Depression is a very common disease that will affect a large percentage of the population at some point during their life span. At least 10% of all people will suffer from a major depressive disorder, while even a larger percentage will suffer from some type of mild depression. It is a serious disease that has been linked to other physical and mental illnesses. It has also been a cause of death in numerous cases due to suicide and heart disease. The most disturbing fact about depression is that it so often goes untreated although it is a very treatable illness. Knowledge is the key to correcting this problem. The public very much so needs to be educated on the illness itself. Knowing the causes of depression as well as its dangers and symptoms will surely lead a larger percentage of its victims to seek the many widely available treatment options.There is an enormous amount of information available about depression. It would take an unreasonable amount of time to view all of the information available just on the internet, not to mention libraries and mental health professionals. The most useful website that I encountered was furnished by the National Institute of Mental Health. This site has all of the information that one could need to start researching depression. From its causes, dangers, and symptoms to the different treatment options, this site has plentiful well researched information provided by a nationally recognized institute. It was the main resource for this research paper.Depression is defined as "a spectrum of affective disorders, ranging from passing sad moods to serious, crippling disease requiring medical treatment". Major depression, also referred to as clinical depression, is a "whole body" disorder, impacting the patients emotions, thought processes, and body. Everyone goes through times in their lives that they feel "down" or "blue". This is normal, but what is not normal is for people to remain in...
