Is depression a serious illness?
A person’s lifetime experience with depression can vary from a single episode to multiple episodes with full recovery between bouts to chronic depression lasting for years. A person who has had one episode of depression has approximately a 50% chance of having a recurrence. The symptoms an individual experiences tend to be the same in multiple episodes so it is important to know what signs to be alert for so treatment can be started early if the illness relapses. (more…)