Depression is one of the greatest health problems of our time. A person who is depressed is experiencing a low mood and aversion to activity in which they have no mental strength to do anything and feel that life has no purpose and that their loved ones would be better off without them. Medically classified as a mental and behavioral disorder, the experience of depression affects a person’s thoughts, behavior, motivation, feelings and sense of well-being.

José Ramón Alonso is the author of the blog Neuroscience (jralonso.es). Articles on depression are the most frequently read topic in his blog. Every year, more than one and a half million people read the post on Depression: first symptoms. Some of them leave desperate, sorrowful comments, asking for help. The main message is always the same: seek professional help, look for a doctor or a psychologist to guide you through the healing process. However, Alonso explained, ” we look at how to reach out, how to help, how to provide the patients and their families with the tools they need to cope with and hopefully overcome depression”.

How to manage depression?

That is why we have launched courses on Depression Management in collaboration with the General Foundation of the University, the BISITE Group, BioScience and the CDEU.  This is in addition to other related activities such as the book recently published by Alonso in the Shackleton publishing house, entitled The Invisible Illness. Overcoming Depression.

The courses are open and free (MOOC format) and are available on the e4you platform, which enables each person to progress at his or her own pace. They try to encourage to seek specialized support and help the affected people and their close environment.

You can register here. If you are interested in obtaining a certificate of completion, the General Foundation of the University of Salamanca has enabled a system of diplomas in different formats (digital, on paper, with and without apostille, etc.), but the course can also be done without any other interest than knowing more.

Depression concerns our families, our workplace and our classrooms. Apparently, the pandemic has worsened our mental health and all we do must revolve around moving forward and facing the future with hope and enthusiasm.

Posted by Juan M. Corchado

Juan Manuel Corchado (15 May 1971, Salamanca, Spain) is Professor at the University of Salamanca. He has been Vice-Rector for Research from 2013 to 2017 and Director of the Science Park of the University of Salamanca. Elected as Dean of the Faculty of Science twice, he holds a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Salamanca and a PhD in Artificial Intelligence from the University of the West of Scotland. He leads the renowned BISITE (Bioinformatics, Intelligent Systems and Educational Technology) Research Group, created in 2000. Director of the IoT Digital Innovation Hub and President of the AIR Institute, J. M. Corchado is also Visiting Professor at the Osaka Institute of Technology since January 2015, Visiting Professor at the Universiti Malaysia Kelantan and Member of the Advisory Group on Online Terrorist Propaganda of the European Counter Terrorism Centre (EUROPOL). J. M. Corchado has been president of the IEEE Systems, Man and Cybernetics Society, and academic coordinator of the University Institute for Research in Art and Animation Technology at the University of Salamanca, as well as researcher at the Universities of Paisley (UK), Vigo (Spain) and the Plymouth Marine Laboratory (UK). He currently combines all his activity with the direction of Master programmes in Security, Digital Animation, Mobile Telephony, Information Systems Management, Internet of Things, Social Media, 3D Design and Printing, Blockchain, Z System, Industry 4.0, Agile Project Management, and Smart Cities & Intelligent Buildings, at the University of Salamanca and his work as editor-in-chief of the journals ADCAIJ (Advances in Distributed Computing and Artificial Intelligence Journal), OJCST (Oriental Journal of Computer Science and Technology) or Electronics MDPI (Computer Science & Engineering section). J. M. Corchado mainly works on projects related to Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Blockchain, IoT, Fog Computing, Edge Computing, Smart Cities, Smart Grids and Sentiment Analysis. He has recently been included in the board of trustees of the AstraZeneca Foundation, along with other health professionals and researchers recognised for bringing scientific knowledge closer to society.

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