Depression is an illness that one in five people will suffer during their lifetime. Depression is the leading cause of alcoholism, drug abuse and other addictions. Depression is an illness that can be successfully treated in more than eighty percent of the people who have it. Women, however, suffer from depression almost twice as much as men do. At least half of the people suffering from depression do not get proper treatment.
Untreated depression is the number one cause of suicide.
Depression is second only to heart disease in causing lost work days in America. Unipolar major depression is the leading cause of disability. Depression is not a character flaw or the sign of a weak personality. Depression is not fully recognized as an illness by most health care insurance providers.