Description
A pithy, go-to guide for understanding both what we know about the causes of depression and what to do about it.Depression now affects more than fifteen percent of the population, and it is striking people at younger and younger ages. Depression is all too familiar, yet it remains shrouded in mystery, confusion, and fear. What is depression, exactly? How is it different from sadness? It is said that depression is a "chemical imbalance" but what does that really mean? Which chemicals are involved, and how are they imbalanced? Why is it that just as more research and treatment resources are poured into combating depression, its personal and economic toll has actually grown? What is fueling the epidemic of depression? Is there anything that can be done to stop it?Depression: What Everyone Needs to Know® cuts through the confusion around this often-debilitating illness to address the core of these and other matters. Jonathan Rottenberg offers a practical, reader-friendly synthesis that bridges clinical science, clinical practice, and everyday life. Written in the pithy, straightforward style of Oxford's What Everyone Needs to Know® series, this volume is the essential go-to guide both for understanding what we know about the causes of depression and the depression epidemic, and for learning what to do about it-including material on how to recognize depression in oneself, a family member, or a friend, and how to navigate life after depression. Written for all those who struggle with depression, their loved ones, mental health professionals, and the wider public, Depression: What Everyone Needs to Know® offers guidance for navigating the bewildering marketplace of treatment options while combatting the misinformation and myths that still surround this condition.
Table of Contents
AcknowledgementsPart I: Definitions of DepressionChapter 1: The Challenge of Defining DepressionChapter 2: The Syndrome of Clinical DepressionChapter 3: When Should I Worry that I Might be Depressed?Chapter 4: The Prevalence of DepressionChapter 5: The Consequences of DepressionPart II: Origins of Depression and The Depression EpidemicChapter 6: Biological Contributions to DepressionChapter 7: Environmental and Psychological Contributions to DepressionChapter 8: Depression Throughout the Life CourseChapter 9: Depression Over TimeChapter 10: Why is There an Epidemic of Depression?Part III: Remedies for DepressionChapter 11: What are My Treatment Options?Chapter 12: What Can the Depressed Person Do for Him or Herself?Chapter 13: How to Talk about Depression and Help a Depressed PersonPart IV: Life After DepressionChapter 14: What's the Long-Term Prognosis for Depression?Chapter 15: Life after DepressionChapter 16: Charting a New Future for DepressionResourcesIndex
