Depression, whether serious or mild, affects our moods and behavior and, as a result, our character.

We are chemical beings.

Sometimes our bodies do not synthesize certain chemicals properly. When that happens, similar to diseases like diabetes, we must fix the chemical imbalance.

This is so obvious it almost need not be stated. Nobody looks down on diabetics and their insulin problem, yet when the chemical in question happens to be serotonin, a chemical in the brain that affects our moods, all of a sudden people can become very insensitive and stubborn.

This is understandable, to an extent. A serotonin imbalance in the brain can induce depression. Depression, whether serious or mild, affects our moods and behavior and, as a result, our character.

Thankfully, a lot of depression sufferers can now manage and even conquer their depression with a host of new antidepressant drugs. However, because of the stigma attached to depression and mental illness, too many people go without relief. Sometimes attacks on antidepressants are even led by celebrities.

Only recently we witnessed Tom Cruise publicly criticize Brooke Shields for having treated her postpartum depression with antidepressants. Cruise, a proponent of the cult-like Scientology religion, claimed in an interview that depression should not be treated with antidepressants.

One wonders what Cruise’s answer to depression might be. Maybe he expects the rest of us to somehow “grow” movie star good looks, gain acting talent and become famous and fabulously wealthy — sleeping with the world’s most beautiful women (or men, depending on your gender or preference) along the way.

Unfortunately, the rest of us don’t live Cruise’s charmed life or aren’t willing to join Scientology. We have to live in the real world.

When the neurons in your brain aren’t processing your serotonin properly and you are feeling unduly depressed, Cruise’s sage advice can make you want to smash your TV — or at least keep watching footage of Cruise getting squirted in the face with water by a fake British microphone. Tom Cruise — what a dolt!

Enough with the Tom Cruise tangent. Let’s get back to the topic of depression.

There are many different types of depression. Some people suffer from depression and don’t even know it.

One insidious form of depression is called dysthymia, also known as neurotic depression. People who have dysthymic disorder often have no idea they suffer from depression because it is chronic and low-grade, as far as depression goes. A lot of people with dysthymic disorder think, “This is how I am; this is what life is like.”

Because dysthymia often starts in one’s late teens or early 20s, it can seem like angst more than anything. Unlike crippling depressions, most with dysthymic disorder lead productive lives, but they do it with a certain chronic melancholy.

How do you know if you suffer from dysthymia? The main symptoms, according to the Web site of the Mood Disorders Research Program at St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital Center in New York, include depressed mood (lasting two or more years), feelings of hopelessness, poor concentration or difficulty making decisions, low self-esteem, low energy or fatigue, poor sleep, and poor appetite or overeating.

The center also notes that "People with (dysthymia) are also often socially withdrawn, and perform below their abilities at work and school. They often find it difficult to take normal day-to-day risks such as asking someone out on a date, or calling to apply for a job. They are often easily discouraged, and often have difficulty completing tasks. They are often overly pessimistic.”

Luckily dysthymia is one of the easiest forms of depression to cure, usually with little more than selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, a type of antidepressant.

Some people think it takes strength and stoicism to trudge through life without taking antidepressants, or that using antidepressants shows weakness. In truth, it takes strength to be honest with yourself if you suspect you may suffer from depression. It takes strength to then make the effort to treat your depression.

I have a friend whose father suffered from major depression. For whatever reasons, the lifelong military man did not seek treatment. Eventually his answer was to put a gun to his head and pull the trigger.

He may not be depressed anymore, but he took the easy way out.

There is a better way. You owe it to yourself to look into it.

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