In fact, transitory feelings of sadness or discouragement are perfectly normal, especially during particularly difficult times. Depression is one of the most common and treatable of all mental illnesses. In any six-month period, 9.4 million Americans suffer from this disease. One in four women and one in 10 men can expect to develop it during their lifetime. Eighty to 90 percent of those who suffer from depression can be effectively treated, and nearly all people who receive treatment derive some benefit.
Many doctors think depression is the illness that underlies the majority of suicides in our country.
Every day 15 people aged 15 to 24 kill themselves. One of the best strategies for preventing suicide is the early recognition and treatment of the depression. Unfortunately, many fail to recognize the illness and get the treatment that would alleviate their suffering. But if people looked at all of these symptoms together and noticed that they occur over long periods of time, they might recognize them as signs of depression. At the same time, the illness may be hard to recognize because its symptoms may be so easily attributed to other causes.