According to some estimates, there are as many as 17 million Americans suffering from depression. With more than one in 20 of us afflicted by this ailment, we are all touched by its effects. There is considerable debate about the causes, and at least six diagnosed varieties.
Clinical depression is a disease much like any other, resulting from a chemical imbalance.
Sometimes people suffer inexplicably from diseases. Other times, however, diseases can be a direct consequence of behavior, for example, lung cancer from smoking and liver disease from alcohol abuse. Depression, likewise, can be unexplainable or can also be a direct result of lifestyle choices. Furthermore, like other illnesses, depression itself is not a sin. But sin has consequences and can sometimes lead to depression.