Corinne Martin-Guehl is a practising psychiatrist and a regular contributor to scientific journals. She previously worked at Bordeaux’s teaching hospital.
Jean Tignol was a practising psychiatrist, researcher and department head at Bordeaux’s teaching hospital. Editions Odile Jacob published one of his earlier books, Les Défauts physiques et imaginaires.

How can you identify the type of depression that you, or someone close to you, suffer from? What can you do to prevent depression from recurring and enduring?
Eighty per cent of people who have had a depressive episode in their lifetime will have at least one relapse.
Although the existence of depressive episodes is now generally recognised, it is not as widely known that depression often recurs, striking periodically, and becoming progressively more severe with each relapse.
Moreover, there is not just one form of depression but many. So it is important to learn to identify the nature of each form in order to treat it. Bipolar depression, anxiety disorders, isolated depressive episodes, recurring depression: the various forms that depression takes require different treatments because the repetition mechanisms differ.
This book will enable readers to better understand the different forms of depression and the appropriate treatment for each one. It also provides advice on how to prevent depression: reducing stress, keeping in good physical health, respecting biorhythms, psychotherapy, medication. All of which should help keep depression at bay.

• The World Health Organisation has estimated that by the year 2020, depression will be the second leading cause of disability worldwide, after heart disease.
• Depression and its frequent recurrence are a serious health issue requiring urgent attention.
• This book is part of the series Guides pour s’aider soi-même (self-help guidebooks). Its clear, widely accessible approach will enable the general reader to understand how to treat different forms of depression and how to prevent the recurrence of depressive episodes.