From the author: Despite the fact that every sixth person on our planet suffers from depression at least once in their life, there are many myths around this disease. And yet, it’s better to know the “enemy” by sight - isn’t it? Is it true that with depression you can’t have a good mood at all? No, that’s not quite there. Sometimes bright and joyful events (a party with friends, a date, a holiday, a trip) give an experience of elation and pleasure, but when the event passes, everything returns to normal. First of all, what matters is the fact that a depressed mood persists most of the time - a day, a week, a month. In addition, experts say that short-term mood lifts occur with atypical depression. So pay attention, first of all, to the depth of the experience of melancholy and depression. I often feel better in the evenings. I feel in good shape and have time to do a lot. Does this mean that I do not have depression, but simply laziness and weakness of will? It is impossible to make a diagnosis in absentia, as well as to refute it. But for depression, evening improvement is very typical. For two or three hours a person seems to return to normal, and in the morning he again experiences despondency and fatigue. If we are talking about anxiety-depressive disorder, the opposite picture may be observed - improvement in the first half of the day. My loved ones often tell me that if I did hard physical labor, I would quickly recover. That all my depression is because I think too much. Is this true? There is no evidence that hard physical work cures depression, just as the habit of “thinking a lot” provokes it. Depression is treated with psychotherapy and antidepressants, and nothing else. But during the treatment process, feasible physical activity in the gym (or walking outside) really improves the condition. Sometimes it seems to me that there is simply not enough joy in my life. If more good things happened to me, I wouldn't be depressed. I don't know if you're really depressed (maybe you're healthy and actually lack positive emotions), but it's already known that a lot of stressful events predisposes to this disease. And then it becomes a vicious circle: the lost ability to rejoice leads to the avoidance of familiar and favorite forms of activity, which in turn increases melancholy. When I read about the symptoms of depression, it seems to me that everything is not so bad for me. But in fact, I’m far from the norm - I’m not in the right mood, I don’t want anything. What’s wrong with me? Only a doctor can give a reasoned answer to your question after talking with you. I can only mention dysthymia - a subdepressive condition in which low mood, low self-esteem and an inability to enjoy pleasure are observed for a long time. Dysthymia also requires treatment. Is it true that antidepressants make you fat? No, it’s not. Do they cause addiction? No. If I start taking antidepressants, will I become a completely different person? Antidepressants do not affect personality in any way and, therefore, nothing in people don't change. But they effectively remove symptoms and give strength for fruitful psychotherapy. If I have already been diagnosed with depression and I am not treated, will it be worse for me? According to available data, depression is often chronic, and each subsequent episode in the absence of treatment is longer and more severe form. Russian psychiatrists also claim that once a depressive episode begins, if left untreated, in 40% of cases it does not go away even after a year (see here: http://www.psychiatry.ru/cond/0/diss/2005/16 ).Is it possible to cure depression completely - so that it never happens again? Yes, it is possible. This requires not only antidepressants, but also full-fledged psychotherapy, during which you will begin to understand and hear yourself much better than before, and in addition, you will learn methods of self-help. This means that even if individual symptoms of depression make themselves felt (and from difficult situations that provoke this.