Therapy and Counseling
Services in San Francisco
The Flood Building
Suite 441
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 846-6557
Daniel C. McCracken, MA, MFT
Licensed Psychotherapist
Contact Daniel
About Depression
Depression is a depressive disorder that involves a person's body, mood, and thoughts.
Depression can effect and disrupt eating, sleeping, or thinking patterns, and is not the same as being unhappy or in a "blue" mood, nor is it a sign of personal weakness or a condition that can be willed or wished away. Those suffering from a depressive illness cannot simply lift themselves up and get better. Treatment is often necessary and many times crucial to recovery. Three types of depression:
Major depression
Combinations of symptoms that interfere with the sleep, eat, and enjoy once pleasurable activities. These disabling episodes of depression can occur once, twice, or several times in a lifetime.
Dysthymia
This is marked by long-term, chronic symptoms that are not debilitating, but keep people from functioning at their best, or from feeling good. Sometimes people with dysthymia also experience major depressive episodes.
Bipolar disorder
A chronic recurring condition that includes cycles of depression and elation, or mania.
Within these types there are variations in the number of symptoms, their severity, and persistence.
For more information regarding depression: http://www.depression.com/index.html