The world is a continuously developing place that us humans are required to live in. The human race is filled with different struggles in our day to day life that can bring us to the end of our wit. We all have good and bad days, however facing a struggle at some point in our life is inevitable. This “struggle” can either be a past event that still dwells deep inside, or something that is continuous that successfully holds onto your soul and holds you back from succeeding in life. Throughout trying to overcome this struggle, it is common for people to question “is this worth it” or even “am I worth it?” Everything described above are signs of depression. This paper will go into depth describing what depression is, the risk factors associated with developing depression, the signs and symptoms, the diagnosis and treatment process, and finally how to prevent or lessen the chances of developing depression.

Has there ever been a time where you felt a little blue or sad? If so, you are not alone because that is a quite normal feeling of being human. This well known feeling is called depression, which is a state of mental illness. Depression is identified by deep, long lasting feelings of misery and a loss of interest in many aspects of life which can negatively change someone’s thinking, feelings, as well as their social behavior. Depression is commonly referred to as the “common cold of mental disorders” which means that nearly everyone will be indirectly or directly affected by depression in their life. Between the ages of 15 and 30 is when depression can begin to affect someone, however women are about twice as likely to suffer from depression than men. Women’s hormones are the largest reason as to why depression is more prevalent in women than men. Due to women’s menstrual cycles being linked to mood disorders, it points to a relationship between female sex hormones and mood. Despite menopause being deemed as a time when depression risk declines for women, the perimenopausal period is when there is an increased risk of depression for women who have a history of depression. In addition to Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder there are several other types of depression. Examples include Major De