A few days of feeling sad or depressed does not mean depression. Depression is a very serious disease that can last for years. Each year about 15 million Americans suffer from this illness. Only about 4.5 million of those people seek help, which is unfortunate. The age- old stereotype associated with mental illness influences many to still avoid admitting they suffer from depression. Of the list of progressive ailments depression is one of the worst. Without attention it will become more and more severe. Ignorance in this case isn’t bliss.

There are many types of depression and various factors can cause depression. These include the whole spectrum of genetic, biological, physical and emotional items. Simple daily life and surroundings are important. Stress and other negative influences have been known to contribute. Complicated diseases like depression aren’t easy to crack. The human mind is very complicated as well. To learn how the mind works, doctors and researches are studying it each day. It’s clear that it’s an imbalance of chemical compounds in the brain that creates depression. Researches learn more about this complex series of actions and reactions with passing time. The phrase is “learning is half the battle” and with depression knowledge is power.

Depression can be treated with a host of available medications. Quick fix schemes exist too, but they don’t work. You have to be careful to seek medications that have been clinically studied and have been proven to display positive effects in the treatment of depression. There was a time in our history if you were afflicted by anything that was associated with mental illness you were thrown into a mental ward and lost in the system. That is a thing of the past, thank goodness. In 1988 the anti-depressant ‘Prozac’ first hit the market in the United States. It has bee proven effective and is still in use today although it does come with side effects.

Since that time more and more use has been made of a new class of anti-depressants. Currently depression is being treated with SSRI or (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) such as Paxil, Zoloft, Lexapro, Celexa, and Luvox. These have limited side effects and have been shown to work. Herbal medications also have a place in this market. The majority of these that have been proven to work as well as the anti-depressants contain the St. John Wort extract ingredient called ‘hyperforin’. Some herbal remedies don’t contain this ingredient in the proper strength so they don’t work. Research and information are your friends when it comes to the finding the right depression medications for your depression.