Depression

Definition and Reasoning
The Oxford dictionary definition of depression is “Feelings of severe despondency and dejection”, but it’s really so much more than that.   Depression is not a disease that severely affects a person physically, but one that can destroy a person mentally. The reason why I choose this topic is because one of my closest friends suffers from severe depression and I need to know more about the disease. Depression is extremely misunderstood, mostly because it’s almost impossible to understand what it’s like to be depressed if you have not or are not currently in that extremely dark place. Most people who have never been depressed do not realize that there is no “off switch” in a depressed person’s brain where they can just “turn off depression”. Another common misconception about depression is that “happiness” and “joy” is the same thing. When a person is depressed, they can have “joy” without being “happy” and can still be depressed even though they are having the best day of their life. For example, a depressed person can go and see their favorite band in concert and have the time of their life and still be depressed because joy is temporary and depression is constant.
Symptoms and Causes
Depression, also known as major depression or clinical depression is an extremely common disease that affects the brain and is caused by either a chemical imbalance in the brain (depression can be hereditary) or a traumatic event such as death of a loved one. Symptoms of depression are not extremely noticeable physically (although change in weight may be a symptom for some, due to overeating or appetite loss), but can be detected by others with observation. Signs and symptoms of depression vary from person to person, but common symptoms are persistent feelings of sadness, anxiousness, feelings of emptiness, hopelessness, worthlessness, pessimism or guilt.
Statistics
According to Healthline, roughly one in ten Americans suffer from depression. Depression...