ABSTRACT

It is normal to feel temporarily depressed when facing situations such as the loss of someone close, or experiencing serious financial or domestic issues; however, when these depressed feelings intensify and last much longer, it could be due to clinical depression. Around the world, millions of people are affected by depression as their daily routine is interrupted by lingering sadness and the feeling of pain. Although effective treatments are available to control and treat depression symptoms, the social stigma associated with mental illness in many societies prevents people from seeking help. Statistics show that different types of depression, due to co-occurrence with other medical conditions, social, psychological, biological factors or drugs that can cause or have a side effect, affect around 322 million people around the world. This review provides a comprehensive coverage of advances in treating different types of depression, pharmacological approaches, potential new drugs, use of natural antidepressants, treatment without any medications, recent developments in Treatment Resistant Depression (TRD) and Major Depression Disorder (MDD) involving innovative medications, as well as magnetic and electrical stimulation techniques.