Dr Florian Ferreri is a psychiatrist, university professor-hospital practitioner in the Medical Psychiatry and Psychology Department at Hôpital Saint Antoine (Paris), where he heads an important unit specialising in the diagnosis and treatment of patients suffering from depression, as well as their families.

In France, three million people suffer from depression and one out of five is or will become depressed in the course of their lifetime. Yet depression is still poorly understood, and despite the existence of effective treatments that can improve the patient’s mental state in a few weeks, the diagnosis of depression is often made belatedly, with the result that the risk of a relapse in subsequent years is heightened.

The goal of this book is to examine all the questions that must be posed to identify an illness that can affect everyone: what are the signs that may announce depression? How to distinguish between depression and fatigue or anxiety? Is insomnia a symptom? How does depression develop, with or without treatment? What are the risks of a relapse?

Offering simple, precise answers while rejecting preconceived ideas, this book examines existing treatments and specific problems (grieving, alcohol, pregnancy, etc.). It will help patients and their families alike.

• In 100 questions and answers, everything you need to know about depression, to identify and overcome it.

• Information coupled with advice, for both patients and their families.