Depression is a disease,” according to medicine, it is a reaction of the body resulting from an imbalance in the neurotransmitters of the brain. And all these symptoms are indeed confirmed by official medicine. Nowadays, there is a new round of the old disease: severe fatigue, apathy, unwillingness to do anything, a desire only to be left alone, a feeling of depression. But depression is not just an epidemic of our century. It had happened before, it was just that this condition was referred to in different terms. The ancient Greeks said that people with depression had an excess of black bile (melancholia). Mention of this disease can be found in the ancient Greek physician and philosopher Empedocles (c. 490 BC - c. 430 BC), and the term melancholy was introduced by Hippocrates (460 BC - 356 BC .e). In the 19th century, during the times of romantic writers, doctors called all human psychological disorders neurasthenia. An example is the images of M.Yu. Lermontov, Lord Byron or Charles Baudelaire. The term “neurasthenia” itself appeared thanks to the American neurologist George Beard. He called it a disease of modern life, since it arises from the fear of new times, industrial changes and the big city. Neurasthenia became the first “fashionable disease” that interested both scientists, the media, artists, writers and the rest of society. If “black bile”, melancholy or neurasthenia are considered synonymous with the modern word “depression”, then all this can be called a disease of those who have not been able to adapt to life in modern society. It is quite easy for a psychotherapist to identify depression in order to prescribe medications and therapeutic agents for its treatment. Depressive syndrome has several obvious signs: deterioration in mood, decreased energy and, accordingly, reluctance to engage in any activity, decreased ability to enjoy even favorite and interesting things or activities (anhedonia), decreased concentration, and unjustified fatigue. But, to be honest, are there people in the modern world who have never experienced such symptoms? Most modern people are in constant stress due to social pressure, imposed criteria, and the eternal race for money and beauty. So, maybe all the above criteria for depression are just temporary psychological problems? According to the World Health Organization, about 150 million people suffer from depression every year in the world. According to studies conducted in the USA, people susceptible to depression are twice as likely to die from others diseases. And in people with severe chronic diseases or cancer, the rate of depression is much higher than in healthy people. In Western Europe, the USA and Canada, about 80% of antidepressants are prescribed by general practitioners, not psychiatrists. In Russia and other former Soviet republics, many of these drugs (except for severe ones that cause side effects) can be prescribed by local doctors. Most often, they do not have the necessary experience or qualifications for this. According to WHO forecasts, by 2020 depression will take first place in the world among all diseases, overtaking today's leaders - infectious and cardiovascular diseases. Already today it is the most common a disease that is more common in women. Moreover, the ratio of 1:2 (men:women) does not depend on the country of residence of people, nor on social status or age. Why is there such a huge difference between men and women? Statistics on the consumption of antidepressants indicate that women use them twice as often as men. Does this mean that women are more susceptible to depression than men? Maybe they perceive negative or difficult moments in life differently and need more.