Depression

Depression, currently the most common psychiatric diagnosis given in the United States, is an illness that involves an individual's cognitive, emotional, and physical functioning. In contrast to the normal feelings of sadness, shifting moods, or loss, depression is persistent and can interfere with the way one eats and sleeps, feels about one's self, and the way one thinks. It can affect people of any age, race, ethnic, or economic group. Depression affects an estimated 9.9% of adults older than 18 years, 8% of adolescents, and 2.5% of children in a given year in the United States. Nearly twice as many females as males are affected with depression each year. Research indicates that depression onset is earlier today than in past decades.