Depression

Everyone feels sad sometimes. But if deep sadness and hopelessness makes your daily life hard, you may be depressed. Depression can last for a long time. You may have depression many times throughout your life.

Depression is a serious mental health condition that can be diagnosed in someone who experiences symptoms such as extreme sadness every day for at least two weeks. The symptoms of depression will eventually take a toll on a person's everyday life, so it's important to seek help from a mental health professional.

If you've recently experienced a major change in your life, you may struggle emotionally. Things like the death of a loved one, a move to a new town or a retirement can all trigger feelings of loss. Loss can be painful and overwhelming. But there are ways to cope with these feelings.

If you lose someone or something you love, you feel unhappiness and pain. These feelings can overwhelm you. We call this "grief." Everyone experiences and responds to grief in their own way. If you're finding your grief hard to handle, it's important to talk to your doctor about it. Here are some tips to help you open up.

The bonds we share with our friends and loved ones help us thrive. But what happens when we don't have enough of these connections? What happens when we don't feel like we are part of a community? We become lonely. And this loneliness can harm your health.

Millions of Americans who experience depression are getting the treatment they need. Find out what causes depression and what options are available for you to successfully take control of your life.

This is a form of long-term depression. We also call it "chronic depression." It can make you feel sad or irritable on most days, and this mood can last for years. With this form of depression, your feelings are milder than they are in someone who has major depression.

Watch this video to learn how depression can impact relationships and be encouraged to seek treatment.

Watch this video to learn how to use inner strengths to get through tough times and overcome challenges.

Clinical depression can be treated and managed through a combination of medication and therapy that's personalized to the patient. The process of finding the right kind of antidepressant and medication dosage can take some time and it may take several weeks for a person with depression to feel the full effects.

Psychotherapy, also known as talk therapy, is a term for a variety of treatment techniques designed to help a person identify and change negative emotions. Most psychotherapy takes place with a licensed and trained mental health care professional. There are several types, including cognitive behavioral therapy, which is the most common psychotherapy used to treat depression.

Watch this video to learn how Electroconvulsive therapy or (ECT) can benefit people with severe depression.

Making healthy lifestyle changes can help in treatment for depression, along with medication and therapy. Things like healthy eating, exercise, reducing alcohol consumption and meditation can help relieve some of the symptoms of depression and keep depressive episodes from happening.

Watch this patient story to learn some strategies for managing depression.

These medications are mostly used to treat depression. But they also treat other problems like anxiety, pain and insomnia. Antidepressants may help balance your mood and get you back to everyday life.

If you've been diagnosed with depression, you may have questions about what it means for you. You may feel trapped, overwhelmed and alone. But depression doesn't have to rob you of your life. You can learn to manage it. These tips can help.

We all struggle with negative feelings now and then. Frustration, boredom, loneliness - these are all part of being human. The one thing we're all looking for is happiness. And that means something different for each of us. Here's where you can look for your own happiness.