Millions of people suffer around the world from a depressive illness. They think that depression is just a normal occurrence in their lives, which will go away after a short while. If you think of the fast moving and complicated world we live in today it's easy to feel a little overwhelmed and dismiss how serious depression can be.

Did you know that words related to depression are searched around almost 1 million times a month? Much attention has been centered to this global health problem as one of the rigorous challenges of the 21st century.

No one is safe from being affected by depression because it affects everyone. It doesn't matter whether you're a male or female, rich or poor, educated or uneducated. Once a person starts becoming depressed, he or she usually behaves in a manner that intensifies the illness. It is a viscious circle that can be very difficult to break free.

Symptoms can include:

• Miserable frame of mind over a period of time, sometimes in a number of weeks
• Disheartened thinking - negative approach about oneself, the present and the future
• Difficulty in focusing and remembering
• Feelings of unimportance and desperation
• Anxiety - a sense of being afraid - that something "dreadful" is going to happen
• Phobias or doubts about specific situations
• Loss of appetite and weight loss or, alternatively, increased appetite and weight gain
• Disrupted sleeping patterns - not much sleep or wanting to sleep all the time
• Physical symptoms - aches and pains, gastrointestinal upsets, headaches
• Incapacity to do the usual everyday activities
• Thoughts of suicide

It is a mystery sometimes why some people suffer depression throughout their lives and others do not.

The following are some physical causes of depression:

• Hepatitis
• Hypoglycemia
• Infections
• Brain or nervous system disorders
• Glandular disorders
• Low thyroid
• Hyperthyroidism
• Excessive ovarian hormonal irregularities

Note that there are "mental" as well as physical factors that cause depression such as anxiety which is a symptom of depression itself.

There are many ways to improve your life. Sometimes this can involve drug medication and in other circumstances it might not be necessary at all.

Recent scientific evaluation studies show in some scenarios medication has little positive benefit while having the potential side effects that come with SSRI drugs such as fluoxetine or older tricyclic antidepressants. You need to find a resource which can assist you in this somtimes confusing area.