I am glad the meetings exist. It has helped me build friendships – prior to this I had no friends here in Houston. DBSA Greater Houston participant

WHAT IS DEPRESSION?
Depression is a treatable medical illness involving an imbalance of brain chemicals called neurotransmitters and neuropeptides. It is not a character flaw or a sign of personal weakness. Just like you cannot "wish away" diabetes, heart disease or any other physical illness, you cannot make depression go away by trying to "snap out of it." Episodes of depression often follow stressful events such as marital problems or the death of a loved one. People who have recurrent episodes of major depression are sometimes said to have "unipolar depression" or what used to be called "clinical depression," where the individual experiences periods of low or depressed mood. This is unlike someone with bipolar disorder who goes through periods of both low and high moods. While depression can be linked to genetic history, many people with the illness have no family history of depression. The exact causes of depression still are not clear. What we do know is that both genetics and a stressful environment, or life situation, contribute to its cause or sudden onset. Some of the signs and symptoms of someone suffering with depression: