The good news is that help is available. Depression often results from persistent stress, the breakup of an important relationship, feeling out of control, or other situational factors that affect us biologically and emotionally. It is also possible to become depressed without experiencing any environmental stressor. The cost in human suffering cannot be estimated. Depressive illnesses often interfere with normal functioning and cause pain and suffering not only to those who have a disorder, but also to those who care about them.
Serious depression can damage or destroy family life as well as the life of the affected person.
Thanks to research, the medications and psychological therapies that ease or eliminate the pain of depression are at hand. Unfortunately, many people do not recognize that they have a treatable disorder. It affects the way an individual eats and sleeps, the way the person feels about him or herself, and the way a person thinks about things. A depressive disorder is not the same as sadness or a passing blue mood. It is not a sign of personal weakness or a condition that can be willed or wished away.