When you hear the word depression you probably think of someone who is sad, down, fatigued and detached from the world. Although these hold true, depression can affect more than just someone’s mental well-being.

When it comes to depression, there are many different kinds: Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD, occurs mainly through the winter months. Postpartum depression affects new mothers and Major Depressive Disorder is depression lasting more than two weeks where a person feels hopeless, sad, lack of interest in life and where it impacts mental and physical health.

These are just some of the forms of depression out there but there are many more. Results from the 2012 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Mental Health Findings revealed an estimated 43.7 million American adults had any mental illness(AMI). Furthermore, an estimated 16 million American adults reported Major Depressive Episode(MDE). These numbers just go to show that depression and mental illness affect a large amount of the population – and so learning more about it is important to improving it.

Even though we know some of the causes and symptoms of depression, a new study has revealed a very serious side effect of depression: Joint disease. As we age, we can be more prone to joint disease, such as arthritis, but researchers have now shown a link between depression and arthritis that we may not have known before.