Living With Depression

Andrea Yates shocked the nation when she admitted to systematically drowning her five children in their Texas home. This 36-year-old mother had previously been diagnosed with depression and consequently was prescribed antidepressants. Depression is an ancient and prevalent mental condition that has been referenced throughout history in song, poetry and literature. In a depressed state one feels hopeless and experiences an overwhelming sense of despair. Depression immobilizes a person; they lack both the desire and the energy to carry on their usual activities. It afflicts men and women, rich and poor, young and old alike.

According to the November 1993 issue of the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, more than one hundred million people throughout the world suffer from depression. Each year, more people seek relief from this disabling mental condition than any medical disease, including the common cold. In 1990 the cost of depression exceeded $43 billion in the United States alone. The economic toll is staggering and includes medical treatment, lost work-time, and depression-related suicide.

Why are some people more susceptible to depression than others? Hippocrates, the father of medicine, theorized that we are born into one of four primary temperament styles and that each style has it