If you are depressed for 2 weeks or longer, you should contact your doctor, who can offer treatment options. Regardless of whether you have mild or major depression, the following self-care steps can help:

• Get enough sleep. 
• Follow a healthy, nutritious diet. 
• Exercise regularly. 
• Avoid alcohol, marijuana, and other recreational drugs. 
• Get involved in activities that make you happy, even if you don't feel like it. 
• Spend time with family and friends. 
• Try talking to clergy or spiritual advisors who may help give meaning to painful experiences. 
• Consider prayer, meditation, tai chi, or biofeedback as ways to relax or draw on your inner strengths. 
• Add omega-3 fatty acids to your diet, which you can get from cold-water fish like tuna, salmon, or mackerel. 
• Take vitamin B9 in the form of a multivitamin about 400 to 800 mg. 
• If your depression occurs in the fall or winter months, try light therapy using a special lamp that mimics the sun.

If you have moderate to severe depression, the most effective treatment plan will likely be a combination of counseling and medication.

When to seek Medical Advice?

Depression is quite a common illness suffered by thousands of people all over the world. This can actually be quite a serious illness that should be treated as soon as it is discovered. It is quite a difficult illness to diagnose you but is one that your friends and family will notice due to your dramatic mood swings. Depression treatment should be sought as soon as you are diagnosed with the illness. The longer it is left the more serious it gets and unfortunately many people attempted suicide as they become so depressed they do not want to carry on in life.

Things to remember

• Depression is a complicated illness that involves a number of factors, such as genes, environment, diet, lifestyle, brain chemicals, psychology and personality. 
• The different types of depression include major depression, bipolar disorder, dysthymic disorder, cyclothymic disorder, postnatal depression and seasonal affective disorder. 
• Always seek help if you feel depressed.