Conditions and diagnosesExplainerMood and depression
Depression: NIMH plain-language overview
Symptoms, types, treatments, and what current evidence supports: written for the general public by the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health.
National Institute of Mental Health12 min readSelected and edited by Dean ShabanAdded
NIMH's depression topic page is the most authoritative free, plain-language overview of depression in the United States. It covers diagnostic criteria, the major treatment modalities (psychotherapy, medication, brain stimulation), and what to do if a first-line treatment does not work.
Useful both for someone trying to understand their own experience and for a family member or friend trying to be helpful without overstepping.
Mental Hum's library is a curated index of authoritative third-party resources. The summary above is our own framing; the full information lives at the source.
A note on this article
Mental Hum publishes general education, not medical advice. If something here reflects your own experience, please consider speaking to a clinician. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.