Depression seems to be a very modern problem with increasing numbers of people affected by it; to make matters worse it is now recognized that there is more than one type of this illness. The cause is often (but not always) about issues that have not been rectified; although it is perfectly normal to be depressed on occasion. People who are depressed require specialized medical help with their condition and should seek it at an early stage; professionals can help with the situation but also discover the root cause of the condition.

We can all have periods when we feel very low and there is normally a very good reason for this feeling; usually these feelings subside after a short while and are not considered symptoms of depression. The main difference with a depressed person is the level they have reached with whatever is causing the condition; when these issues cannot be resolved and cause high levels of stress, it is not uncommon for this condition to follow.

As far as a person who is depressed is concerned: their problems have gone a stage further and need to be dealt with differently. Many people try to ignore the problems around them hoping they will go away but this usually makes them worse; as a consequence sufferers make themselves ill with worry which may appear as a physical illness but will more than likely appear as a mental condition.

Probably the second most common cause is a person's place of work and could be the result of confrontation, stressful work, intimidation or even harassment; a normal side effect of this condition can be a panic attack. The situation can become so bad that some people are barely able to function either at home or at work; at which point a specialist counselor should be called in to resolve whatever conflict or issues exist.

Sometimes depression can be caused by an illness that causes a chemical imbalance in the body; this can give rise to these feelings even though the person does not have any emotional problems.

There is a great deal of responsibility here on the person's doctor to keep a regular check on a patient who has been given medication where these symptoms can occur. One of the biggest problems is where the symptoms of depression do not seem to have any cause that can be discovered; when they don't seem to have any cause that can be identified as the reason for the problem, medical staff will have to research the patient further. The difficulty is getting to person to admit to the problem in the first instance; when the patient refuses to recognize the cause of the condition, the healing process will come to a halt.

Bipolar or manic depression is notoriously difficult to diagnose and owing to the many types of the condition; it can actually take up to five years to get the diagnosis correct! This is not normally something that will just go away on its own so it requires the patient to take a certain amount of control and seek professional help in curing what is generally a long term condition.

Most of the time, moment the depressed person makes this first move towards medical help, there is a sense that something might finally lift; a full recovery is possible providing you take the appropriate steps.