This essay defines depression, symptoms of depression, causes of depression, and treaments for it.

Depression is a psychological condition that changes how you think, feel, and it also affects your social behavior and sense of physical wellness. I can make you feel low self esteem and can cause self-depreciation. Depression is not feeling sad occasionally, it is a constant feeling of sadness that stays with you. If not treated it can affect the way you act, feel, and the way you think. It can also cause you to be more pessimistic towards family members, or friends. Depression is one of the most common psychological problems. It affects nearly everyone through either personal experiences or through depression in a family member. Every year about 17 million American adults experience a period of clinical depression. Depression has often lead to suicide in many untreated cases.

Depression can affect everyone. Most people who seek medical attention for depression are treated and cured successfully. Although most people do seek professional help, not all do, which may cause physical illness to that person. It can cause loss of appetite, changes in sleeping habits. It can also cause you to lose interest in things that you once like to do (sports, friends, being outdoors.)

The symptoms are not recognized as depression. Most people who are depressed appear lazy or tired. Most people who are depressed do not realize it themselves, but they do feel a change in themselves, that often they do not tell others about. The underlying cause is less often examined. The causes of depression can be many things. Past trauma, financial problems, peer pressure, relationship problems, death in the family, and stress, are some of the more common causes of depression. Depression in younger children is usually caused by bad family life or divorce. The part of the brain that effects emotions such as depression is the Frontal Lobe. The Frontal lobe is found in the area around the forehead. The mental symptoms of depression are difficulty in concentrating, slowed thinking, and indecisiveness. A depressed person may be easily distracted and memory may be impaired. In some serious cases depression may be related to psychosis, which means that they lose touch with reality. For example they may experience hallucinations or claim to "hear voices" in their head. This serious of a depression may also be known as bi-polar disorder.

People with depression often experience changes in thinking. This means that people will have problems concentrating or decision making. They might also have short term memory, or forget things all the time. Most depressed people have negative thoughts about themselves (harming themselves or others). Pessimism, poor self-esteem, excessive guilt, and self criticism are also symptoms. A person who is depressed may have changes in the way they feel. They may feel sad for no reason at all, some people that have depression say that they no longer find and interest in the activities that they once loved. Irritability is also a symptom of depression; a person may seem more irritated with every little thing than usual. Eating disorders may also occur during depression. For example, not eating enough, or eating a lot more. People who are around a depressed person can often tell that there is something wrong because of the way the person acts, or their behavior.

Depression is very common among teenagers. Teenagers tend to have more problems with their parents during their teen years. This can cause depression. They may also be faced with serious peer pressure which can overwhelm them and make them become depressed. As the amount of teenagers who are depressed rises, so does the number of suicides in teens. Clinical studies have proven that teen depression almost always leads to thoughts of suicide. The number one cause of teen suicide is untreated depression, which is why it is important to get treatment if you recognize any symptoms in a teen.

Treatment is mandatory for serious cases of depression. The first step to becoming cured is to evaluate the type of depression that is occurring, once that is done you must determine what type of depression it is. Psychologists ask people with depression when the first time the started feeling depressed, how severe it is, and if you have had signs of depression before in your lifetime. There are two cures for depression, psychotherapy, and anti-depressant medication. Most people do well when treated with psychotherapy, but medication works faster than psychotherapy. Some people require psychotherapy along with medication. The down side to medication is that it doesn't

"cure" depression, it only treats the symptoms of it.

To manage depression you must first identify the feelings that you have. Once you have done that you must put these feelings into perspective and focus on the positive things in your life instead of dwelling on past problems. These steps are not always easy for people to follow. People who dwell on past traumas almost always become depressed.

In conclusion depression is a treatable disease that is cause by many different things. The fact that depression is a serious disease is not taken seriously enough in society today. People who are suspicious that a person may be depressed should contact someone about it as soon as possible before it leads to suicide.