Depression and Its Grip Over Society

Depression, also known as affective mood disorder and depressive illness, is perhaps one of the most emotionally, mentally, and physically destructive health problems present in today’s society that continuously goes unrecognized and untreated. The illness is often indiscriminate in who it resides, affecting more than 17 million Americans of all races, ages, and gender. However, there is an increasing discrepancy between depression and gender, with female sufferers of the disease almost doubling male sufferers, except in cases of manic depression where the gender rates are about equal. Depression has grown rapidly among Americans since World War II so that the estimated number of Americans living today that will suffer from major depressive illness at some point in their lives has grown to approximately 35-40 million people. This large portion of the American population often suffer in silence, refusing to seek help, relying on the notion that it is “all in their heads”. Yet, if this disease goes untreated it can not only destroy ones quality of life, but lead to a variety of other health problems, and can eventually lead to death by means of suicide.