Paddy Kirk may be back in the village after his disappearance but he's clearly not well.
And Emmerdale fans have suggested ways to help Paddy (Dominic Brunt) recover from his depression. When his best friend Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock) comes around to cheer him up, an irritable, apathetic Paddy spurns him and lashes out.
Irritability and a lack of interest in things are common symptoms of depression. And despite Marlon's good intentions, Paddy feels overwhelmed as people who are depressed often do.
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Some viewers expressed their weariness at Paddy's malaise and say they are tired of his behaviour - though maybe that's the point of the hard-hitting male mental health storyline. But other sympathetic fans offered some fairly sound advice.
Matthew Zee-Miller said: "Stop over-fussing around Paddy. Slow [and] steady. Give him space."
And Michelle Walker said somewhat more forcibly: "If I was Paddy I'd f*** off again. Why don't they just leave him to sort his head out his own way?"
Dion said: "Stop suffocating him, Marlon."
Taylor said: "I know Marlon and the others are concerned and care about Paddy, but please keep an eye on him from a distance and respect his privacy and space because he feels suffocated. Poor guy can’t even breathe without someone being in his face."
And ChrisP said metaphorically: "Marlon, drop a little pebble in and let the ripples do the work. Don't go on and on."
Depression is, according to mental health charity Mind, the fourth most common mental illness in England, affecting 3% of people every week. Symptoms include low mood, apathy, fatigue, irritability, excessive sleeping or insomnia.
The mental illness may be reactive, for example as a prolonged reaction to a change in personal circumstances such as the breakdown of a relationship. Or it can be caused by a hormonal imbalance, for example after giving birth.
There's more information on depression on the Mind website.
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