This essay defines depression, symptoms of depression, causes of depression, and treaments for it.

Depression is a psychological condition that changes how you think, feel, and it also affects your social behavior and sense of physical wellness. I can make you feel low self esteem and can cause self-depreciation. Depression is not feeling sad occasionally, it is a constant feeling of sadness that stays with you. If not treated it can affect the way you act, feel, and the way you think. It can also cause you to be more pessimistic towards family members, or friends. Depression is one of the most common psychological problems. It affects nearly everyone through either personal experiences or through depression in a family member. Every year about 17 million American adults experience a period of clinical depression. Depression has often lead to suicide in many untreated cases.

Depression can affect everyone. Most people who seek medical attention for depression are treated and cured successfully. Although most people do seek professional help, not all do, which may cause physical illness to that person.

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It can cause loss of appetite, changes in sleeping habits. It can also cause you to lose interest in things that you once like to do (sports, friends, being outdoors.)

The symptoms are not recognized as depression. Most people who are depressed appear lazy or tired. Most people who are depressed do not realize it themselves, but they do feel a change in themselves, that often they do not tell others about. The underlying cause is less often examined. The causes of depression can be many things. Past trauma, financial problems, peer pressure, relationship problems, death in the family, and stress, are some of the more common causes of depression. Depression in younger children is usually caused by bad family life or divorce. The part of the brain that effects emotions such as depression is the...