Faizan Ahmed

Here’s the Short Version: A university friend of mine went through a severe depressive episode in which he came to believe things that simply weren’t true. Depression can cause psychosis in some people with severe depression, a condition called psychotic depression, and the psychotic symptoms usually echo the low mood. It’s serious but treatable, and … Read more

Here’s the Short Version: After a friend from my gym had a heart attack following a long, low year, I looked into whether depression can really contribute. The research links depression to a higher risk of heart disease and heart attack, but it raises the odds rather than guaranteeing anything, and it works through stress … Read more

Here’s the Short Version: After a friend told me depression ran through three generations of his family, I looked into the actual genetics behind it — and found that genes do play a real, measurable role, but having a family history raises risk rather than guaranteeing an outcome. Introduction On the long drive back from … Read more

Here’s the Short Version: After watching my brother-in-law quietly blame himself for gaining two stone during his worst year of depression, I looked into whether depression really causes weight gain — and found several real, documented mechanisms behind it: appetite changes, medication side effects, reduced activity, and stress hormones. It isn’t a matter of willpower. … Read more

Here’s the Short Version: After my aunt’s forgetfulness had the family quietly whispering the word “dementia,” a proper assessment found depression-related memory problems instead — sometimes called pseudodementia. Depression genuinely can cause real memory and concentration problems, but unlike dementia, it’s often largely reversible once treated. Introduction My aunt Shaista started forgetting things a few … Read more

Here’s the Short Version: After watching my sister’s sleep swing wildly between insomnia and oversleeping during a difficult stretch, I looked into how depression actually affects sleep — and found it disrupts both the amount and the quality of sleep, often in both directions at once, creating a cycle that makes recovery harder until it’s … Read more

Here’s the Short Version: After my neighbour Yusuf was diagnosed with depression despite seeming to have a stable, settled life, I looked into how depression actually develops — and found it’s almost never one single cause. It’s usually a build-up of genetic, psychological, and life-circumstance factors compounding quietly over time. Introduction My neighbour Yusuf has … Read more

Here’s the Short Version: After watching a former colleague go from our team’s most reliable person to barely getting through the day, I looked into how depression actually affects work — concentration, decision-making, and the particular difficulty of functioning while still looking fine on the surface — and why it so often gets mistaken for … Read more

Here’s the Short Version: After watching my uncle’s marriage grow quieter and more distant, I looked into how depression actually affects relationships — and found that withdrawal, reduced intimacy, and increased friction are common, predictable patterns, not a sign the relationship itself is failing. Introduction My uncle Tariq and his wife Sofia have been married … Read more

In Short Depression isn’t just a mood state — it’s linked to measurable changes in brain chemistry and even brain structure, some of which can improve with treatment. Here’s what I learned researching this after a cousin’s diagnosis raised questions neither of us could answer at the time. Introduction When my cousin was diagnosed with … Read more