One of the most common illnesses is depression. It is suffered by every individual one or more times in their lives. It is an often misunderstood sickness; it is mostly confused with stress. However, there is a difference.

Stress is the result of the things that happen to you while depression is your inability to deal with the stress and makes you unable to function normally.

Another study points out the difference:

Clinically, depression is an advanced state of melancholia, despair or sadness that disrupts an individual’s activities of daily living and/or social functioning. On the other hand, stress is the result of a broad range of both psychological and physiological strong external stimuli that can cause the general adaptation syndrome, a physiological response, which was first described by Hans Selye in the journal “Nature” in 1936.

According to Dr. Ken Duckworth, a member of the faculty of the Harvard Medical School and a private practicing psychiatrist, the difference between stress and depression is that stress can be defined as anxiety before exam, which actually has a positive, motivational benefit while depression reduces ability to sleep, appetite and concentration.

Seeking professional help is the way depression can be easily treated. In America it affects one in eight teenagers and about 9 million adults. Depression needs to be treated on ASAP basis because it can lead the patient to suicidal thoughts and behavior.

Medical treatment of depression is an ongoing process in which doctor monitors and adjusts the medication as per their effectiveness.