We are often told that depression is ‘all in the mind’. So why are so many of its symptoms felt in our bodies? Why can depression have such a profound impact on physical as well as mental health – from coronary disease to stroke? On August 23 Philip Gold, a world-renowned expert on this devastating illness, comes to Intelligence Squared to discuss how depression is a stress response gone awry, affecting the whole body and not just the brain.

Drawing on his new book Breaking Through Depression, Gold will reveal the latest research on how depression influences every aspect of our health, from the chemical messengers that control appetite to the brain’s structure and functionality. He will explain how depression disrupts the 24-hour sleep-wake cycle, interacting with the stress system differently depending on whether someone experiences melancholic or atypical symptoms, thereby giving the fullest picture yet of the disease.