THE TRUTH BY ALLISON MANNING Mental illness is not something you "power through." THE TRUTH ABOUT DEPRESSION TRUE OR FALSE: Depression is much more than simply being in a funk. It's a persistent feeling of sadness and a loss of interest in things that used to be pleasurable; the physical symptoms include fatigue and irritability. But even with an estimated 350 million people worldwide suffering from depression, a lot of myths persist. Sally Winston, PsyD, a clinical psychologist who is a founding clinical fellow of the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, helps us parse some of them. FALSE. Depression is an illness that looks for problems, Winston says. The brain roots around for issues in life that inspire worthlessness, hopelessness or guilt. A sufferer might feel like a loser, a bad parent or an ineffective worker. "That wasn't the cause of why you're depressed," Winston says. "You're depressed because you have the illness." W IN TER 2016 Depression is always about something specific. PHOTO BY LAFLOR/GETTY IMAGES 38 The invisible illness is more complicated than just feeling down in the dumps