KNOW Life is full of good times and bad, of happiness and sorrow. Young or old, man or woman, regardless of race or income - anyone can experience clinical depression. Depression can cause people to lose the pleasure from daily life, it can complicate other medical conditions - it can be serious enough to lead to suicide. Yet this suffering is unnecessary.
Clinical depression is a very treatable medical illness.
Clinical depression often goes untreated because people don't recognize the many symptoms. They may know some symptoms, such as sadness and withdrawal, but they are unaware of others, including anxiety, irritability and sleeplessness. Also, people need to know that treatment for clinical depression really works - and to learn how to go about finding the treatment they need. It is normal to feel sadness after the death of a friend or family member. Indeed, most of us experience great sadness at times in our lives, perhaps from a divorce, moving away from family and friends, losing a job, even losing our good health due to illness.