The Most Comprehensive List Of Depression Resources On The Web

Today, depression is one of the leading disorders facing adults, teens, and children, and while an increasing number of people seek help, an even larger contingency of the population suffer in silence. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare has stated that everyone will at some point in their lifetime be affected by depression, either through experiencing it themselves, or through a close friend. Recovering from depression is a long and treacherous rode, often requiring the treatment of underlying causes of depression as oppossed to merely a chemical imbalance.

Of course, the first step to recoving from depression is recognizing that you have a problem. The following list of articles and statistics are designed to help you learn more about what depression is, the symptoms of depression, how to seek help, and how to begin to recover.

Statistics on Depression in the United States

The following statistics were gathered by PBS .

  • Depression affects 15 million American adults, which is roughly 8% of the U.S. population.
  • Bipolar disorder or manic depression affects a staggering 6 million American adults. This is roughly 3% of the population.
  • Women are twice as likely to develop depression as men.
  • 80% of people who experience depression do not receive any sort of treatment.
  • 80-90% of people who experience serious depression are unemployed.
  • 90% of people who commit suicide have some sort of diagnosable mental illness.
  • Scientists predict that by the year 2020 depression will be the 2nd most prevalent health problem in the world.

General Information on Depression

  • Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance: DBSA, who’s tagline is “We’ve Been There. We Can Help,” has a fantastic website set up for those struggling with depression. The site has an area where you can get connected with lectures, treatment centers, support groups, and surveys going on in your area, a section for signs and symptoms of depression, recovery steps, and how to help a loved one.
  • Depression.com: Depression.com has sections on understanding depression, treating depression, how to live with depression day by day, and Web resources. They also have a question and answer section specifically on types of drugs and side effects.
  • Families for Depression Awareness: Families for Depression Awareness is a nonprofit organization helping families recognize and cope with depressive disorders. They provide education, support, and advocacy. The site features a guide you can buy, an audio podcast series, resources, information on depression and specifically depression amongst teens, and expert and family profiles.
  • The Health Center : The Health Center is broken up into pages for adults, teens, and children. Topics covered are anxiety, depression, stress, ADD/ADHD, mood swings, social anxiety, and bipolar/manic depression.
  • Mayo Clinic: The Mayo Clinic provides information on coping and support groups, alternative medicine (such as exercise, etc.), lifestyle and home remedies, risk factors, symptoms, tests and diagnoses that are often run, and treatment and drugs.
  • National Institute of Mental Health : National Institute of Mental Health has a fantastic resource center on depression. It covers symptoms, signs, what illnesses can coexist with depression, various age groups and their experiences with depression, how to get help, how to help a friend, and where to go for more information.
  • National Mental Health Information Center : This site has statistics on depression, information on what causes depression, how depression is treated, and what some common mood disorders are. The site also has a list of helpful resources.
  • The New York Times Health Guide: The New York Times Health Guide has a great section on depression. It has all articles and feature stories written about depression by the N.Y. Times, as well as general information, causes, home care, when to contact a medical professional, what to expect at your office visit, and prevention tips.
  • Psychology Information Online: Psychology Information Online has a section devoted to depression. It has information on medication, treatment, teen depression, depression in seniors, causes, diagnosis, types of depression, and a frequently asked questions section.
  • Walkers in Darkness: Walkers in Darkness has an archive of articles written about depression in the past year. If you’re interested in getting some information from journalists and outside sources, this is an excellent source.

Universities on Depression

  • Stanford School of Medicine: Stanford School of Medicine conducts research on depression. Their website has a great overview of depression that includes information on symptoms for major depression, depression with psychotic features, dysthymic disorder, and bipolar disorder, as well as causes of depression, and treatment of major depression.
  • University of Buffalo : University of Buffalo has a well-written and brief page on depression. It covers what depression is, the causes, symptoms, how to overcome depression, and how to help a depressed person.
  • University of Maryland: University of Maryland has a section on its website for “overcoming depression.” It includes general symptoms, a guide for supervisors, and a small list of resources.
  • University of Michigan:University of Michigan’s Depression Center has interviews with professionals, a section for men suffering from depression, workshops and support groups, a place where you can participate in depression research, a page for friends of depression victims, and depression in the college population. Beyond this, you can find resources and help-lines.

Seniors and Depression:

  • Care2.com : Care2′s section on healthy and green living has a page devoted to seniors and depression. The page lists warning signs, how to bring up the subject of depression, how to encourage a loved one to visit a doctor, and links to other relevant websites.
  • Depression in Seniors : This page, published by Psychology Information Online, talks about how depression is a completely normal part of aging. It goes over what depression is, types of clinical depression, a depression symptom checklist, causes of depression, medication, and where you can get help.
  • FamilyDoctor.org: FamilyDoctor.org has a page entitled, “Depression and Older Adults.” The page has a video giving an overview of depression (including symptoms, causes, and treatment), as well as written information overlaying the same ideas.

Men and Depression

  • Postpartum Dads : In the case of postpartum depression, new moms are not the only ones who are affected. Dads also must learn to cope with this disease. The site Postpartum Dads provides information for fathers whose wives are dealing with PPD. It has personal recovery stories, how to help new moms, how to deal with rejection, and even stories about PPD and separation.
  • Mayo Clinic: Mayo Clinic has a whole section dedicated to male depression and understanding the unique issues of this disease. It talks about the issues behind male depression, why male depression often goes undiagnosed, symptoms, and male depression and suicide.
  • Men and Depression: Men and Depression, published by At Health, covers types of depression, symptoms, co-occurance of depression and other illnesses, causes of depression, medications, what to do if you encounter a depressed individual who may be suicidal, and much more.
  • WebMD: WebMD has a brief section on Depression in Men. It covers why depression in men is often not recognized, if depression affects sexual desire and performance, what some observable symptoms of depression are in men, and what the consequences are of untreated depression.

Postpartum Depression

  • The Center for Postpartum Adjustment:While this is actually a site for individual, marital, and group therapy for new parents, The Center for Postpartum Adjustment also provides a plethora of information on postpartum depression, including statistics, myths of motherhood, risk factors, a section for fathers, impact on the couples, key facts, and symptoms.
  • Google Health Postpartum Depression: Google Health has an informational section on postpartum depression, including symptoms, causes, treatment, tests and diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, complications, and when you should contact a doctor.
  • HelpGuide.org: Helpguide.org has a section on its site called “Postpartum Depression and the Baby Blues.” The information listed is extensive and well-organized. In the article you can find information on signs and symptoms of PPD, causes and risk factors, how postpartum depression can affect the baby, how to get treatment for PPD, how to cope with postpartum depression, and related links.
  • Pacific Postpartum Support Society: Pacific Postpartum Support Society has a self-help guide, a list of useful resources, services the organization offers, personal accounts of women’s experiences recovering from PPD and a place where individuals can either donate or get involved.
  • Postpartum Depression: Postpartum Depression’s site is a great message board for those suffering from PPD. The board has over 65,646 messages posted on its board and an easy-to-use search engine so that you can easily browse through the many topics.
  • Postpartum Education For Parents: The site Postpartum education for parents has support options, a self-assessment questionnaire, suggested reading, a section for fathers, families, and friends, and related links. There is also a new parent discussion group.
  • Postpartum Support International : Postpartum Support International is strongly dedicated to helping women who suffer from postpartum depression. They do this both through providing resources, information for family and friends, support centers, and a section where individuals can get involved.
  • Post Natal Depression Support Association: Post Natal Depression Support Association is an organization located in South Africa whose aim is to provide women and families with information on postpartum depression, and to ensure early detection of the disease so that individuals can quickly recover.
  • The Online PPD Support Group: The Online PPD Support Group has online forums and discussion groups, a newsletter, events and educational resources, and suggested books and publications. For those who are suffering from PPD, this can be a great place to go and connect with other mothers experience the same problems.
  • The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services : Womenshealth.gov has a section entitled “Depression During and After Pregnancy.” It answers questions such as, “What is depression?” “How common is depression during and after pregnancy?” “How do I know if I have depression?” “What causes postpartum depression,” and much more.

Children/Teens and Depression:

  • About Teenage Depression : Published by Sue Scheff, an experienced parent advocate and founder of Parents Universal Resource Experts, About Teenage Depression covers warning signs, causes, statistics, and how to deal with anxiety.
  • Adolescent Depression: Medline Plus publishes a page on Adolescent Depression. The page goes over causes, symptoms, exams and tests, treatment, prognosis, possible complications, when to contact a medical professional, and how to prevent teen depression.
  • Depression in Children and Adolescents: Published by the National Institute of Mental Health, this section of the site focuses on children and adolescents. It has information on treatment, bipolar disorder in adolescents, children and violence, antidepressant medication for children, clinical trials, information about medications, and the risk of suicide.
  • HelpGuide.org: HelpGuide.org has a section called, “Dealing with Teen Depression.” It includes information on what depression feels like, how to deal with suicidal thoughts, what an individual can do to make themselves feel better, talking to your parents, helping a depressed friend, and related links.
  • KidsHealth.org: KidsHealth.org focuses exclusively on depression in teens and children. It has information on depression for parents, as well as other related articles. The site can also be translated into Spanish.
  • The New York Times’ Adolescent Depression : The New York Times has a section published on adolescent depression. It covers recent news, causes, alternative names, symptoms, types of exams and tests used to diagnose, treatment, medication, prognosis, possible complications, prevention, and when to contact a medical professional.
  • SAMHSA’s National Mental Health Information Center : The United States Department of Health and human Services has a section on major depression in children and adolescents. The page has information on mental health problems, statistics, information on how common depression is, how you can help a young person with depression, what parents can do, and important messages about children’s and adolescents’ mental health.
  • Teen Depression Girls:Psychology Today has an article published on how to get closer to your teenage daughter and prevent depression. It gives excellent suggestion son how to effectively communicate with your teenage daughter or sibling.
  • Understanding and Dealing with Depression : Understanding and Dealing with Depression focuses exclusively on ages 6 to 12 years old. The site is written by Michael G. Conner, who is a clinical and medical psychologist. He talks about symptoms and behaviors associated with depressed children, serious and critical symptoms, common treatment approaches, and he offers advice to parents who may have a depressed child.
  • WebMD : WebMD’s section on Teen Depression goes over why adolescents get depressed, what the symptoms are of depression, how teen depression is diagnosed and treated, medication, warning signs, and what to do if your teen is suicidal.

Bipolar Disorder

  • 4Parents.gov: 4Parents has a page dedicated to bipolar disorder with characters of manic states and depressed states. The site focuses specifically on kids.
  • Bipolar Disorder in Children and Teens : This page is published by the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. It lists manic symptoms, depressive symptoms, and additional information for families.
  • Bipolar Disorder: Published by Medline Plus, this section on bipolar disorder has overviews, latest news, diagnosis and symptoms to look out for, treatment options, statistics, health check tools, current research, how to cope and disease management, and how it affects children, teenagers, and women.
  • eMedicinehealth.com: This site has an extensive page of information on bipolar and manic disorder. Browse through therapy options, self-care at home, medical treatment options, exams and tests, when to seek medical care, alternative medicine options, and Web links.
  • Manic Depression Highs and Lows: This site talks about what a ‘manic depressive’ state means, how it is diagnosed, what the treatment options are, and what the prognosis is. It also gives you a link that allows you to read personal accounts.

Treatment Directories

  • 4DepressionTherapy.com : This site has a great search engine with all licensed professionals who specialize in helping those suffering from depression.
  • American Psychological Association: American Psychological Association has a directory of doctors and therapists working with the American Psychological Association. Contact one in your area and get linked to a variety of top notch psychologists and therapists.
  • CounselingBook.com: CounselingBook.com allows you to search by keyword, category, state, city, and zip code for treatment centers, therapists, support groups, psychological assessments and many more helpful groups.
  • Find-a-Therapist : Find-a-Therapist allows you to search by type of therapist or help you need (such as counseling, treatment centers, etc), the U.S. city or zip code, and the search radius.
  • Psychology Today: Psychology Today has a directory of therapists. You can narrow your search by selecting the kind of help you need through a list of options, or by searching by city or zip.
  • SAMHSA’s Mental Health Service Locator: With this locator you can find comprehensive information about mental health services, resources, and professionals in your area.
  • TherapistLocator.net: TherapistLocater.net allows you to search for therapists in the United States, Canada, and overseas. Every single therapist listed on the site has at least a master’s degree in the profession and most specialize in depression.