Depression

Feeling down or sad from time to time is completely normal and usually passes with time. When these feelings persist, however, there may be something more going on. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, Depression is a mood disorder that causes distressing symptoms which affect how you feel, think, and handle daily activities, such as sleeping, eating, or working. To be diagnosed with depression, symptoms must be present most of the day, nearly every day, for at least two weeks. For more information on Depression, go to NAMI .org.

To learn more about this disorder, download the pdf of the Depression Basics, provided by the National Institute of Mental Health, to the left. Continue further down the page to see how depression effects different age groups.