Everyone gets the "blues" from time to time. Feeling sad is a normal, temporary reaction to the curve balls that life throws your way. But when you are feeling "down" for more than a few weeks or you have difficulty functioning in daily life, you may be suffering from a common, yet serious medical illness, called depression.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, depression affects the lives of more than 17 million Americans each year. Unfortunately, only one-third of those who experience

depression ever seek professional help, often because they are totally unfamiliar with the condition and its symptoms.

What Is Depression?
Depression is a medical disorder just like diabetes, high blood pressure or heart disease are medical disorders. It is a "whole-body" illness, involving your body, mood, and thoughts. It affects the way you eat and sleep, the way you feel about yourself, and the way you think about things.

Depression is not a sign of personal weakness or a condition that can be willed or wished away. People with depression cannot merely "pull themselves together" and get better. Without treatment, symptoms can last for weeks, months, or years.

The good news is that depression is a very treatable illness. But as with many illnesses, the earlier treatment begins, the more effective it can be. Therefore, it is crucial that you know the symptoms and act early.

Getting Help
The best thing to do when you're feeling depressed is to seek help. An appropriate diagnosis must precede any effective treatment.

The first step is to see your regular physician and explain the symptoms you have been experiencing. Sometimes an actual physical illness can cause depression-like symptoms, so that is why it is best to see your doctor first.

If depression is suspected, you may be referred to a mental health specialist for further evaluation and treatment. Mental health professionals include psychiatrists, psychologists, counselors and social workers. Psychiatrists can prescribe anti-depressant drugs because they are physicians. Mental health professionals, who are not physicians, can provide psychotherapy and often work with psychiatrists and family physicians to ensure that their patients receive the medications they may need.

Depression Is A Very Treatable Illness
More than 80% of people with serious depression can be treated successfully with anti-depressant medications, psychotherapy or a combination of both. Successful treatment removes all of the symptoms of depression and returns you to your normal life.

Because it takes several weeks for treatment to work fully, it is important to get treatment early, before your depression gets worse. Additionally, the earlier you receive treatment for depression, the more effective it can be. And, early treatment also increases the likelihood of preventing serious recurrences.

MORE ABOUT DEPRESSION

What Causes Depression?  Depression may be caused by many things including:

• Family history and genetics
• Other general medical illnesses
• Certain medicines
• Drugs or alcohol
• Other psychiatric conditions
• Certain life conditions (such as extreme stress or grief), may bring on a depression or prevent a full recovery.

Major depression is a medical illness. It is rooted in the biology and chemistry of the brain.

Alcohol Use and Depression: Many people who suffer from depression also suffer from some form of substance abuse, most often alcoholism. This is concerning because the combination of depression and substance abuse (called a 'dual diagnosis') is much more difficult to treat. For example, research shows that alcoholics are half as likely to recover from depression than are non-drinkers or recovering alcoholics. Those with co-occurring depression and substance abuse also have an increased suicide risk.

If your drinking is causing a problem to yourself or others, it is important to seek help.

How to Help a Friend or Family Member: People with clinical depression often do not have the motivation or energy to seek treatment. This means that it is very important that friends and family help. The best way to express concern when someone is depressed is by guiding the depressed person to seek treatment.

Other ways to help:

• Invite the person to go for a walk, see a movie or attend a concert or sporting event.
• Encourage the person to participate in activities that he or she enjoys.
• Don't accuse the depressed person of faking or being lazy, or expect him or her to "snap out of it." Feeling better can take time, and he or she will appreciate your understanding and patience.

Depression and Suicide: People with severe, untreated depression have a suicide rate as high as 15 percent. In fact, the number one cause of suicide in the U.S. is untreated depression.

Whatever you do, never ignore even the most casual remarks about suicide. Encourage the person to reach out for assistance. You or the person can get help right away by calling a suicide hot line or mental health professional.