Clinical Depression may be more of a problem than most of us believe that it is.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a report on depression statistics stating that the number of people who experience depression is doubling every ten years and that by 2020 it will be the most pervasive illness in the world and the second leading cause of death. WHO also states that depression currently ranks second only to heart disease as the leading cause of disabilities associated with illness.

What does this have to do with you?

If you suffer from depression (or know someone who does) you know all too well that it is a challenging condition which interferes with the enjoyment of life and leaves you feeling as if there is no hope that the pain will ever end. But, you may not have recognized the enormity of the problem.

Unfortunately, depression will touch almost every single person during their lifetime.  They will either experience it themselves or know someone who has. Those who do experience depression may suffer its hideous effects for decades or even for a lifetime.

Why is depression currently so pervasive? Furthermore, why is the number of people who will experience it projected to increase at such a rapid rate?  And, most importantly, what can we do about it?

Doctors can’t agree on the cause of depression.  Some say it is a chemical imbalance, while others claim it is a genetic problem. There are others who believe that depression is a “learned behavior.”

The most common treatment for depression today is therapy coupled with antidepressant medication.  This can become costly and time consuming without much success. The question remains… Is it working?

Some people do experience an improved mood when they are prescribed antidepressants.  But, think about this… any mind-altering drug, including antidepressants, has the potential to produce a positive improvement in mood. Is the improved mood that one experiences while taking antidepressants proof that they had a chemical imbalance to begin with.  Not in light of the previous statement.

What this information means is that if therapy and antidepressants were the answers to alleviating depression, the numbers of people suffering its debilitating effects would be decreasing or, at the least, the numbers would remain the same. However, as we’ve already discovered, that is not the case. So, in a nut shell, current methods are not the answer for most depressed people. But, I’m not saying that there is anything wrong with either of these two treatments, but simply that, in most cases, they aren’t necessary nor do they provide the total relief a depressed person is seeking.

It is time for us to open our eyes and, most importantly, our minds to the possibility that since the medical establishment  hasn’t found the cure for depression, that they don’t understand what causes it.  It is my belief that only when we understand the root cause of depression, or any other illness, can we find the answer to truly healing it.