Depression


Depression is more than just having ‘the blues.’ It is a common but serious mood disorder that can cause severe symptoms that affect how a person feels, thinks, and handles daily activities such as eating, sleeping, or working. 

There are different types of depression:

 

Major depression: includes symptoms of depressed mood or loss of interest, most of the time for at least 2 weeks, that interfere with daily activities.

 

Persistent depressive disorder: consist of less severe symptoms of depression that last for at least 2 years.

 

Perinatal depression: depression that occurs during pregnancy or after childbirth.

 

Seasonal affective disorder: depression that comes and goes with seasons. 

 

Depression with symptoms of psychosis: a more severe form of depression which an individual experiences psychosis such as delusions (disturbing, false fixed beliefs) or hallucinations (hearing or seeing things that others do not hear or see). 

Depression can affect people of all ages, ethnicities, races, genders. According to the National Association of Mental Health, 21 million U.S. adults had at least one major depressive episode in 2021. This represents 8.3% of the U.S. adult population. In addition, an estimated 5.0 million adolescents aged 12 to 17 in the United States had at least one major depressive episode. This number represented 20.1% of the U.S. population aged 12 to 17.