Depression can be a life long, disabling illness characterized by feelings of sadness or irritability, low energy, loss of interest in formerly pleasurable activities, fatigue, poor sleep, eating disturbances and other symptoms. Depressed people often think they are just feeling “blue” and should be able to "snap out of it" on their own. Nothing could be further from the truth. Will power won't cure depression anymore than it will cure a broken leg. Depression needs to be treated. And it can be.

Depression has a particularly nasty cousin called dysthymia, which is a low level depression that has no clear onset and lasts for a very long time. People with this disorder don’t even know that they have it. They just never find life very enjoyable nor have much energy. It is assumed that this is because of “who they are.” Like depression, dysthymia is a treatable illness.

Fortunately, there are many treatments for depression. Cognitive behavior therapy focuses on chains of thoughts that trigger depressed feelings and behaviors that interfere with experiencing success. Insight oriented therapy looks at old feelings that are triggered by present events. Neurofeedback has a place in the treatment of depression, as studies have shown brain wave abnormalities in depression that might be addressed directly.