It is a long-lasting, often recurring illness as real and disabling as heart disease or arthritis. Adults who experience clinical depression may feel an oppressive sense of sadness, fatigue, and guilt. In varying degrees of severity, it affects about 6 percent of all U.S. adults, more than nine million people in any given six month period, according to the American Psychiatric Association. At least one in five Americans will experience a major depressive episode during their lifetime, with women twice as likely to develop depression as men. Modern research has led to significant advances.
Today there are extremely effective treatments for depression.
Between 80 to 90 percent of those with depression can be successfully treated. Many experience relief from symptoms within three to six weeks. An estimated 15 percent of those with depression commit suicide, and depression is considered to be the underlying cause in half of all suicides. Because depression can have fatal consequences, treatment should not be delayed.