Studies has shown that there appears to be a genetic component to depression. That is, if one of your parents has a depressive illness, you may end up suffering from depression yourself.
Dysthymia is a chronic form of depression that occurs when you suffer from a mild to moderate depression for at least two years. Although dysthymia causes problems in everyday life, dysthymia is not severe enough to warrant hospitalitation. The chronic nature of the disorder means that you may believe that you have always felt like this.
The good news is that there are a wide range of medications to treat major depression, such as antidepressants. There are many kinds of medications arround, and you may have to try a few untill you and your psychiatrist find the perfect one with little to no side effects.
As of the time of writing, the antidepressants most commonly used are SSRIs and SNRIs (selective serotinin reuptake inhibitors and serotinin-neropinephrine reuptake inhibitors). These refers to the types of neurotransmitters (chemicals in the brain that affect mood, among other thing) that they affect.
With antidepressants, it is extremely important not to stop medication at all once, unless there are serious side effects and even then, only under medical advice. This is because discontinuation syndrome. Simply put, this means that your body gets used to the medication being in your system (different to addiction where you crave the drug) and your experience symptoms such as nausea, dizziness and insomnia, to name a few.
Another important way to treat depression is psychotheraphy in one form or another. This can help you by learning coping skills to deal with depressive thoughts and negative thinking, as well as having someone to speakto with complete privacy.
