Depression is perhaps the most common of all mental health problems, currently felt to affect one in every four adults to some degree. Depression is a problem with mood/feeling in which the mood is described as sad, feeling down in the dumps, being blue, or feeling low. While the depressed mood is present, evidence is also present which reflects the neurochemical or "brain chemistry" aspects of depression with the depressed individual experiencing poor concentration/attention, loss of energy, accelerated thought/worry, sleep/appetite disturbance, and other physical manifestations.

Obsessive-compulsive disorders Symptoms (OCD) are having behaviors or thoughts that are over and over again and if these behavior or thoughts are not done then there is an anxious feeling of incompleteness. Some of the behaviors are normal everyday things, for example washing ones hands, checking doors or stoves, and some of the things can be unusual, counting to ten, counting while waiting for someone, hoarding money, or other things. These symptoms can range from mild to severe.

The brain neurotransmitter often associated with depression is called serotonin. Serotonin is the brain's "oil", a rather slow-acting neurotransmitter that is associated with sleep, appetite, energy, alertness, and mood - just to name a few. Using the automobile as an example, if we drive our car to California at a speed of 120 mile per hour, running the engine hot for a long time, it would obviously use more oil.

Depression is one of the most common psychological problems in modern Britain. It's also on the increase. More people are seeking professional help because of depressive illnesses than ever before. This handout describes some of the more common symptoms of depression and suggests ways to combat them. These symptoms can be both cognitive (what we think) and physiological (physical changes in the body). It's important to tackle both sets of symptoms in order to successfully overcome depression.

Depression is the rising problem. It is rising by leaps and bounds. The problems like stress and tension have become too common. These mainly lead to anxiety and depression. It is very common for a person to have depression these days. The cut- throat competition and the rising expectations both at work place and family have led the person to go out of capacity and this leads to low productivity and the result is depression. But depression is very dangerous as this leads chronic problems like diabetes, heart trouble etc.

Depressed people tend to think in a particular way. They tell themselves the same sort of gloomy, pessimistic things over and over again. This is what psychologists call negative thinking. After a while this pattern of thinking becomes a habit. When that happens it is described as automatic negative thinking. This habit formation is one of the most damaging aspects of depression as it locks the sufferer into a downward spiral which drags them deeper and deeper into despair. Later we'll consider ways of breaking the cycle but for now it's enough simply to recognize some of the more common thought patterns and the effect they have on depressive behavior.