Freedom from Depression At Last

She would spend the most of the day crouching in the corner of her room, with her head resting on her hands in despair. Life was no more interesting for the 33-year-old woman who lost her father 4 years ago.

Visiting her family who was just coming back from quarantine, the PFA team could identify that the young woman was suffering from symptoms of severe depression. She suffered from bad mood, loss of hope, bad appetite for food, and reluctance to go on regular daily activities, and sometimes expressed her wish to die.

The PFA team referred her to GHCMHP Khan Younis community centre, where she was assessed by the clinical team. A therapy plan was put to deal with her case. The plan included Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and family counselling.

Although she lost her father 4 years ago, the bereaved woman could only be identified by the crisis intervention team during the emergency situation of Covid-19. The psychological impact of  losing her father – her strength and stay – has deeply affected her life.

After a few months of working closely with her and her family, the young woman’s life started changing. Her sleep and appetite were among the first signs of improvement.

Her therapist, psychologist Samah Mahmoud, said that, “During the therapy we administered to her we focused on reviving her hope and get her back to normal life.”

“know we can clearly see that the case’s mood has become much better and that helped her reintegrate in her community,” she added.

Freed from depression, the young woman feels that she has “dropped a heavy burden that was sitting my her chest”.

“I am grateful to GCMHP for helping me dropping that heavy burden which was sitting on my chest for years,” she said.