Depression has arguably reached epidemic proportions in the western world.
Most people with the illness never get diagnosed.
It is also common.
Studies of adolescents in New Zealand suggest 40% experience depression during their teen years.
Prozac is the second biggest selling drug in the USA with sales now over $1.
2 billion annually.
Yet, no drug will ever address the cause of depression.
Drugs, in effect, numb the mind and emotions while the body, hopefully, regains its equilibrium.
There are many potential causes of depression, but the number one culprit is negative thinking accompanied by emotional illiteracy.
Let me explain.
When we worry and stress, or feel very negatively about who we are or how we are getting on in life, we sap our energy.
In fact, we may have so little energy left we can't get out of bed.
Our head may get so fogged or clogged with worry, we may be unable to focus on work, or think straight.
When stressed like this, our body/mind system just wants to close down and take time to recover.
So it does.
We find ourselves wanting to retreat from the world and all responsibilities.
We may close the door, go to bed, and try closing our eyes hoping to wake up in better circumstances in six months.
The culprit all along, however, is not wanting, or feeling able, to face either ourselves or the world out there.
However, the way we relate to anything depends on the perspective we take.
We can see the glass as being half full or half empty.
There is a proven link between depression and pessimism.
One leads to the other.
Look around, and see if you can find a depressed optimist.
Depressed people, then, can be trained to view themselves and life differently, even when a crisis looms.
There are plenty of stories of people who have risen above their circumstances because of the perspectives they took.
Consider the story of Victor Frankl who was standing naked, stripped of his clothes, in a cell in a concentration camp when he realized that despite his circumstances, the Nazis had no control over his mind, and that how he chose to think was entirely his own choice.
He also noticed that the perspectives taken by his fellow prisoners largely determined how well they coped with prison life, and which ones survived the ordeal.
If we feel repressed by life, depression may follow.
Repression can be caused by feeling oppressed by the boss, by your partner, by the unhealthy or unpleasant environment you live or work in, by the responsibilities that feel as though they are weighing you down, or by the belief that your life will never be good again because of recent changes or developments.
However, the worst form of repression is the way you speak to yourself.
If you are highly self-critical, or untrusting of self, and generally beat up on yourself, this too causes depression.
What ensures that depression will persist, is suppressing any emotions it brings up.
This means that emotional energy, instead of being expressed, is suppressed, and tends to get channelled back in to thinking, thus creating a loop.
Negative thinking causes negative emotions which cause negative thinking - and so on.
Toxins in the body from ingesting chemicals in food, poor nutrition, may also be a cause.
In addition, the use of drugs, alcohol, nicotine and also the toxic additives in foods may affect the absorption of nutrients the body needs, or cause nutrients to be used to remove the toxins from the body.
Once the body has been put out of balance, a chain reaction may occur which can lead to food sensitivities and allergies.
Post-natal depression is an example of such an imbalance - in hormonal levels in this instance.
It is possible that these can be triggered by pharmaceutical drugs, so it pays to research the 'side effects' (a euphemism for 'toxic effects') of any drugs you take.
Immunization has also been linked to depression.
For similar reasons, environments containing toxins can also trigger a depressive episode.
There are many possible 'badies'.
These include lead, mercury, fluoride, heavy metals, pesticides or any other chemicals we use in the home or at work.
Environments that are unsettling, upsetting, or 'depressive' can also take their toll.
Abusive domestic situations are well known triggers for depression, and on a quite different note, the lack of sunlight in winter is enough to give you the 'winter blues'.
Whether you have short-term 'situational depression' such as might occur after a bereavement or after losing your job, or longer-term depression, the underlying processes at play are similar.
Often people will get over this as they put the loss in perspective by going through the natural grieving process.
There are some in the medical profession who claim that bi-polar disorder - swings from high to low and back again - is related to body chemistry, the presence or absence of certain key minerals.
However, I've never seen any proof that such imbalance in body chemistry is the cause, rather than the effect, of depression.
I believe, along with others, that bipolar disorder is caused initially by similar mis-management of mind and emotions, and that cure is possible by changing how we use these.
However, bipolar disorder may be further 'down the track' in the sense that it is more entrenched, sometimes with accompanying changes in body chemistry, and making it appear more difficult to change.
To get over depression, then, it is important to learn how to cope with life's stresses, and stop worrying, being critical of yourself and others, and looking upon life in pessimistic, gloomy ways.
This requires a change in perspective.
It is the half empty or half full conundrum.
There may also be a need to look carefully at how well your life circumstances are serving you.
Are you getting your needs met in your relationships, your job, your leisure, and by living where you do.
Is there a part of you that yearns for a change in your lifestyle that for some reason you are not making happen.
Perhaps you feel unable to leave your job, get time away from the kids, take time out just for yourself, or escape a relationship that isn't serving you.
Feeling disempowered to do anything, you may feel trapped.
Talking about your situation with a good listener will do much to help, especially sharing your feelings about whatever situations you feel entrapped by or worried about.
However, for anyone to change their life requires the courage to step outside the comfort zone.
Get support to make the changes you know are necessary.
Ask friends, professionals - whoever it takes - and treat yourself as number one until you get better.
Doing nothing will mean you continue to live feeling bad, as you've always done and probably without hope of anything changing.
Now that's depressing.
In The 12 Choices of Winners, which is basically a life-coaching book, I will show you how to use mental and emotional management skills to escape depression and anxiety forever.