Depression is a common but serious illness.

Treatment can help those with depression get better.

What are the symptoms of depression?

•Ongoing sad, anxious or empty feelings
•Feelings of hopelessness
•Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, or helplessness
•Feeling irritable or restless
•Loss of interest in activities or hobbies that were once enjoyable, including sex
•Feeling tired all the time
•Difficulty concentrating, remembering details, or difficulty making decisions
•Not able to go to sleep or stay asleep (insomnia); may wake in the middle of the night, or sleep
all the time
•Overeating or loss of appetite
•Thoughts of suicide or making suicide attempts
•Ongoing aches and pains, headaches, cramps or digestive problems that do not go away.
Not everyone diagnosed with depression will have all of these symptoms. The signs and symptoms may be different in men, women, younger children and older adults.
Can a person have depression and another illness at the same time?
Often, people have other illnesses along with depression. Sometimes other illnesses come first, but other times the depression comes first. Each person and situation is differ-ent, but it is important not to ignore these illnesses and to get treatment for them and the depression. Some illnesses or disorders that may occur along with depression are:
•Anxiety disorders, including post-traumatic stress dis-order (PTSD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder, social phobia, and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD);
•Alcohol and other substance abuse or dependence;
•Heart disease, stroke, cancer, HIV/AIDS, diabetes, and Parkinson's disease.
Studies have found that treating depression can help in treating these other illnesses.
When does depression start?
Young children and teens can get depression but it can occur at other ages also. Depression is more common in women than in men, but men do get depression too. Loss of a loved one, stress and hormonal changes, or traumatic events may trigger depression at any age.

Is there help?
There is help for someone who has depression. Even in severe cases, depression is highly treatable. The first step is to visit a doctor. Your family doctor or a health clinic is a good place to start. A doctor can make sure that the symptoms of depression are not being caused by another medical condition. A doctor may refer you to a mental health professional.
The most common treatments of depression are psycho-therapy and medication.
Psychotherapy
Several types of psychotherapy—or "talk therapy"—can help people with depression.
There are two main types of psychotherapy commonly used to treat depression: cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and interpersonal therapy (IPT). CBT teaches people to change negative styles of thinking and behaving that may contribute to their depression. IPT helps people under¬stand and work through troubled personal relationships that may cause their depression or make it worse.
For mild to moderate depression, psychotherapy may be the best treatment option. However, for major depression or for certain people, psychotherapy may not be enough. For teens, a combination of medication and psychotherapy may work the best to treat major depression and help keep the depression from happening again. Also, a study about treating depression in older adults found that those who got better with medication and IPT were less likely to have depression again if they continued their combination treat-ment for at least two years.
Medications
Medications help balance chemicals in the brain called neurotransmitters. Although scientists are not sure exactly how these chemicals work, they do know they affect a per-son's mood. Types of antidepressant medications that help keep the neurotransmitters at the correct levels are:
•SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors)
•SNRIs (serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors)
•MAOIs (monoamine oxidase inhibitors)
•Tricyclics.

These different types of medications affect different chemi-cals in the brain.
Medications affect everyone differently. Sometimes sev¬eral different types have to be tried before finding the one that works. If you start taking medication, tell your doctor about any side effects right away. Depending on which type of medication, possible side effects include:

•Headache
•Nausea
•Insomnia and nervousness
•Agitation or feeling jittery
•Sexual problems
•Dry mouth
•Constipation
•Bladder problems
•Blurred vision, or
•Drowsiness during the day.