What Does Depression Mean?

“Recent data estimate the overall prevalence of depression at about 11.1% of the American population, or nearly 35 million individuals (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011). A predictive models suggest that up to 50% of the population will experience at least one episode of depression during their lives” (Life Extension, 2014). Depression has negatively affected the lives of many individuals throughout the world. Look around you there may even be someone close to you that is demonstrating signs of its stifling affects. Depression does not discriminate with its suffocating

Roughly twenty million people in the United States suffer from depression. Depression is defined as a mental illness which leads to feeling sad, having trouble thinking and concentrating, feelings of worthlessness or guilt, decreased energy, and having a decreased amount of interest in most activities. Depression is one of the most common mental illnesses to be diagnosed in the United States. The mental illness can affect anyone regardless of race, gender, or socioeconomic standing.

In this day and age depression is a catchword. It is applied to all imaginable situations, from grieving after the loss of a loved one to simple foul moods. Although such a loose usage of the word is hardly warranted, the statistics of the World Health Organization suggest that there is some real basis behind it: about 4-5% of the world's population suffer from depression, and it is the reason behind about 60% of all suicides (1). United States is ahead of the world's quota in this sad race: according to the National Institute of Mental Health, about 9.5% of the population (or about 18.8 million adults) experience a depressive disorder in any given year (2). With such

Depression affects close to 19 million Americans, 9.5% of the population in any one given one-year period. At some point in life 10% - 25% women and 5% -12% of men would probably become clinically depressed. Furthermore it affects so many people that it is regularly referred to as the mental illness “common cold”. It is predicted that depression exacts an economic cost of over $30 billion each year, but the value of human torment can’t be measured. Depression not only causes discomfort to those who are depressed, but in a like manner it causes misery for their friends and family who usually don’t know how to help. There are 9 categories of depression, the first type is called major depressive disorder this syndrome decreases a person’s ability to eat, sleep, work, and function as he or she typically would. It stops people from enjoying activities that used to be pleasurable, and it often makes them to think negative about the world and themselves. Major depression is generally debilitating and may occur in several occasions in a person’s lifetime. The second type of depression is called Dysthymic disorder and it is a moderate however more enduring type of major depression, someone with dysthymia may seem to be chronically mildly depressed to the point that it appears to be a factor of their personality is not common for someone to struggle with this condition

Depression is the leading cause of emotional and physical problems. So what do people do to treat this disorder? Anti-depressants are most commonly used amongst patients suffering from depression. “Second only to antibiotics, anti-depressants are the most commonly prescribed class of medication.” This is concerning because patients become dependent on these medications. In many cases, SSRIs can have an opposite effect on patients, resulting in thoughts of suicide and other physical symptoms. Safer alternative treatments include treating depression through therapy without use of medication. “Depression is much more than just sadness.” Some patients describe depression as living in a dark empty space, dealing with the lack of energy,

When someone says they’re sick, people usually think the person has the flu or chickenpox. A neighbor or family friend might bring over some chicken soup to help cure their loved ones ailments, but another type of disease people are diagnosed yearly with, are mental illnesses. Mental illnesses are a huge stigma in America’s society. The Mental health stigma is caused by the lack of knowledge society has towards them. Depression is one mental illness that effects millions of Americans and puts a lot of stress on a the person diagnosed and their family. The stigma created by society about the illness causes many people feel like outcasts and not want to seek help. There are many factors that can lead to someone to be depressed such as abuse,

In fact, major depressive disorder affects about 6.7% of the United States population that are eighteen years or older, it is unlikely that 14.8 million people are just imagining a mental disorder that interferes with their daily functions in life. One does not make the choice to be depressed, it is not just a bad mood or rough patch in life. For some people, they may try to get out in the world, be in the sunlight, listen to only the most positive and happy music; just like everyone tells them to. There is always someone suggesting a quick fix without understanding the complexities of the disorder and of course, those that just do not want to believe in it. It is difficult to convince someone who may not feel depressed what it is like, depression is not fixed by sun exposure and bright lights. Depression is feeling alone in a room that is at full capacity, full capacity like the depressed mind bursting at the seams with dismal thoughts that leave no room for, “it’ll get better.” 350 million people worldwide suffer from depression, 5% of the world that are too in their heads according to the uneducated public that no matter how much research and facts are put out there will believe that if it does not happen to them then it cannot

Depression being such a widespread disorder is often not taken seriously as a major disorder. Depression can hinder the ability to heal a small wound to breaking apart families. When struck by depression ones’ normal way of living in society can come to an abrupt stop. Which leads to the psychosocial process a patient partakes while dealing with depression.

Depression has always been an issue in America and it is increasing. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary Online defines depression as “a serious medical condition in which a person feels very sad, hopeless, and unimportant and often is unable to live in a normal way”.

Depression is an illness that is usually confused with the everyday problems of life. For this reason, people usually leave it unattended; they spend much time thinking that is nothing to worry about until it is complicated and more difficult to treat. In fact, many times, people think that depression is just sadness, fatigue or boredom that a person has already experienced with past situations, only with greater intensity. But it is not, depression is a real interruption with the overall functioning of a person. If it is not properly treated, in many cases it can raise the disturbance of symptoms at high levels, increasing the risk of having problems with their physical and mental health. Depression is a disease that can take many forms and

More people suffer from depression than you might think. People of all ages, backgrounds, lifestyles, and nationalities get clinical depression. An estimated 35 to 40 million Americas living today will suffer from major depression at some time during their lives. (4) This is about 13 to 20 percent of all Americans. (1) About half of these individuals will experience recurring depression. (3) Despite being what authorities call "the nation's leading mental health problem" (6), depression is often misdiagnosed or undiagnosed, and therefore not treated. (4) Often as a result, about 25 percent of these people attempt suicide to end their

Depression cases have increased in numbers, and it is an important thing to hold a strong knowledge of. Rates of depression have risen drastically, and it needs to be addressed. A simple way to help is by spreading more knowledge about depression and other mental health issues, so that the general public will be more well-informed about the topic. Depression is serious and affects many, and as an individual one should continue to learn about

Depression is a mental illness that that has become increasingly relevant and acknowledged over time. This illness is typically associated with being more mental and emotional rather than physical. However, that is not always the situation. It is common that people who suffer from the illness of depression, experience physical pain like headaches and back pain (Hall-Flavin). Depression is also a very stigmatized illness, which results in people being in denial of their situations. Many who suffer from depression live in denial, because they are afraid on what having this illness means for them. To be accepting of depression, is to realize that there is an issue Yet, many are concerned with how depression will affect the views of others towards

One of the scariest emotional experiences a person can ever suffer during their lifetime is to experience a form of depression. Over one in five Americans can expect to get some form of depression in their lifetime. Over one in twenty Americans have a depressive disorder every year. Depression is one of the most common and most serious mental health problems facing people today. However, depression is often not taken seriously because of the large use of antidepressant drugs and the large number of sufferers. Depression is a serious illness and should be taken as so. Contrary to the popular misconceptions about depression today, it is a serious and deadly disorder.1

Depression is far more common than most people realize. “Two out of every 10 people are clinically depressed. Approximately 23 percent of all adult women have had one major depressive episode in their lifetime. Depression has touched the lives of some of the most successful and brilliant men and women of our time. Sylvia Plath, Dick Cavett, Georgia O'Keeffe, Mark Twain, Virginia Woolf, and Abraham Lincoln all wrestled with depression” ((Myrna A. Wallis 1). Douglas Jacobs, a Harvard Medical School psychiatrist who has devised national screening programs for depression, says that the key difference between having sad feelings and a true major depression is that sad feelings eventually pass.