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It's very common to go through some event in life, like a loved one's death, or a divorce, or whatever, and feel the need to talk to someone about how to deal with it. And often such events have such an effect on a person that he/she becomes depressed. It seems to me that such depression is perfectly normal. I mean, who wouldn't be a little bit or even greatly depressed when going through a divorce or when a parent, spouse, child, friend dies?

Yet, it's also very common that one of the first things the medical profession will do is hand you drugs and blame your depression on a chemical imbalance. Then, the person seeking treatment finds that the drugs have nasty side-effects such as sexual disfunction that are also very depressing. A vicious cycle made worse. Not exactly better living through chemistry.

I guess what I'm saying is that if one seeks the services of the psychological or psychiatric professions, be cautious. There are some miracle drugs on the market, but drugs won't do the work for you and can make things worse. Sometimes life just hurts.

And often such events have such an effect on a person that he/she becomes depressed. It seems to me that such depression is perfectly normal. I mean, who wouldn't be a little bit or even greatly depressed when going through a divorce or when a parent, spouse, child, friend dies?

Yes, it's very common to become depressed vecause of events like this. And most of the medication literature suggests that you don't thake meds for that kind of depression. And good docs won't prescribe anti-depressants for those kind of events. A good grief counselor is usually what's needed for that, and probably a support group.

If you're spending two weeks or more with a symptoms such as a loss/gain in appetite, not doing things that you once found appealing, a lost interest in sex, increased crying, thoughts of suicide or self harm, etc... you probably do need professional help.. and one of those helpful things could be medication.