(BPT) - A broken leg means a trip to the emergency room. Chronic
back pain leads to a battery of tests and time off work. Even a
virus will get you some words of sympathy. But if you say you
have depression, there's a good chance you'll get a quizzical
look and dumb silence. Depression is a serious illness affecting
one in 10 Americans. And while the medical establishment has
long known how serious depression can be, it still remains
something of a mystery to many people. Often, the advice to
someone who admits to a friend that they have depression is
"it'll pass" or "shake it off." Because there are no bandages or
crutches involved, there's a tendency for friends, colleagues
and even family to mistake clinical depression as simply a case
of the "blues." While studies vary somewhat on the exact
percentages, it is generally believed that about 50 percent of
Americans see depression as a personal weakness and a similar
percentage of people suffering from depression don't seek
treatment. "Being a mental health c