Depression

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.

About the author:

Jonathan Rottenberg is a Professor of Psychology at the University of South Florida, where he is the Director of Clinical Training and Director of the Mood and Emotion Laboratory. He is an expert on the depression epidemic, on emotional functioning in depression, and on why some people thrive after depression. His work has been funded by the National Institute of Mental Health and has been covered by Scientific American, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and Time. Rottenberg is author of The Depths: The Evolutionary Origins of the Depression Epidemic and the editor of Emotion and Psychopathology: Bridging Affective and Clinical Science. He is also the founder of Depression Army, an international social media campaign that raises awareness about depression.

Table of contents

Acknowledgements

Part I: Definitions of Depression

Chapter 1: The Challenge of Defining Depression
Chapter 2: The Syndrome of Clinical Depression
Chapter 3: When Should I Worry that I Might be Depressed?
Chapter 4: The Prevalence of Depression
Chapter 5: The Consequences of Depression

Part II: Origins of Depression and The Depression Epidemic

Chapter 6: Biological Contributions to Depression
Chapter 7: Environmental and Psychological Contributions to Depression
Chapter 8: Depression Throughout the Life Course
Chapter 9: Depression Over Time
Chapter 10: Why is There an Epidemic of Depression?

Part III: Remedies for Depression

Chapter 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 Person

Part IV: Life After Depression

Chapter 14: What's the Long-Term Prognosis for Depression?
Chapter 15: Life after Depression
Chapter 16: Charting a New Future for Depression

Resources
Index