There’s no shame in suffering from depression. According to the National Institutes of Health, more than 35 million U.S. residents suffer from depression that’s serious enough to call for medical treatment. Fortunately, overcoming depression can be done.

If you feel that you are suffering from depression, and it is interfering with your daily personal and work lives, make sure to seek out medical treatment. The longer you wait to treat depression, the harder it is to overcome.

Before overcoming depression, you have to recognize the warning sings of the illness. If you feel sad, hopeless or guilty a majority of the time, you may suffer from depression.

Another sign that you suffer from depression is that you constantly feel tired or that you have no energy. If you find yourself crying often or thinking about suicide or death, you may suffer from this illness, too. These are serious issues, and deserve medical attention.

Changes in your eating and sleeping habits can also signal depression, as can a loss of interest and pleasure in daily activities and problems making decisions or thinking clearly.

Everyone feels down at times. But if you feel sad or hopeless too often, you might be one of the many U.S. residents suffering from depression.

Recognizing that you have a serious medical problem is the first step in overcoming depression. Fortunately, with the help of doctors and medications, overcoming depression is far from an impossible task. In fact, once you begin treating your depression, you can greatly improve your quality of life.