What is Depression?
When a young person is clinically depressed they may feel 'down', sad, disappointed or upset for lots of reasons - such as struggling with school work, relationship hassles or the death of a friend or family member. These are very normal reactions to some of the difficulties in everyday life.

Anyone feeling this way may say they are feeling 'depressed'. When doctors talk of 'depression', they are describing a particular set of illnesses which involve a persistent feeling of sadness - an all-encompassing sense of despair which continues for at least 2 weeks.