You don't have to have all of the symptoms listed below to be suffering from depression. This may make a person feel even worse. It is important that you do not ignore the symptoms of depression. There is help available. There could be underlying medical disorders that are causing some of the behavior.
Depression varies from person to person.
Left untreated, depression may take a year or longer to lift, or it may not lift at all. With treatment, the depression may lift within three weeks, more or less, depending on the severity of the depression. If you are undergoing counseling, go to your sessions faithfully, for best results. Avoid drugs and alcohol. Both make depression worse, and may interact with or cancel out the effects of the depression medicine you are taking.