What Exactly Is Depression? More Basics

Confusion about depression is very common. Commercials touting the latest “cure” compliments of the drug companies. But which one do we ask for, the one that makes you float with balloons or the one with the pretty girl. Or should we ask at all, don’t the doctors know? If it is as simple as popping a pill then sign me up. Huey Lewis wanted a new drug, wonder which one worked for him. Yet we know it is never that simple.
Confusion and more confusion. I see it in the faces and I hear it in the voices of friends, family members, and the people suffering from depression as they struggle to understand. Some common questions I am asked are why don‘t they look depressed, what makes it different for different people, what causes it, how did the person get the disease, and what they should do about it. It is time to start clearing up some of the confusion.
This book continues the attempt to clear up some of the confusion as we take a look at those questions and attempt to answer them, on a general level: Why depression may look different on different people, some common causes, and ending with some general treatment information and interventions. Depression can be very difficult to understand. Reminds me of a quote from Listening to Prozac: “If the human brain were simple enough to understand, we’d be too simple to understand it.” Luckily we don't have to understand the entire brain, to understand depression. A person’s quality of life can be greatly improved if depression is recognized and treated.