Everyone occasionally feels blue or sad, these feelings are usually short-lived and pass within a couple of days. When you have depression it interferes with daily life and causes pain for both you and those who care about you. Depression is a common but serious illness.

Depression can be related to a life event or it can be amorphous and feel inexplicable. Irritability, restlessness, hopelessness and fatigue can dull even moments you feel should be happy.

Many people with a depressive illness never seek treatment, but the majority, even those with the most severe depression, can get better with treatment. If you are reading this for yourself or for someone about whom you are concerned, you are already taking a step toward getting help.

Psychotherapy can be an effective treatment for depression. Relief of symptoms comes from talking about and exploring the roots of the feeling and the negatively reinforcing emotions that may be tied to being depressed.

Some Useful Links/Resources on Depression:

National Alliance on Mental Illness
Women & Depression, Discovering Hope
How to Help a Person with Depression
Get it Done When You’re Depressed: Julie Fast
Out of the Shadows: PBS
The Noonday Demon; An Atlas of Depression, Andrew Solomon: