According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness depression does not have a single cause. Due to this ambiguity many people in todays society feel that that Depression is a personal problem and can be overcome internally. They are ignorant to the fact that depression affects the brain and emotions of a person suffering from it. It is time for society to become educated about Depression and accept it as a mental illness. To the opponents of Depression how do you justify the symptoms that exist such as fatigue, suicide, over-eating, persistent feelings of sadness, emptiness and hopelessness and the lasting effects that it leaves and victim and surrounding family members/significant others. Depression cannot be found in the Diagnostics and Statistics Manual V, so therefore it is not mentally coded and not technically a real mental illness. However, there is a general definition for it. According to Merriam Webster Depression is defined as a serious medical condition in which a person feels very sad, hopeless, and unimportant and often is unable to live in a normal way. Due to the definition not being in the DSM V it contributes to people not taking it seriously. They feel that if the government won't even acknowledge it as a mental illness then why should they. It also affects the individual suffering from it. They cannot simply be diagnosed with just depression. They have to have it linked with another mental disorder such as bipolar, or schizophrenia in order to for it to be covered by their insurance company. If you ask me that is just not right, they are being given another mental illness that they might not even have. Society has developed and created certain biases toward mental illnesses that imply that those diagnosed with a specific type of mental disorder should be treated a particular way. By psychologists linking depression with other types of mental disorders could potentially be causing them to receive hurtful treatment from society for something they dont even really have. This could leave lasting effects on them forever mentally, physically, and emotionally. The general symptoms of depression are loss in appetite, low self-esteem, pessimistic, changes in sleeping patterns (too little or not enough), energy loss, aches and pains, thoughts of suicide, constant sadness, irritability/moodiness, and memory loss. Depression affects each person differently. Some suffering from it experience multiple symptoms, some only experience a few. It does take a toll on them, According to Jan Silver Maguire, who suffers from depression, I wasn't actively suicidal, but I couldn't see the purpose in living. Thanks to her support from family she was able to get through it. Which brings me to another point, Depression not only affect the person suffering from it but the surrounding family, and friends as well. Some people lack the capability and desire to care for themselves which in many cases causes friends or family to step up and do it for them or make sure it gets done. Caring for someone who suffers from depression puts a significant amount of stress on that person: The behaviors and mood of a depressed person affect the whole family. There's the irritability, which sets off conflicts and derails family dynamics. The negative thought pattern