Depression or prolonged sadness is actually quite common in the United States, about 9.5 percent of the American population actually suffers from this condition, however, all of them lead to treat, thus, depression and its ill effects continue to be a burden to some people. This disease may seem simple enough to treat, but in reality, it takes more than a little cheering up to actually cure depression. constant visits to a cognitive behavioral therapist is a must as well as taking any prescribed medications that the doctor will ask the patient to take - none of them come exactly cheap, but the amount of suffering a person goes through due to depression is reason enough for others to start taking notice and facing depression head on.