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? 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, offers guidance for navigating the bewildering marketplace of treatment options while combatting the misinformation and myths that still surround this condition.