Depression
Depression is an illness that causes a person to feel sad and hopeless for much of the time. It is different from normal feelings of sadness, grief, or low energy.
People who are depressed may also:
- Think and speak more slowly than normal.
- Have trouble concentrating, remembering, and making decisions.
- Have changes in their eating and sleeping habits.
- Lose interest in things they once enjoyed.
- Be preoccupied with death and/or suicide.
Depression affects men and women of all ages and has often been shown to run in families. A person can have one or many episodes of depression in a lifetime. Each episode of depression makes a person more likely to have another episode of depression.
Most people who are depressed get better with medication, counseling, or a combination of the two. People with suicidal tendencies may need to be hospitalized.
