Depression
What's the difference between just having a bad day and having a case of clinical depression? Any depressed state of mind that lasts for a long period of time (at least several weeks) and interferes with your daily life may be categorized as depression in the clinical sense. It may surprise you to learn that depression is one of the leading causes of disability, and it affect twice as many women as men. While small bouts of depression may be common, severe or major depression may be caused by one of a number of things. Chemical imbalances, genetics, psychological state, medical illness, pregnancy, and environment are all things that can lead to serious depression. In addition, depression may be a symptom of a more serious psychotic illness like bipolar disorder.

Treating depression can vary as widely as the range of depressive moods that can be felt. In fact, often depression is never actively treated by individuals because they either do not realize they are depressed or never seek out professional help. Ultimately, help for depression can be provided in the form of medicine or therapy. Therapy is normally the first step for fighting depression, during which the health care provider can evaluate whether drugs might also be helpful. If you or a friend shows signs of lasting sadness, fear, large weight changes, altered sleeping patterns, lack of self-esteem, or even suicidal thoughts, then you should seek advice from a qualified professional that can provide depression counseling.

Thanks to Medicalhelpers.com for the info

You are not alone. One in five Americans will experience a mental illness in any given year

Clinical depression is one of the most common mental illnesses, affecting more than 19 million Americans each year.[1] This includes major depressive disorder, manic depression and dysthymia, a milder, longer-lasting form of depression.
Depression causes people to lose pleasure from daily life, can complicate other medical conditions, and can even be serious enough to lead to suicide. Depression can occur to anyone, at any age, and to people of any race or ethnic group. Depression is never a “normal” part of life, no matter what your age, gender or health situation. Unfortunately, though treatment for depression is almost always successful, fewer than half of those suffering from this illness seek treatment.[2] Too many people resist treatment because they believe depression isn’t serious, that they can treat it themselves or that it is a personal weakness rather than a serious medical illness.
So you see, You are not alone. Depression is very common, and very treatable. It doesn't mean you are "weak" or a "crybaby." Get the facts today and get help.






[1] National Institute of Mental Health: “The Numbers Count: Mental Illness in America,” Science on Our Minds Fact Sheet Series. Accessed August 1999. Netscape: https://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/numbers.cfm

[2] Rupp A, Gause E, Regier D: “Research Policy Implications of Cost-of-Illness Studies for Mental Disorders,” British Journal of Psychiatry Suppl 1998; 36:19-25.