Depression is definitely a real illness although mental health experts agree that there is no single cause.  There are several types of depression to include Major Depressive Disorder (very common), Post Partum Depression (occurs in women after childbirth), and Psychotic Depression (feelings of sadness accompanied with hallucinations and/or breaks with reality).

Everyone feels sad from time to time but if those feelings have not gone away after a few days you might want to examine other symptoms. 

• Persistent sad, anxious or "empty" feelings


• Feelings of hopelessness and/or pessimism


• Feelings of guilt, worthlessness and/or helplessness


• Irritability, restlessness

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ADD stands for attention deficit disorder and is often referred to as ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder).  It is a biological brain condition very common among children and can continue unto adulthood.  The primary symptoms are lack of focus, fidgeting, hyperactivity and poor impulse control.  If a child has ADD it could affect how they function in school and or social interactions. 

Everyone (including you and your children, wife or girlfriend) will have feelings of sadness at times during thier lives.  There is no clear answer for when normal sadness can be diagnosed as clinical depression but these are some of the signs that a person may have a problem:

• loss of appetite


• excessive sleeping (sleeping all day, every day)


• significant weight loss and/or disinterest in eating


• feelings of guilt, worthlessness or helplessness


• irritability and/or restlessness


• talk of suicide

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Psychiatrists are medical doctors and psychologists are not.  Psychiatrists treat mental issues such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia with medicine (i.e. pills).   Psychologists use counseling and/or therapy to deal with mental health issues. The suffix "-iatry" means "medical treatment," and "-logy" means "science" or "theory." So psychiatry is the medical treatment of the psyche, and psychology is the science of the psyche.