Everyone gets “the blues” when disappointed. And everyone gets depressed over job lay-offs, divorce, the death of a loved one, or other major losses. Sadness is a normal part of life. But when sadness never returns to gladness, it becomes what the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) calls the nation’s leading mental health problem, “clinical” or “major” depression.
Depression is so common, it’s often called “the common cold of mental illness.” In any year, 10 percent of Americans—some 17 million people—suffer episodes of major depression. Depression can strike at any age, though symptoms in children, teens, and the elderly are often unusual (see below).