Introduction: Depression is a life-changing disorder affecting more than 350 million people worldwide (who.int). Depression isn't just about being sad, and it's not something you can just "snap out of." For many people, depression is a perpetual feeling of unhappiness. This leads people to view life as “grey” and meaningless. It's like being in the depths of despair. However, I am happy to inform you that depression is a treatable illness. There are two main methods for treating depression: medication and therapy. Medications and therapy easily compete in terms of effectiveness, but which is more effective? Depression: Depression is a mood disorder that causes constant feelings of sadness and loss of interest. Depression can affect the way you feel, think and behave. When you have depression, normal daily activities become unsettling and you feel like life isn't worth living. Depression is similar to sadness, but it is in no way comparable. It's normal to feel sad from time to time, and everyone will experience sadness at some point in their lives. Sadness is a normal reaction to a painful experience. Depression is more extreme, it is a clinical illness and if left untreated can lead to self-harm and eventually suicide (coastalhealthinfoservicedotcom). Symptoms of depression include: feelings of sadness, emptiness or unhappiness, insomnia, anxiety, loss of appetite, fatigue, and thoughts of suicide and death (mayoclinic.org). Not everyone with depression will experience the same symptoms or the same severity of symptoms. Typically, five or more symptoms of depression must be present for depression to be diagnosed (Trimarchi). Anyone can suffer from depression, and there is no single cause for depression, but middle of paper......nt forms. Using both medication and therapy gives people the best of both worlds, where they can relieve and cope with their depression. WHO. Np, October 2012. Web. May 20, 2014. “Depression (major depressive disorder). » Mayoclinique. Np, February 21, 2014. Web. April 29, 2014. “Drug vs. Talk Therapy » Consumer Reports. Np, October 2004. Web. April 29, 2014. “Treating Major Depression.” NAMI. Np, and Web. May 01, 2014.Toothman, Jessika. " "Can clinical depression be completely cured? " " Health.HowStuffWorks.Np, September 23, 2010. Web. May 7, 2014. Trimarchi, Maria. “Overview of Depression.” Np, May 12, 2008. Web. May 7, 2014. “What is the difference between being sad and being depressed? » Coastalhealthinfoservicedotcom. Np, April 12, 2011. Web. May 6 2014. 2014.