Depression. What is it? Is it normal? Is it shameful?

Depression is a real mental health syndrome that affects many people. No, it isn???t shameful; it shouldn???t be ignored in the hope that it will just go away. Most often, it won???t go away, but instead will grow into an even more severe problem.

Depression is an illness but a treatable one. Sadness and grief are normal aspects of our emotional lives. Major depression, however, is a feeling of hopelessness that won???t go away. It can bring on an emotional and physical paralysis that stops the sufferer from getting through daily life. It can profoundly impact a person???s emotional and physical life, as well as relationships with family and friends. It???s a frightening cycle that can lead to true despair and suicidal tendencies.

In recent years, treatment for depression has become more sophisticated, as medical researchers have learned more about how treatments affect brain function. One major breakthrough in the treatment of depression was the discovery of fluoxitine in the early 1970s. Fluoxitine is the active ingredient in the anti-depressive medication marketed as Prozac, which was approved for use by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) in 1987.

Fluoxitine is a serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), which means that it increases the amount of serotonin flowing into the brain, greatly easing depression as well as panic feelings, obsessive compulsive disorder and bulimia. Since its introduction, fluoxitine has become the most popular anti-depressive medication available.

It is now sold in different formulations under different trade names, and is used to treat related depressive syndromes including premenstrual syndrome and the ???intrusive thoughts??? that can accompany obsessive disorders.

The breakthrough of fluoxitine has eased the pain of depression for countless sufferers, and the good news is that it is leading to even more effective treatments. For sufferers who reach out for help, now there is even more hope.