Depression is a very serious matter, which does not discriminate. Depression doe not care what your age is, what gender you are, or even what your race or social class is.

Depression can often make a person feel sad, helpless, hopeless, and irritable. It is normal for people to have these feeling sometimes, but some people cannot just snap out of it and this is the difference between what is normal and major depression. It is the determination and brutality of the emotions that determine the mental illness of depression from normal mood changes.

We are going to talk about different types of depression and how it can affect you. Depression is an illness that affects your body, mind, disposition, thought, sleep, energy, concentration, weight, and much more. Depression is not a mood, it is not a sign of personal weakness, and it cannot be simply willed away.

Clinical depression is constant and can interfere significantly with an individual's ability to function by emotional experiences of sadness, loss, or passing mood states. Clinical depression can be devastating to all areas of a person's everyday life, including family relationships, friendships, and the ability to work or go to school.

Bipolar disorder (manic-depression) is a mood disorder, which means that the symptoms are abnormalities of mood. Bipolar disorder involves episodes of both serious mania and depression. Bipolar disorder can have a devastating impact on sufferer's lives and can lead to suicide if it is not treated.

Major depression is a more common illness, the symptoms of which are mainly those of 'low' mood.

Causes

Several things can cause depression; one of the causes can be attributed to a deficiency of certain neurotransmitters in the brain that signal from one nerve cell to another. The immune system of a depressed person is usually very low and therefore ineffectively responding to diseases, including cancer. The everyday stressors faced by Americans have simply become too much for many to bear, and reasonably so. In recent years, taking an anti-anxiety medication or anti-depressant has become as common as taking a multi-vitamin.

How to Alleviate

Two amino acids are known to alleviate depression in many persons. They are tyrosine and L-phenylalanine. The two amino acids are a natural precursor of certain neurotransmitters.

You can't afford what?

Perhaps the only thing worse than depression is having depression and not being able to afford treatment. Needy Meds is a website that offers all the information you need to get your meds free, just click the name of your drug in the list on the left side of the page.

The Medicine Program is for people who do not have insurance and do not qualify for government programs you may qualify to enroll in a privately sponsored program. They do charge a $5 processing fee but the medications themselves are free. Volunteers staff this organization and the processing fee covers their expenses. This company will contact the drug manufacturer on your behalf, or you can choose to contact the drug companies themselves. Free Samples - Often pharmaceutical companies provide physicians with free samples. Ask your doctor is he/she has any samples on hand of your medication.