Everyone feels down once in a while, perhaps due to a week at work not going well or a problem in a relationship. Major depression, also known simply as "depression,", is an ongoing illness involving despair so severe and so chronic that it can take away someone's desire to enjoy time with friends, to get out of bed for weeks, or, in extreme cases, to go on living. Although when someone lives with depression symptoms, it is a dark time for them and their loved ones, it helps to know that depression symptoms are due to a brain chemistry dysfunction, and that the suffering of someone with depression is not due to laziness or weakness--someone can't "bootstrap" themselves out of it. A potential way out is through therapy: Medication, psychotherapy, and art therapy all can help ("I truly do believe that Art Heals," says artist Chrysti, who has bipolar disorder, of which depression is a component). Added to the support of one's loved ones, there are many potential paths toward being well again.

By Eric Nestler, M.D., Ph.D., Nash Family Professor and Chair, Department of Neuroscience; Director, Brain Institute; Mount Sinai School of Medicine

Depression is a serious illness that has an enormous impact on humanity: one in six individuals will experience clinical depression at some point during their lifetime, with depression ranked, by the World Health Organization, as the number one cause of disease burden worldwide. Sadly, a "cure" for depression does not yet exist. But, despite the limitations of today's treatments, recent strides in depression research show hope for the eventual development of cures for depression.