something to guard against it.
Why it should happen that one bout of major depression makes you more likely to have another is unclear. One theory is that each bout strengthens a sort of "mental habit" of depression. The first time you have a major depression, the theory goes, the mind "learns" how to be depressed.
Every time the depression reoccurs, this learning is reinforced. Some researchers believe this happens when we misinterpret symptoms of depression - and this gives us a clue as to how to interrupt the pattern.
If you are depressed you feel physically tired, your mood is low and your thoughts are negative. All three of these symptoms are, if you like, dominant when depression is at its worst.
What happens, some psychologists believe, is that during a depression the mind creates a connection between these three factors: fatigue, low mood and negative thoughts.
We all experience these factors individually from time to time. We go through them, we get over them and we get on with our lives.
But if your mind has made the connection I mentioned earlier, there is the danger that, for instance, if you suddenly feel fatigued, you may go into a series of negative thoughts about the "return" of the depression. This then brings down your mood and suddenly you have all three factors working away again.
What can you do about this? First, you can be aware that this process happens. Then, when you spot one of the three symptoms - fatigue, low mood or negative thoughts - avoid linking it to the other two.
So if you are fatigued, beware of staying in bed for the whole morning - otherwise you will get out of bed in the afternoon feeling bad and you will find it much harder to shake off the negativity.
Similarly, if your mood is low be careful about subjecting yourself to a blizzard of negative thoughts that will only make matters worse.
When you find such thoughts occurring, bring yourself back into an awareness of the present moment, of what you are seeing, hearing and doing. This approach is called mindfulness and its benefits have been written about on these pages by Dr Tony Bates.
Here is a short mindfulness exercise that you can practise from time to time: what sounds are going on around you right now? What colours can you see in your surroundings? Are the breaths you are taking short or long? What is the furthest away sound you can hear?
The trick is not just to notice these things but to bring your mind back to them every time it drifts away. There are many books and websites in which you can find more information about mindfulness. The heart of it, however, is continually bringing your attention back to what you are doing and experiencing right now.
The key point, though, is to spot any signs of the recurrence of a depression and then to take action to improve your chances of holding it off.
• Padraig O'Morain's blog on men's issues, Just Like A Man, is at www.justlikeaman.blogspot.com