Depression: A Major Mental Illness Depression is a major mental illness. So major that it can be life threatening. Depression is a terrible illness to not only you, but to your family. I believe an individual with this illness needs treatment as soon as possible. Depression is a mood state that goes well beyond feeling sad or upset. Major depression is a serious medical illness that can affect your thoughts, feelings, behavior, and even physical health. About 5-8 percent of Americans have a case of depression each year. That’s around 25 million Americans suffering from major depression this year! According to the World Health Organization, it is the forth-leading contributor to Global Burden of Disease. Anybody can be burdened with the illness. Men, women, all race, and size. Even kids can be depressed. (http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=depression) Major depression is very serious. Like the saying goes, wine gets better with time; with major depression, it is the opposite. The longer you deal with this depression the worse your case gets. Depression causes more than just harm to you. It could even cause death! Depression can get so overwhelming in a persons mind that they decide that it is too much and take their own life. Over 90 percent of people who die by suicide have the mental illness of depression. That is a huge number! (http://www.webmd.com/depression/guide/depression-recognizing-signs-of-suicide) Depression can and should be treated as a mental illness. There is no reason to have to deal with such a horrible thing if it can be prevented. It is not worth the physical and mental harm to the body, and even death! The number one cause of suicide in the United States is untreated depression. http://www.suicide.org/suicide-causes.html) If you know anyone depressed or even if you think that they may be depressed